All this week, I have been overcome by an all-new mania: Miniature madness. To guide the remodel and decorating of this vintage dollhouse that I bought at a Lenox estate sale about a month ago, I launched my research in earnest this week. And in a flash, I was absolutely sucked into a whole new, wild and wonderful world! Like, seriously, I could not eat or sleep or do barely anything but search and research about the furnishings that can go into vintage dollhouses. I’m having So Much Fun, and I want to plow forward — but I have three important questions for seriously experienced dollhouse people. Can you help me?
Here are my questions, and Photo Viewing Tip: Click on any photo and it should double in size on your screen… click on right or left of photos and they *should* run forward or back like a slide show (gets quirky, though)… escape of clock outside photo to get back to story:
1. What kind/pattern of vintage dollhouse do I have — or at least, what era is it from??
Of course, number #1 is: Does anyone recognize my dollhouse? I have done a fair amount of searching online and come up stymied. There were many plans out there for gramps or dad to make dollhouses. Perhaps it came from an A. Neely Hall Craft Pattern? … Does anyone recognize the designer/plan company?
UPDATE: I dug in online and *thought* I found it — an A. Neely Hall from 1937 — an early design, published in Science and Mechanics Magazine. It’s the Colonial Dollhouse — and the floor plan for the lower floor looks similar…. but not quite. In addition, my house is a Garrison Colonial (looking at the front of the house, the second story protrudes over the first story a bit.) Okay, so mine is not an A. Neely Hall Colonial — but, I really think mine is an A. Neely hall design. See the Cape Cod here — it is the same height, and the windows and doors seem to be in a similar scale to those in my house. Also fascinating: A 1905 book, The Boy Craftsman, by A. Neely Hall, digitized by the Gutenberg Project. Now I also need to research the seemingly prolific work of A. Neely Hall. Here’s betting that he and Royal Barry Wills were buddies!
It’s a pretty large dollhouse:
- 28.5″ wide by 18.5″ deep by 21″ tall (to the peak of the roofline, the chimney goes higher.)
- The roof is removable.
- The doors are all 6″ tall[doors themselves, trim not included]
- The downstairs ceilings are 8.5″.
- The windows are 4.25″ tall [glass surrounded by mullion-trim, but not exterior trim]
- The first riser is 1 inch tall, including the step.
- The rest of the risers are 1/3″ tall, including the landing step.
- The paint looks original, and pretty old.
- The “wallpapers” in the kitchen and bedroom are fabric, a small pattern calico. Looks pretty old to me.
- The “carpet” looks like wool cloth. Looks pretty old to me.
- All the moldings are pretty darn chunky.
Here are some more photos for reference:
What do you think? Any flashbulbs of recognition on plan- or pattern-designer? Or, era? And I will guess 1930s or 1940s — see more about my reasoning in #2. I will say: This dollhouse is beautifully constructed!
2. What scale is my dollhouse??
Second question: What scale is my dollhouse? I’ve read up on the subject a bit… the doors are all six inches tall, but, the house has a “big” feel. It also came with some furniture — including what I’ve learned is “Grand Rapids” style furniture — which looks pretty darned old — and which looks pretty darned good, scale-wise, in the dollhouse. The downstairs fireplace, which is glued to heck on the wall, also seems quite large (and looks great with the Grand Rapids dollhouse furniture sitting next to it.) On the other hand, the dollhouse also came with 1:12 pieces, including from Shackman. These look… dinky inside the dollhouse. All of this leads me to believe the dollhouse is not only from the 1930s or 1940s, but that it was built in a Grand Rapids size, more 1:10 than 1:12. What do you think, dollhouse experts????
Here are some photos for reference:
3. Is it a dollhouse decorating mortal sin for me to make changes to what appears to be an original finish vintage dollhouse?
I am, at heart, a preservationist. Of homes, for sure. But what’s the righteous approach with vintage dollhouses?
- Is it a dollhouse decorating mortal sin if I wallpaper the currently painted walls? Note: I plan to keep all the trim in the original paint.
- Is it okay for me to paper over the fabric walls?
- And the floors: Okay if I replace or cover over them (I’ll seek out vintage)?
- I have no desire to change the exterior paint — I love patina. But the interior: You know me, I am the world’s largest fan of vintage wallpaper and would love to add those design layers.
Why are dollhouses so much fun? I get to decorate an entire house! I can choose any style. Smaller is faster and cheaper (well, not always!) than bigger. This is so much fun!
All together now, these are my three questions about my already beloved vintage dollhouse:
- What kind of vintage dollhouse do I have — or at least, what era is it from??
- What scale is the dollhouse?
- Is it a dollhouse decorating mortal sin for me to make changes to what appears to be an original finish dollhouse?
- Okay and now I will also be greedy: What are your recommendations on the best websites and resources to learn more and engage with vintage dollhouses? THANK YOU!