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My New (To Me) Fixer-Upper


Bluestocking

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I recently joined a local chapter of NAME, and not long after my second meeting an e-mail went out to the group saying that someone wanted this house to go to a good home.  I raised my hand -- I think I was the only one -- and collected it yesterday.  The lady who gave it to me has had it for some years, but roomboxes are more her interest.

Not having much experience in this yet, I'm actually not quite sure whether it's in good shape or not.  Obviously there are some issues -- I'll start a gallery soon -- bricks missing, chimney pots chipped, at least two of the windows are hanging precariously, etc. etc.  It's pretty dusty, but it doesn't smell musty or old at all -- thank goodness for dry San Bernardino air!

You can't quite see it in the front-view photo, but over the front door is a large hanging sign saying "Golden Lion Inn".  The corbels at the various corners are enhanced with gold-painted lion heads!  The main room, at front bottom right, has a stocked bar, so apparently it was originally furnished as a tavern/inn.  The previous owner was in the process of splitting the downstairs room in the middle into two with a piece of foamboard, and had closed off a door leading from the room directly upstairs into the room at far upper right, installing a full-wall bookshelf in the middle room.  I love the latter, but am not at all sure about the former, but the foamboard is held in place only by friction so is easily removable.  The roof has a hinged door at the back of the house, revealing the unfinished attic.  The taller chimney is completely removable, from the ground up, but the other one is fixed in place.

I did a bit of research last night about cleaning old houses, and this week am going to start in with a damp microfiber cloth and a small paintbrush, to get as much dust off as I can, before anything else.

To be honest, this is not the kind of house I *really really really* want -- which as I've said elsewhere is a re-creation of "The House that Moved" mediaeval/Tudor (as designed by Brian Nickolls in his book "Making Dolls' Houses in 1/12 Scale") -- but this was free and I could hardly pass that up!  I'm therefore looking at it as a fixer-upper to "practice" on, though of course with care, to improve my finishing and decorating skills.  Usually I am not the kind of person to paint antiques and such, but while a number of the floors here are "hardwood" others are wood-grain contact paper, which obviously does NOT match the other, so I am strongly tempted to remove that, and maybe some of the wallpapers too.  I suspect that it's OOAK, though, so will not make drastic changes.  The architectural style is pretty obviously Tudor Revival -- the windows say 1930s to me, though I would be prepared to concede an earlier date, as the roofline is almost Arts & Crafts -- so I'm thinking of furnishing it vaguely mid-20th century with Victorian antecedents ....

I'm also curious to know if anyone recognizes "Budd" -- I don't know if this is a first name or last.  He obviously had some experience putting dollhouses together.  I do know that Hardy's House of Miniatures in Redlands has been closed for some years.  This house was apparently built for the shop, which is how I'm interpreting the label, but the lady who gave the house to me said that nobody had wanted it when the shop closed, so it was stored away until she got it some time later.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!

Jeanne

The wheels, by the way, are NOT on the house, but are a furniture dolly!  The house is apparently attached to that piece of bare plywood, though, which does seem more than a bit anticlimactic.

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Well it's seriously gorgeous! Lucky you!:clap: How do you get into those front rooms?

Personally, I think you'd be doing the house a favour by removing the "wood look" contact paper. :D

Dollhouses are meant to be reimagined... If you intend to renovate it to it's original era, I don't think you can go wrong.

You can dress up that base with some landscaping and I saw someone on here use RL moulding as edging on a base of their house and it looked spectacular!

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Wow! It's awesome! Lucky you!

I love the dutch doors!

I would definitely do some landscaping. Though I can't see the contact paper clearly, I would also remove it. Maybe use some Popsicle sticks or thin coffee stirrers as replacement flooring.

It is gorgeous! I agree with Holly, it isn't written in stone that we can only ever have one dollhouse.

Have fun with her. Let her tell you if she wants something special. Enjoy!

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25 minutes ago, Samusa said:

Well it's seriously gorgeous! Lucky you!:clap: How do you get into those front rooms?

The whole front door assembly comes off, which gives a little bit more access, and the roof section on the right side lifts up on hinges -- otherwise it's through the windows!  I suspect that's why most of them are doubles!

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30 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Holy Moly!  You hit the jackpot, and there is no law carved in stone that says you can only ever have just one dollhouse.

I know, and I hardly ever win anything!  I may have just done in my chances for the lottery, though :) .

My husband's first comment was "Where are you going to put it?!"  One of the reasons I chose the Nickolls Tudor for my prospective build was that it has a very small footprint.  This one is pretty big -- 39" across, almost a full meter!

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Its a handsome house! Love the Tudor style too. I can't believe it was just given to you, your so very lucky. I purchased a fixer-upper on Ebay and will practice on it. It will be lots of fun and some frustration to I expect. LOL. I look forward to seeing your  progress. Once I get going on mine, I'll start a gallery page too. Tell hubby your going to need a bigger home because I suspect once you get started you get hooked. No telling how many more houses you will have :drool2:

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3 hours ago, Bluestocking said:

The whole front door assembly comes off, which gives a little bit more access, and the roof section on the right side lifts up on hinges -- otherwise it's through the windows!  I suspect that's why most of them are doubles!

Interesting... maybe with a little deconstruction you can make the other side hinged as well? Or just removable. It would be nice to have more access right? :D

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18 minutes ago, mesp2k said:

Very unique...

Just curious - what does that sign at the front say?

 

14 hours ago, Bluestocking said:

...You can't quite see it in the front-view photo, but over the front door is a large hanging sign saying "Golden Lion Inn"...

 

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13 hours ago, Samusa said:

Interesting... maybe with a little deconstruction you can make the other side hinged as well? Or just removable. It would be nice to have more access right? :D

That's a great idea -- will definitely look into that, thanks!

Jeanne

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I love it just as it is. But I am always that way with completed houses. I even like the dated touches when someone puts a little 60s or 70s into the house. But I'd replace any contact paper if that was in there...even I have my limits.

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3 hours ago, havanaholly said:

It looks like some of the brickwork is missing on the front steps.

Yes, that's the most obvious spot, but there are a number of them all over the house that have broken or come off completely.  I have no idea what they're made of -- I might start a new topic later about how to repair.  They look kind of like red pumice -- sort of granular, not sure how to describe it -- stuck onto a white backing to simulate the pointing.

Most of the chimney pots have chips out of them, too.  I was thinking of "patching" them with terracotta-colored air-dry clay?

Jeanne

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