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Midcentury modern dollhouse: Decay as Art, dead body included

pam kueber - Updated: May 11, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

midcentury modern house in decayThanks 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. –>

midcentury modern dollhouse left to decayI 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.

midcentury modern flat roof dollhouse from the outside

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.

midcentury modern dollhouse bathroom

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.

mid century modern dollhouse kitchenI 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.

midcentury modern dollhouse decayTo 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.

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  1. Michelle Luna says

    Holy heck, I think it’s perfect just the way it is! As someone who loves urban decay and anything broken down, dilapidated, falling apart, rusted almost beyond recognition, this is just beautiful to me. I can only hope to come across something just like this someday….

  2. Kathy says

    What a shame this neato dollhouse went to near ruin. I hope somebody picked it up & restored it as much as possible. When I look at it, it looks like house you’d see in cartoons from the 60’s. Somebody spent a good deal of time making this-I really appreciate that in “finds”.