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.
To see all of my Craigslist ads you can go to the Columbus, Ohio Craigslist home page and do a search for the term “GRNCTY.”
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.
Stacey says
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.
marlene says
like the dollhouse murders on CSI lol
pam kueber says
yes!
Ann-Marie Meyers says
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.
Jocelyn W. says
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?
JKM says
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!
JKM says
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.
lexavline says
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?
Eartha Kitsch says
Beautiful. If I saw this at an estate sale, I’d be ALL over it.
JKaye says
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.
Laura says
This little house looks almost exactly like my house! If I were in OH, I’d scoop it up in a heartbeat!