Thanks to reader Diane for this tip: An amazing vintage midcentury modern dollhouse — in serious decay. It is for sale on craigslist for $40 in Columbus. Diane rightly points out that it might fit my “wonderful oddities” category. But I’d take it a step further and say that this is one of those artifacts that transcends to become “found art”, if it catches you just in the right mood… ashes to ashes and dust to dust and all that. Yes, there is even a dead body in the living room. –>
I am sure this is placement was not artfully constructed, but the gods made it so. Peoples, this is what the future holds for our homes, if we don’t continue to lavish our Tender Loving Care upon them. You are doing a Good Thing.
Hi Pam, thanks for the note. My name is Jerry. I posted the listing for the mid century miniature house. There’s not much of a story behind the listing: it was purchased at an auction by one of my consignors here in Columbus, Ohio, who thought it was interesting enough to spend money on.
The only problem is obviously the condition, which is quite poor. If it were in good condition it would be worth significantly more. Looks like it was in the basement with the mice for quite some time. The “dead body” is just a cardboard cutout figure that was probably made with the house.
I have sold all kinds of things on the internet over the years, mainly items that come from houses such as furniture, collectibles, antiques etc. I do sell quite a bit of mid century furniture. I have no problem with you using the photos I took for your blog, but it’s not very representative of most things I sell.
If you have any questions or want to buy the model, give me a call.
I got a kick out of your view on the piece.
Thanks again,
Jerry
Thank you, Jerry. I hope it goes to a … good home.
This little house looks almost exactly like my house! If I were in OH, I’d scoop it up in a heartbeat!
I wonder if maybe someone built this house to look just like their real home. I could just picture a dad working away on this house late at night, in preparation for surprising his daughter on Christmas morning. This post reminds me of the dollhouse my sister and I got for Christmas back in the early 60s. It was a colonial two-story with attached garage, made of metal with painted on details, and had plastic furniture and people. We had fun with it, mostly by being silly and putting the toilet in the living room, a bed in the bathroom, and so on. The problem was, Barbie had come on the scene, and those tiny plastic people just couldn’t compete with her.
Beautiful. If I saw this at an estate sale, I’d be ALL over it.
This little house is amazing! Are those “birch” cabinets in the kitchen? I wonder if it really is a dollhouse. Maybe it was a builder’s model?
I, too, think this dollhouse was a replica of a real house, perhaps that of the little girl it was made for. It’s not simplistic like many and has a realistic layout, including what appears to be spaces where closets would be and what is probably a laundry room area next to the garage. Very cool.
Look at the living room picture. Is that a TV next to the fireplace?! It looks like what they looked like back in the 1950′s. Someone spent a lot of time on this and can you imagine how fun it would have been to have a little doll house that looked just like the real house you lived in? How fun!
Oh my. This looks precisely like some of the houses in some of the worse neighborhoods looked when I lived in Fresno, right down to the sparse, dessicated foundation plantings and amount of dust (the Valley soil is as fine as flour, and it gets everywhere)! Does this come with a meth lab, or maybe a roving band of gang members?
It reminds me of the Christmas my dad made a dollhouse for my sister Lisa one year for Christmas. He worked so many nights and weekends on it, and it was beautiful when he was done. It was made of plywood and cut-down 2×4′s, carefully stained and carved to look like bricks and other. It was a large open plan house with a hinged roof for access to the inside, and it was very mid century modern in design. It was a home any of us would be glad to have today.
She was thrilled with it, and we played with it to death. It finally had to be thrown out after it was left outside in the elements one too many times, I think.
like the dollhouse murders on CSI lol
yes!
The condition of that house looks just like the condition of the first mid-century modest house I bought. Whew, that was a lotta work! I love that tie-in, Pam, to encourage us to keep up our collective good work.
What a thing of beauty this is. Can you imagine how it looked when it was first made? I agree with others, hand made replication of real life home. Or, a home someone aspired to.
It reminds me of the things my Dad built. Model airplanes, boats, trains. All done with meticulousness. This was done in the same fashion. I wonder, since this isn’t really doll playing size, could it have been made as decor for a city? My Dad and his brother both heavily into model railroads (on a much smaller scale) would spend hours building all the things that went into the city that housed the railroad track/station. Maybe this is the same type of thing but on a larger scale?
What size dolls were we all playing with then that would fit in that house? For me, Barbie only – so not a fit.
Awesome find Pam! I’m half tempted to write to my uncles girlfriend in Ohio and ask her how far away this thing is and to buy it for me!
This looks like the house I grew up in at the point my parents bought it – right down to the color – although ours was green aluminum siding. We had wagon wheels at the end of the driveway. It was even in decay – my parents worked reallllly hard on that house.
The ‘dead’ body is awesome! But, then again, I’ve been known to like dead things.
it reminds me of the nuclear test site in new mexico. i just called jerry, i think it’s mine.
Yes, that is strangely beautiful. I, too, am drawn to decay, and keep thinking I need to head to Detroit to see some of the decay firsthand, before it’s all cleaned up.
I love how it’s old and worn. Like the best and most loved toys, it’s been used into the ground, but not destroyed. And someone obviously loved it anough to keep it long past it’s use-by date. If anyone on here buys it, please consider doing a reno update story. I’d tune in for sure
Like many of the others, I would be all over this house. Yes, this house definitely deserves TLC and a second chance to be “loved into the ground”! How good it would be, to hear from Jerry how this home found a new owner.
Let’s all keep up the good work–remember, today’s “old house” was or is someone’s dream.
Check this out Pam, and everyone – I shared this feature on my Sims forum (reference Pam’s Mamie pink bathroom article done by Sarah as AwesSims). One member took the challenge and built this abandoned, run down ‘doll’ house for the game. She did a FANTASTIC job!
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f38/deelee4957/Abandoned%20Retro/
The SIMS re-creation! Astounding!
looks like the mice left a muddy path across the carpet to the bed. I think it is too cute. My imagination is running wild.
thanks Pam
So freakin’ cool. Haul it out for Halloween and have it as the centerpiece for a fab party!
What a shame this neato dollhouse went to near ruin. I hope somebody picked it up & restored it as much as possible. When I look at it, it looks like house you’d see in cartoons from the 60′s. Somebody spent a good deal of time making this-I really appreciate that in “finds”.