I’ve had my awesome circa-1940 vintage dollhouse for about six weeks now. I count that as one year in real-house time — and used those weeks to obsessively research and puzzle and quandary the approach to take take with the dollhouse. Now, I have begun my restoration process in earnest.
Golly, restoring a vintage dollhouse is pretty much just like restoring a real house, except that you need to use even more old toothbrushes for cleaning. Read on for my plan and punch list and artsy fartsy photo session — and stay tuned for more stories as I share the process of restoring and furnishing my (believed to be) vintage Neely-Hall dollhouse. And, oh, in case you don’t know him already, that’s Astro, photo-bombing, above. Woof!
Tip: Click any photo and it should double in size on your screen.
To start, let me say: I thought long and hard about whether to make any changes (beyond cleaning) to this dollhouse at all, considering that it was in such relatively great original shape. I ultimately decided that the only thing I would permanently remove would be the flooring, which was beat up and stinky and did not please me aesthetically. I also may poke a few holes here and there, for wiring. Other than these updates, all my changes will be removeably cosmetic, so that all the original remains, except it will be underneath wallpaper and flooring.
Restoring my vintage dollhouse — the action plan:
- Remove flooring — I have already taken up: the red wool “carpet” in the upstairs and downstairs parlors, the plaid wool “carpet” in the bedroom, and the cork flooring in the bathroom and kitchen. Before I pulled up the wood carpeting (it ripped right out by hand, the glue was quite old and dried out), I had vacuumed. Even so, the stuff was encrusted with dust. I got out a really good face mask and used it from then on. I also HEPA-vacuumed frequently as I proceeded.
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As I was prying up the cork flooring in the kitchen (which also came up easily) I found a mouse dropping under a corner. Ick. Now, I am getting the remnants of adhesives up, which has gone really fast. I may also use a paint remover to get the oil paint off the edges of all the flooring in all the rooms. I may decide to wax the wood floors everywhere to start and see how that looks as a flooring base. Precautionary Pam notes: I am cognizant of the risk of vintage nastiness in this old dollhouse — lead paint, for example. I have been and will continue to take precautions accordingly. I was not worried about the potential for asbestos in the flooring adhesives, I was pretty sure the stuff was just household glue — that said, I made this decision at my own risk, don’t take it as advice! Get with your own properly licensed professionals to determine what you are working with so that you can make your own informed decisions how to handle.
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Do I feel guilty about ripping up the original 1940 flooring? Yes. It was not the righteous Historic Preservation thing to do. But I did it anyway, because I want to decorate and enjoy my dollhouse, I am not going to sell it, and with all the dollhouses in the world, I really don’t think it was some kind of amazingly rare historic relic that a museum would want. Onward. The flooring is gone. Don’t yell at me. I did think hard about this.
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Status: Currently under way.
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- Clean interior and exterior — I also have begun to clean some of the interior moldings as the flooring has come up. Goodness, the old oil paint is hardy stuff! It cleans like a DREAM with plain dishwashing liquid squeezed onto a Dobie. With a good scrubbing and rinse, pretty much all the lovely pastel paint colors lighten up about five shades. I love the patina of the old paint and do not plan to paint over any of the trim. Yes, there are imperfections and some worn away areas, but this contributes to the charm.
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Status: Currently under way.
. - Research and decide key decorating themes — Of course, I am most excited about the decorating. For the past… four weeks, I’d say… I have literally had a mania for looking at dollhouse furniture and accessories on ebay and etsy, to understand what’s available. I purchased a variety of items. While I made “mistakes,” having these real pieces of furniture in hand has helped me to understand the approach I will take with decorating the house. I am now refining my furniture-purchasing plans and am hot on the lookout for the key pieces of furniture I want/need.
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Status: Completed.
. - Decide what scale of furniture I will use — Key in my research: What scale of furniture to purchase and use in my dollhouse? As I discussed when I first wrote about my dollhouse, it is sort of weirdly sized. The door height indicates is it 3/4 scale. But the door width, ceiling height and furniture that came with suggest: Grand Rapids furniture-sized. Then, there is a sort of in-between I could go to — 12:1 scale — in which 1″ equals one foot. In my initial ebay and etsy shopping, I picked up furniture in all three scales. For now, I have decided I will furnish the dollhouse in 12:1 scale. This is a far easier size to collect, and I have certain brands in mind. That said, I may also collect alternate room-fulls of the other two sizes and switch things around every once in a while.
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Status: Completed. - Decide basic furniture layouts — Now that I have decided on my scale, I can begin to plan furniture layouts so that I know what pieces of furniture I need to watch for. Even more importantly, furniture layout will be critical to designing my electric wiring plan.
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Status: Need to finalize.
. - Wire for electric lighting — Kate built her 1955 Betsy McCall dollhouse from vintage plans — from scratch! It will be hard to beat that DIY baseline, but …. I will wire my house for electricity, how about that! I also have been doing lots of research on this process. I’ve acquired some materials and have read all the instructions. Yes, I read the instructions, very very carefully. I need to get a few more things in order to get started.
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Status: Before I can start this project, I need to finish floor and wall cleanup and finalize furniture layout plan so that I can plan the lighting and purchase all required supplies accordingly.
. - Acquire or make sconces, lamps and chandeliers — I want to make my own lamps, sconces and chandeliers.
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Status: I am trolling ebay for deals on existing lighting that I can adapt, and watching estate sales and thrift shops for “containers” for the lighting — ala “Put a bulb in it — or on it.” This will be a fun activity to accomplish over time.
, - Wallpaper all the rooms — I will use vintage wallpaper on all the walls.
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Status: I *think* I already have the wallpaper I will use, taken from mycollectionhoard.
. - Add interior wood trim to the windows — The wonderful wood windows are trimmed on the outside, but not on the inside. Once the wallpaper is up, I would like to trim the inside. This will be “some therapy.”
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Status: Keeping an eye out for possible materials.
. - Add flooring — As I said above, I may try to just wax the existing bare wood floors to use as a base and then add rugs. Or, I may use wallpaper, vintage vinyl, or linoleum.
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Status — Pondering options, eyes on the lookout.
. - Acquire key pieces of furniture — My focus is now on 1:12 scale furniture. I have some vintage brands in mind, but am open to options.
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Status — Ebay is my prime source. Scoping two times a day! Some items purchased already, but I may trade up.
. - Make window treatments — I am pretty sure I will make the window treatments myself.
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Status: Thinking about it, keeping an eye out for possible materials to use.
. - Accessorize — Rugs… art… pillows… bedding… vases… dishes… This will be fun!
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Status — I’ve acquired some stuff already and am keeping my eyes peeled for more — however, this is not a priority right now, I want to get all the basics in first.
. - Dolls! — Of course, I’ll need a family for the house — and maybe they will be having a party with all their friends over. Yes! Oh: Cocktails. They will need cocktails!
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Status — I think I know the brand I’ll collect. I have a few already. Stay tuned!
Yikes. This list is scaring me. Like I said: This is a big job. If I am able to take one thing off this 14-point checklist per week, I’ll have the dining room cleared just in time for… ornie wreath-making season.
Cocoa says
I stumbled upon a great website yesterday that I wish I had known about when Kate was doing her dollhouse. You may already know about it Everything But The House, https://www.ebth.com/. It is an estate auction site that I had seen vintage doll house furniture from a previous sale. It’s worth a look from time to time.
Judy says
I also have a dollhouse with this period. In Ebay, you’ll want to look for old issues of Nutshell News. They usually had an annual issue with DIY projects. For furniture, I have 1:12 Strombecker (Strom-Becker). I am excited to see your updates!
lynda says
Have fun. Looks like you will have plenty of little things to to think about when you can’t sleep! I used to use lids for lampshades for dollhouses I made in shoeboxes when I was very young!
Nina462 says
Nice project to work on. Makes me think I should work on my dollhouse that’s sitting in the basement. My Dad/Brother made it for my Mom, it’s pretty much finished, but could use some rehabbing a bit. It’s from the 90’s – so not that old.
Mary Elizabeth says
Maybe retro renovate the ’90s house to an earlier mid-century time? 🙂
tammyCA says
Cute pic of Astro..he needs one of those thought bubbles with that expression. 🙂 Reminds me that I made my mil a mini replica of her dog for her dollhouse years ago. I think I used felt & yarn (pom pom style) as it was a shaggy dog. It turned out pretty good. Recently I made some pipe cleaner dogs from a cute how-to book filled with every breed..a bit more challenging.
I also recently made a mini lamp shade just using a larger toothpaste cap (like from sensodyne) & poking a hole it the center with an awl. The shade can be decoupaged or covered with fabric.
pam kueber says
Thanks for the lampshade tip, tammyCA … I have been eyeing white Keurig cups with fresh eyes! In fact, looking at pretty much everything and anything small-ish to ponder whether/how it might be repurposed!
Mary Elizabeth says
Yes, that’ what happens to you when you get dollhouse fever. You look at everything with new eyes. The K-cups are a little large for 1:12 scale lamp shades. Do you have any lamp shades that are two feet across? Maybe a hanging light fixture would be that big?
Those toothpaste tube caps make good shades for wall sconces.
I remember in my doll house I had a scatter rug that was actually a cloth coaster/beer mat with a design painted on it. I think I found it in a tag sale, part of a set that had gotten lost.
tammyCA says
Yep, all “trash” or stuff going to the recycling bin will get your imaginative wheels rolling! I still pry mirrors out of used up make-up compacts (soak in hot water to loosen the glue) & the little tin trays from eye shadow make good cookie trays. I just found some flexible bamboo square coasters at this Asian dollar store that I am using for roll-up shades in my “Caribbean style” Victorian dollhouse. These would also work for a mini tiki bar.
pam kueber says
Ack! My makeup drawer! Ack! I’m going there right now! Ack!
Mary Elizabeth says
Good ideas about the compact mirrors and eye shadow trays, Tammy!
Pam, if your makeup drawer looks anything like mine, there’s a little of this, a little of that: blusher I bought but didn’t like the color, then threw into the drawer “in case”; a compact with a little powder left, in case I ran out, etc. Here’s a good excuse for throwing all that stuff away.
linda h says
Kate’s comment makes me want to find a dog (pug) for a yard of one of Kate’s designed Christmas putz houses. Love both the little Leo and little Astro in Kate’s and Pam’s doll houses. I’m not even going to think about getting myself a dollhouse,too.
Kate says
Oh they are so much fun Linda h! And yes, if you get one (or make a Christmas putz house) then you NEED to have a dog for the yard! 🙂
Robin, NV says
Pam – there’s no need to feel guilty about the old flooring. In the historic preservation world, we would say that it’s not a “character defining feature” and removal of it does not detract from the house’s overall integrity. Everything you’re proposing sounds A-OK from a historic preservation standpoint. I know your interior design choices will be thoughtful and period appropriate and you wouldn’t dream of removing original windows or other architectural elements. 🙂
Lynne says
Here’s an electrical hint. Make a schematic of exactly where you have your wiring before your wallpaper and floor goes down. Saves a lot of time, angst and grief when you need to get to it and can’t find it through the finishes. I learned this the hard way.
Lynne
Mary Elizabeth says
Lessons from a real house, Lynne. My husband and I did much of the work on our new addition, working with the contractors, and that was something we definitely knew to do! He put in the wiring and plumbing, it was all inspected, and then someone came to put up sheetrock. Good thing he knew where the “bodies were buried,” as it were. 🙂
Kate says
Both the dollhouse and Astro are SUPER CUTE! I can’t wait to see how this comes together Pam! Now you know how I felt when I was making the Betsy McCall Dollhouse! So much to do! 🙂
Kate says
PS I love that you already found a ‘Little Astro’ for the dollhouse! No house is complete without the family dog! 🙂
Mary Elizabeth says
Good morning, Pam! Sounds like you are having fun even with the mundane tasks of this project. As for your decision to redecorate the house, everyone on this site has had his or her say about pros and cons about painting/refinishing vintage furniture and accessories. I think all can agree that it depends upon your intentions–what use you are putting it to and whether it is an investment or a piece to be used and enjoyed by you and your family. You’ve made your decision and don’t need to defend it to anyone.
The whole point of a dollhouse is for people (little kids and adults both) to decorate it and play with it.
You might gain some inspiration from one of my favorite children’s books, _Big Susan_ (1952), by Elizabeth Orton Jones about a little girl and her dollhouse. When I was constructing and furnishing my own dollhouse, it was a source of endless ideas for me. On the 50th anniversary of that book, they published a new edition and also revealed some information about the original dollhouse that belonged to the author when she was a little girl. In that family, the dollhouse was purchased used, redecorated by her mother and grandmother, and then, Horror of Horrors! it was given away after she grew up. After the author and her dollhouse became famous, someone built a replica, which is now furnished with the original furniture and sitting in in a museum in Ohio.