Search the Community

I bought a dollhouse from someone who was selling theirs on Facebook. The dollhouse is in great condition. I believe it’s a Real Good Toys dollhouse but I’m not too sure about that. I wasn’t able to find pictures of another one like it online. However, I don’t like where two of the walls were placed by the previous owner. The house has two dormer windows upstairs but you can only see one from the back view because the walls are blocking it. There’s currently 3 rooms upstairs, but only one of those rooms has a window you could see. I’d like to remove those two walls and move them so that the window shows and there’s more natural light coming into the home. I’m currently building the Washington dollhouse from the kit, but I’ve never done a restoration or rehab. Does anyone have any tips on how to remove these walls without damaging the house? They were installed with a few nails and I’m not sure what kind of glue, but I have a feeling it was probably wood glue. It was built in the early 90’s. Thanks in advance.

So, I was nosing around on Market Place and I saw a pretty dollhouse that someone wanted $150 for. I didn't think the dollhouse was worth that, so I kept looking. I came back every day looking and then I saw this new one listed. The seller was asking $189 for it, and I thought it was worth a lot more. I contacted her and asked if it was still available. She indicated it was and said she had to get rid of it by Tuesday. Perfect, I said. I will come get it. THEN I had to figure out how we were going to bring this dollhouse home. We wound up renting a uHaul van and loading it up into the van and carefully driving it home. Once home, a furniture dolly helped to bring it inside the apartment and now, it sits in the middle of my living room. GO Team! we did it! The house needs some restorative work, but is otherwise in good condition. The things that need to be done: repair the front porch rail, the stairway from second floor to attic needs to be repaired and reattached. Some of the rooms need to be finished wallpapering and the flooring needs to be done. Some of the windows need to be repaired. The trim around the turret needs some parts replaced. Some of the doors need to be reattached. Some of the shingles need to be replaced. Aside from that, the dollhouse looks awesome for being as old as it is. I am going to try to upload some pics if I can. You all can tell me what you think. ~morningstar~

So, back in 2002, I bought a pre-built display McKinley from Country Store miniatures in Vancouver WA. That store is now closed. At the time, the McKinley was discontinued, so I was desperate to have it, in spite of not really having time or space for it. Fast forward 16 years and the dollhouse crossed the US twice, lived in a humid attic and was turned into a squat house for some Douglass squirrels. This past year, my husband built me a little 'she shed' for my authoring and for my crafting and minis business, and I was able to take the McKinley down from the attic, clean out the nests of foam and moss and whatever else the squirrels filled it with, and begin to restore this poor, dilapidated house. I have a really specific idea what I am going to do to it, and it's going to no longer be a Victorian house. It will be a Georgian/Regency style townhouse. The gables will be taken off (most of the ply has delaminated anyway, and install a hip roof. All the trim was either destroyed or disappeared along the years, so I figured since I'm a regency nut anyway, why not? So this is my project so far. I will keep adding as I go along. To follow my other progress pages, you can also keep an eye on my Feffie's Cottage page on Facebook, or my Pinterest page. I will provide links below. Some 'background' on what this McKinley will be: This McKinley will become "Huxley House". The home for a seer, sorceress and medium, Miss Violet Huxley. It will have all the proper Regency things going on, but will have a gaslampy, fantasy twist (because that is what I write as an author... Regency with a 'twist'. So, the house will eventually have some supernatural things going on, but it will still be pretty and inviting, and functional for a Regency sorceress. So here is the poor thrashed McKinley in all her faded glory. But fear not. She will be lovely again! As you can see, there are already some kitchen cabinets made up in there. I made those in 2003. They were pretty thrashed too, and needed to be restored. I'm a bit of a 'built-in' addict, and I love to make custom cabinetry for my dollhouses. My Feffie's Cottage miniature business will eventually offer up some kits custom made to fit particular houses. And since I pretty much only do Greenleaf, you can count on some of them being customized for the GL line. Anyhoo... Let me zoom in on the kitchen to start, since that room is the furthest along.

Hi all, Hoping that our forum of educated dollhouse builders/rehabbers may be able to point me in the right direction here. I'm looking at possibly buying an incredibly old and to my eyes lovely dollhouse -- but I know it will need restoration. I do not want the value to depreciate b/c I've attempted to rectify problems with it's current condition. However, there are also no qualified rehab artisans of antique dollhouses anywhere near me. If nothing else I would at least like to find some books on restorations and the how to's of, and indeed the older houses like Bliss and Gottschalk dollhouses to educate myself more. I was amazed today that though my local library has literally no books on dollhouses or miniatures at all, the librarian called the district director and they bought the book "The Genius of Moritz Gottschalk" and are going to contact me when it's in. I know I was beyond surprised they would do so, but was incredibly grateful as that book is expensive! I've a few books on Bliss houses already, but again -- nothing in regards to the restoration of antique houses. So now I'm left wondering if there are actually any books, or if folks may be willing to share sources and/or tips on antique dollhouse restorations? My thanks in advance for any possible help!

Hello! I am so happy to have found such a great place to connect with like-minded souls! I live in the Seattle area (by way of the Midwest and East Coast). I just bought dollhouse from the 1970s. It has been beaten and battered a bit, but it has so much potential. I am now on a mission to make it better than ever. I welcome any and all advice!

I've got a fixer upper. The kitchen floor is one of those black and white plastic (vinyl) flooring sheets.and about 1/2 of the floor is yellowing. The house was built in the mid 1970's so the floor might be brittle. Is there anything I can clean it with that won't wreck it?

I went yesterday and picked up a DuraCraft Farmhouse I found on CraigsList for $70. I thought I was getting a deal because the house looked great in the pictures and it also came with a house full of furniture, as well as some extra pieces. When I saw the house in person, I noticed a few minor repairs, but nothing major. All of the furniture was either hot glued to the floor or had some sort of sticky, waxy stuff on it. The furniture that was hot glued to the floor pulled up the "carpet" and "tile" when I pulled the furniture out. There were also stains on the wall paper where the wax had been used to hold things to the walls. There is tape wire already in place, but I'm not sure if it works, because there is no transformer or plug with it. Cosmetic stuff, but nothing that I wouldn't have been changing anything. Here's the problem.....When my dad and I tried to unload the house, the shell of the house lifted off of the foundation. Before we knew what happened, the roof and porch had also come off of the house. So, I now have a farmhouse that has come off of the foundation, stairs that have come off of the wall, and a porch and roof that has come off as well. It looks like wood glue residue on the walls, roof, etc. but it appears to be a thin line of glue, so that could be why it hasn't held up over the years. I think it could be fixable, but I'm not sure where to start. It also needs a HEAVY cleaning, and I'm not sure of the best way to go about that. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi everyone! I'm in California and I have a doozy of a project I'm looking forward to sharing with you all. I'm 40 now, so 39 years ago, my great-uncle gave me a 1/12 scale enormous 4-story dollhouse that he made. I think it's a scratch build but I can't be sure. Anyway, as a child, I played with the mini stuff, shoved all my kittens in it, and generally played quite happily with the thing. But I actually hated dolls when I turned around 4 or 5, so after a certain age, it was just a giant structure taking up space. I moved, went off to college, bummed around a bit, and finally had a forever home. But as absence makes the heart grow fonder, I kept thinking of the dollhouse that had such an impact on my love of things mini as well as historic. So it was finally ready to come home... BUT! It had been kidnapped! By my mom's ex-husband's meth-addict prostitute girlfriend (I swear I'm not making this up)! After my mom pled with her ex to give it back, I was finally reunited with the dollhouse, but it looks like it was hit by Hurricane Katrina, and it needs a complete makeover. Plus, I have a toddler (a daughter), who will inherit it - as soon as I'm willing to give it up to her! Actually, I'm hoping she will eventually want to help me in its restoration. So I am very much looking forward to learning from everyone. I am so inspired by your projects, and your attention to detail. I admit that I really don't know where to start. I'm starting on stained glass windows, because they're small and relatively easy, but I also might want to do a bathroom extension. I don't know. Where's the best forum to solicit renovation ideas from? These are the top attic bedrooms and the top of the house lifts off, but there's another top on this removable piece that hides another level

I just started restoring my mother's beloved Van Buren dollhouse that her father made for her in the 70s. It has seen some VERY hard times, including a hurricane during the last attempt at restoration, but I'm making some progress on bringing it back to life. I have one concern though, the front door has gone missing, and the opening seems larger than typical dollhouse doors. I'm a total novice at this, and was wondering if anyone had any advice as to what I should do. I know they don't make Van Buren pieces anymore, so does anyone have any other suggestions?

Hello Everyone! I am new to the forums. My house is a Hofco Southern Dynasty. Circa 1988. I have recently started restoring it. It would be great if I could find a copy of a Southern Dynasty Deed, I just want to see what one looks like, I was a child when Santa brought my house so I have no recollection of the deed or knowledge where it could possibly be. My little sister had a Hofco Federal. I would be interested in seeing pictures of those as well! I will upload a few pictures soon. Thanks, Angela

Hello Everyone! I am new to the forums. My house is a Hofco Southern Dynasty. Circa 1988. I have recently started restoring it. It would be great if I could find a copy of a Southern Dynasty Deed, I just want to see what one looks like, I was a child when I received my house so I have no recollection of the deed or knowledge where it could possibly be. My little sister had a Hofco Federal. I would be interested in seeing pictures of those as well! Thanks, Angela