Jump to content

Hello Everyone, I’m so excited to be here


Lula

Recommended Posts

Oh my goodness, I so happy I found this forum. Super excited to get to know all these creative minds.  I have zero experience building dollhouses - well as an art student 100 years ago in HS, I did create a miniature Shakespearian Scene for my English teacher. That’s it!

My husband purchase this dollhouse for my at a Fleamarket. I’m planning on rehabbing it ;-) 

xxx-ooo

 

Edited by Lula
Forgot to upload pic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there,

Thank you for replying.  I haven’t the slightest clue who the maker is.  I’ve done some research and I came up empty :-(

I found a similar house on eBay, it goes for $78k - are doll houses that expensive? 

I’ve been reading your threads to learn as much as I can, however I’m still confused.  I cleaned her up and stripped all the wall paper, floors etc.  now she sits there naked - poor thing.  I’m hoping (praying) some really nice person on this forum could guide me through this wonderful project.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It sounds as though the house is already built.  I apologize, I thought when I read your first post that he'd bought you a kit.  I don't electrify the houses I build.  It's probably easiest to begin by hoarding a couple of newspapers (the free ones full of classified ads will work) and rolls of tape to use to make templates.  If you have furniture you might stage a few pieces to get a feel for how you want to assign the rooms.  I like to use iron-on wood veneer for wood floors.  I use shiny paper, heavy packing paper and paint chips to make floor tiles.  I first stain the bare floor the color I'll later stain my wood strips; I cut the veneer into 6" lengths and then carefully split them into strips 1/4" wide and iron them into place:

medium.56d51c2a1319f_parlor2.JPG.5a13a07

If I want linoleum for a kitchen floor I just use paint for that:

medium.56d51bc471fe1_2kitchen.JPG.860cb9

I prime my walls before painting or wallpapering them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, this is lovely.  Love what you did.  Oh my is that an ironing board? Nice
 
Just printing your advise, starting my how-to-manual thank you. 
 
The house is missing lots of things before I go shop @greenleaf I’ll like to know what to get first. She needs pair shutters, stairs, doors, some windows are missing, the main door, roofing, base boards etc. 
 
Also when I’m allowed to post pics I’ll share how the structure is a bit compromised. Don’t know if I should take her completely apart or just wait for suggestions from you guys. 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Lula said:

Forgot to mentioned is a complete 11/12 room perhaps Dutch Colonial home with a big porch on the second floor.  She’s stunning.  

You are only 2 posts away, and you can start an album. Someone might be able to ID the house for. You can comment on other posts and it will count.

Here is a thread that explains how to post a picture......

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topic&id=40441

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Lula said:
...The house is missing lots of things before I go shop @greenleaf I’ll like to know what to get first. She needs pair shutters, stairs, doors, some windows are missing, the main door, roofing, base boards etc...

I love to rehab houses that were originally built with hot glue, because I take them completely apart and rebuild them.  In the process I have often destroyed the original windows and doors and had to make new ones in their place.  With a sturdy utlilty knife and lots of new, sharp blades, a cork-backed steel straight edge and a local hobby store that sells strips and sheets of basswood in various thicknesses I have even begun to make new doors and windows for the new kits I'm building.  Shutters can be made as plain or as fancy as you wish, and once heavy cardboard/ chipboard is painted and in place it's awfully hard to tell from the more expensive thing; I made the attic window from toothpicks:

large.5780757217236_louveredwindow.JPG.b

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This window is gorgeous! You must have The patience of an angel.  

 I’m hoping this particular the house was hot glued.  I believe it was hot glued and then some I see nails Staples and some of the hard substance that I can’t tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A flat head screw driver will pry up staples enough that they can be removed with pliers.  Check out http://www.miniatures.com for replacement windows & doors.  Measure your openings; Houseworks components work with most Real Good Toys houses.  From where I'm sitting it looks like your windows are all there, you just need a front door and interior doors.  Do check out the Greenleaf website for shingles and vinyl flooring:  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, KellyA said:

It's the Twelve Oaks Plantation kit by Real Good Toys. Some people call it the Mulberry but that's the house without the additions. It's Greek Revival style. I always thought it was such a pretty house.

https://www.dollhouseminiatures.com/Dollhouses/twelveoaks.htm

Hello Kelly-

Thank you so much for solving this mystery for us.  My husband and I are so realized. Lately we both have been sorta possessed by this house and the world of miniature. I must admit we both don’t have the slightest clue how to proceed. For us she’s a big girl! A little bit overwhelming for me.  My show off husband thinks bc he’s a GC this renovation will be a piece of cake -lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For your shutters, those are Houseworks louvered shutters. You're in luck, that house uses standard components. Look for Houseworks interior doors. Or really almost any manufacturer. Most of them (except some English sellers) use standard size. I think 3 x 7? I'd have to look it up.

The other finishes depend on what look you're going for. You can get as simple or elaborate as you like on nearly everything. If going for the full-on plantation look, those usually had denticulated crown moulding. Or dentil moulding, depending on what people like to call it. The first floors were pretty fancy. There are a lot of cast plaster mouldings available that can be real eye-poppers.

The second floors were always simpler, so more basic (and less expensive!) trims would be appropriate. If you want to be really super historically accurate, the interior walls on those houses were often just painted. That look of wallpapers on every inch of wall space came with the Victorians. That and the fact that new glues were invented after those homes were popular. The old method for affixing wallpaper was a mixture that used eggs. Greek Revivals were most common in the South. Guess how bad egg-based glue started to smell in the deep South's humidity? LOL

Anyway, off on a tangent there, as usual for me. Lots of possibilities with that one. We'd all love to hear your plans for it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Lula said:

Hello Kelly-

Thank you so much for solving this mystery for us.  My husband and I are so realized. Lately we both have been sorta possessed by this house and the world of miniature. I must admit we both don’t have the slightest clue how to proceed. For us she’s a big girl! A little bit overwhelming for me.  My show off husband thinks bc he’s a GC this renovation will be a piece of cake -lol

“So relieved   ....”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, KellyA said:

For your shutters, those are Houseworks louvered shutters. You're in luck, that house uses standard components. Look for Houseworks interior doors. Or really almost any manufacturer. Most of them (except some English sellers) use standard size. I think 3 x 7? I'd have to look it up.

The other finishes depend on what look you're going for. You can get as simple or elaborate as you like on nearly everything. If going for the full-on plantation look, those usually had denticulated crown moulding. Or dentil moulding, depending on what people like to call it. The first floors were pretty fancy. There are a lot of cast plaster mouldings available that can be real eye-poppers.

The second floors were always simpler, so more basic (and less expensive!) trims would be appropriate. If you want to be really super historically accurate, the interior walls on those houses were often just painted. That look of wallpapers on every inch of wall space came with the Victorians. That and the fact that new glues were invented after those homes were popular. The old method for affixing wallpaper was a mixture that used eggs. Greek Revivals were most common in the South. Guess how bad egg-based glue started to smell in the deep South's humidity? LOL

Anyway, off on a tangent there, as usual for me. Lots of possibilities with that one. We'd all love to hear your plans for it!

Oh my, lots of great leads here and a bit of history too how exciting.  

I finally have some sense direction, though I admit it’s a little intimidating but I’m thrilled at the same time.

I saw this one on EBay sorta looks the same interior/exterior.  I’m going to try to reproduce it true to the period with perhaps more informal furniture?:ermm:

9D067139-4C1A-4222-AA5E-1AA4D26C2F5A.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You'd need pretty deep pockets to do a house up like Bonnie Broel! If you don't already have a miniatures collection, I suggest watching Ebay auctions for a while to get a good sense of what you like, and most importantly what things go for. Not all of those plantation homes were on par with the Nottoway (look that one up for some inspiration). Many owners farmed smaller acreages, so simpler furnishings would be appropriate.

One thing to consider is colonial furniture. That was in style for a long time and was wildly popular in the South well on a hundred years after it became passe in the Northeast. Simpler 4-poster beds, Windsor chairs, low-post beds, quilts instead of silks, braided rugs instead of fine orientals.... all of that is historically accurate. It's also a heck of a lot cheaper, lol! You can work in a few Chippendale pieces but those would have been for the real showpiece focus of a room, like a tall secretary desk.

Here's a Twelve Oaks on Ebay. I personally love the simple white and black exterior. I'd have skipped all that wallpaper on the interior, but that's just me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Giant-colonial-dollhouse-includes-rolling-base-and-storage-crate/183863147991?hash=item2acf18fdd7:g:g6QAAOSwJppdAoLg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...