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.
Julia L. says
Probably you’ve already scouted out the best of miniature how-to’s, but just in case: 1inchminisbyKris is one of the best DIY sites, working primarily with card. Of course there are Pinterest boards by the dozen – several with plant tutorials.
Have fun!
Carol says
I just pulled my dollhouse out of my mother’s attic and searched the Internet for mcm dollhouse patterns. My dollhouse is built from the pattern you are featuring. My father built it around 1962 in his workshop. He discovered, while building it that he was quite allergic to wasps. He survived to finish it and place it under the tree for Christmas. I loved it! I never knew anything about the pattern, but am tickled to see these photos.
pam kueber says
Hi Carol — VERY COOL! I’d love to see photos! If you’re interested, connect with us via the Contact and then we’ll give you the email https://retrorenovation.com/contact
Kat says
OMG! I Love it! Awesome patience and well done! So excited to see inside!! Keep up the great work!
Lawrence says
What a Great Project! I love what is now called modern doll houses and furniture. I started buying furniture 30 years ago when I saw something interesting at the swap meets here in Southern CA. It was never my main focus until the last year when I started to go through boxes to sort things out, right now I just display different groupings like chairs, toilets, beds, stoves etc. I look forward to following you build your house, you may want to check out a Blog called MODERN MINI HOUSES, search the site for Betsy McCall House to see the houses. I so enjoy your weekly post, you both do a great job and I can feel how much work you both put into the site. Thanks, Lawrence
Pam says
What a fun project! I can hardly wait to see the results! Looking forward to see what you do with the kitchen. And walls/floors.. oh heck.. All of it!!
Donna Edwards says
The original house you featured look like a Lundby doll house. Made in Sweden. Google them. They make awesome dollhouses.
lynda says
I thought it looked like Lundby too. Grandkids have one–I think it might have been from Land of Nod or some place like that. Very sturdy and attractive doll houses and furnishings.
Jackie says
Uh, I wish that was my job! I guess it could be, but I think my family would wonder what hospital to take to me to. 🙂 I can’t wait to watch your progress!!
Pat says
I love dollhouses, always wanted one but never a place to display one. I remember when they auctioned off my Granny’s stuff, she had a metal one with furniture. Oh, how I wished I could bid on it, but I was in my early 20’s, no money for that nonsense!
AmyS says
P.S. Where did you find your chairs for your collection? I love the frames you made to look like houses! Must be quite a conversation piece!=^_^*=
AmyS says
Oh this is so FUN! My brother &I built doll/action figure house out of a sturdy cardboard boxes when we were young. We really got into it: wallpaper, shingles, furniture, linens, oh, everything we could imagine! I have such fond memories of us figuring out how to make things w/ what we could find & modify. Everything in that house we made ourselves!
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only adult woman who wants to build a doll-house. I’ve got a little budget now. This time I’d like to try a kit like yours,&w/wood &sturdier materials (although that sturdy cardboard house we made lasted years, w/the reinforcements we made& gave us a great sense of satisfaction just to create it!). I’m looking forward to your progress on this project. Super excited!!!=^_^*=
Dixie says
I would love build a vtg modern dollhouse like the Besty Mc Call dollhouse, but I can’t find where to find the floor plane to build it. So please contact me and send information on the dollhouse, I always wanted a dollhouse since i was a little girl.
Pam Kueber says
Dixie, look for these plans on ebay — they do come up now and then.