I’m super excited to start 2015 with a new “mini-series” — literally. Over the course of the next few months, I’ll be documenting the process of building, decorating and furnishing a 1:12 scale, split level, wooden dollhouse — made from an original 1955 Betsy McCall Do-It-Yourself Dollhouse pattern. Is anyone else as pumped as I am about this? I love my job!
Before we get into the details about the build, let me explain (a) why I am so excited and (b) what made me want to build a dollhouse in the first place. Let’s take a flash back to the early 1980s when I was a kid. My Dad has always been handy — a skill he began sharing with me at an early age — (above) just look at 18-month-old Kate wielding that hammer –watch out world! He had this great idea to make me a little playhouse using some leftover siding and supplies from the 1980 ranch house that he and my Mom built just before I was born. Needless to say, I loved the idea.
By Christmas, the playhouse was complete, and Dad set it up in our basement so I could play in it all winter before moving it out into the back yard in the spring. I absolutely loved that house, and spent many hours of my childhood hanging out in there hosting pretend tea parties and playing peek-a-boo through the shutters at my Mom. Thus began my love of miniature houses.
Fast forward a few more years, and yet another tiny house –built by my Dad — found its way under the Christmas tree. To say I was thrilled is an understatement.
Dad designed and built the dollhouse himself out of 1/2-inch thick plywood. It was furnished with all of my Mom’s childhood doll furniture and various tiny decor items she had collected for me to play with. Mom even sewed me some tiny curtains for the windows. I spent so many hours rearranging furniture, dreaming up imaginative story lines about the Barbie family that lived in the house, and loved every minute of it.
My obsession with miniature houses continued into adulthood, when I found a way to incorporate tiny houses and furniture into my “grown up” decor by building midcentury house shelves for my living room wall to display my miniature chair collection.
And of course you are all familiar with the midcentury Christmas Putz houses that I’ve been making for the last three years here on Retro Renovation — yet another manifestation of my miniature house infatuation.
DIY Betsy McCall dollhouse seems to have had a few versions
So then, it should come as no surprise that I became obsessed with the midcentury split level dollhouse I spotted in the bedroom of a stunning 1960 Toronto time capsule home we featured late last year. The moment I saw that dollhouse, I knew I had to build one. Thanks to a few of Retro Renovation’s readers, Pam and I learned that the time capsule dollhouse was likely made from a 1950s Besty McCall dollhouse pattern. The dollhouse in the photo above (from the Toronto time capsule) is slightly different than the pattern we found. Are there any dollhouse experts out there who know the model year of this groovy-yet-scary-staired version above?
Mere minutes after discovering the existence of the pattern, Pam went into search-and-acquire mode and spotted an original pattern on Etsy. To my delight, she bought it and had it sent to me with the promise that I would build the house and chronicle it on the blog — a task this handy, mini-house loving gal was more than happy to take on. Yes, it is now “my job” to build this dollhouse, documenting the process all along the way.
Making a dollhouse on a budget
Before I began, Pam gave me a few guidelines for building, decorating and furnishing the dollhouse:
- No using any ready-made, new dollhouse parts or furniture in the construction and decoration of the dollhouse — meaning I cannot buy roofing shingles, siding, flooring, etc. that is specified for use in a dollhouse. All such things must be made from materials I can find at the home improvement or craft store.
- All furniture must either be vintage or homemade.
- I have a $100 budget to furnish the house — a real challenge if you know the price of vintage doll house furniture these days.
- Pam sent me a few boxes of goodies from her hoard to help with covering floors and walls.
These rules ensure that I’ll have to be creative and also keep the project true to its humble, homemade retro roots, by repurposing items and using scraps that are already around the house with the goal of spending very little extra money to get the job done. Sounds like a fun challenge to me.
Kat says
OMG! I want to be your best friend and hang out and work on the dollhouse! So cool and fun!!! YOU GO GIRL!
Serendipity Vintage says
How exciting! I’m on pins and needles to see how it turns out,. I’d like to do this myself. Will you post your sources for materials? I will be following along!
Wendy Kruger says
Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted a doll house…in a big way. I don’t have a crafty bone in my body and seriously lack motor skills, so I wish I could do something like this! (I am still waiting for my doll house.) Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Amy says
I fell inlove with that mid-mod dollhouse in the photo from the Toronto time capsule home, too! I’ve been cogitating on how to make one –
Sheri says
Joybird will send fabric samples for free. They would be a great addition to your fabric choices. I’m really looking forward to seeing your house.
Pat in PA says
How about some Formica or Wilsonart samples for your kitchen and bathroom countertops? Some of the patterns would obviously be out of scale, but something might work! Also, I remember seeing this post for wall stencils and thought this would be a great idea for some walls if you choose not to use wallpaper:
https://retrorenovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/reader-painted-wallpaperEDIT.jpg
Looking forward to following this fun project with you!
Mary Elizabeth says
Yes, Pat, I mentioned the laminate samples also, not only for countertops but also for little end tables (round, kidney shaped, whatever) and kitchen table.
We haven’t heard from Pam whether or not her rules allow us to send stuff to Kate. Usually we participate in Pam’s and Kate’s projects vicariously. It would be fun to actually contribute something.
What do you say, Pam? After all, when we decorate our own homes on a budget, we do use found materials and free stuff when we can get it. What we would want to avoid is sending her a bunch of stuff that doesn’t fit her plan, so before I inundate her with my laminate samples, I would wait to see what she wanted. Although it is tempting to send them all and get them out of my project file. 🙂 If we do send her materials, it would have to be that they might not be used on her project.
pam kueber says
We’re thinking about it…
jay says
Interesting, sounds like a doll house version of that blogcabin show.
lynda murray says
I am really looking forward to this project! It sounds like a lot of fun. You guys are so much fun.
lisa in Seattle says
Hmm, what can I recall from my dollhouse days? Plastic soda bottle lids used to have plastic liners in the tops that could be peeled out and used as plates — wonder if they still have those? Once you have dishes, you can squeeze a little caulk onto them so your dollhouse denizens can have an ice cream treat (well, maybe looks a bit more like soft serve). And toothpaste lids make great little lampshades. My curtain rods were dowels held up by an upholstery tack at either end.
Mary Elizabeth says
Kate, how about one room has a cork floor? You go out to your favorite watering hole for a few beers or margaritas, and then you steal the beer mats. (I think they are pretty much disposable, so the bartender won’t mind.) Turn them upside down to the side without advertising, square the corners and voila! A cork floor!
Betsy in Michigan says
Cork comes in rolls if you need larger, sometimes with stick-um already on the back – I use it a lot to cushion the bottoms and backs of antique furniture so they don’t scratch walls and wood floors. But with the coasters you could cut them into tiles.
My 13 year old is the 3rd generation of miniature aficionados. Even though my house (from childhood, but grown to an adult collection) is Victorian, and daughters is a 14th century Welsh castle (yes, we use lots of imagination!), and 8 year old son’s is a mid twentieth century barn with loft living quarters, we dig ALL things tiny! I have a house (yes, lots of those mid-century versions were a sort of 3/4 scale – you’ll have to use your excellent eye to see what looks right!). I also have one I call the Brady Bunch dollhouse that needs complete renovating someday. I know which group to send photos to! (I was thinking of giving the completed house to some sort of charity auction).
Her are the links to the way cool miniature museum near Kalamazoo:
http://nationalminiaturestrust.com/Gilmore.html
And the extensive store in Frankenmuth Michigan:
http://www.rauscountrystore.com/dollhouse-miniatures.html
We just visited the shop in Royal Oak yesterday, and there are shops in Dearborn and Plymouth
Mary Elizabeth says
Or maybe you should have a couple of Polynesian tiki bar drinks with little umbrellas. Then you would have an umbrella for your patio set crafted out of hanger wire. 🙂
Teresa says
I was never a doll person growing up but I adore anything miniature so this will be a delight to see. It would be fun to look at some of the old Betsy McCall 50s magazines to see some of what Betsy was up to or interested in. I know she owned a dachshund 🙂 I have a little china one I’d be happy to donate once you get to the finishing touches.