The Dollhouse

About a week ago, while I was walking Rosie, I saw a dollhouse set out on the curb.  Someone had half bagged it and put a trash ticket on it.  I walked over, not quite believing that someone would have just thrown such a solid looking dollhouse in the trash.  This thing wasn't a kit, it was made by a handy grandpa with a care for details.  Anyway, looking it over, I saw that it was in disrepair, but nothing a little glue and paint wouldn't help.  So I came back in my car later and picked it up.  Max and I have been having fun with it ever since. 

When I was young I had a dollhouse.  My parents got it for me for some occasion (Christmas?  Birthday?)  and put it together.  It was a tall one, three stories; Victorian.  I eventually got all kinds of furniture for it, but I never really did the detail work on it.  I don't know if I was too old at that point, or if I was just lazy, or if I was intimidated by how hard wallpapering would be in those teeny tiny spaces.  Eventually, when I was about college age, I sold it kit-and-kaboodle, through an listing in the want ads.  I was sad to see it go, but a 20-year-old can't have a dollhouse in her bedroom.  It wouldn't be "cool."

Now, of course, I have a great excuse for having a dollhouse.  I have a kid.  Okay, he's a boy, but he's only three and can't know that dollhouses are gender-segregated playthings yet.  He really likes it too.  He likes moving all the furniture out and making his little kitten, Tama ("Tah-mah") walk up the stairs.  

I don't really care about playing with it.  I want to decorate it.  That's what I've been doing for the last week.  I wish I'd taken a true Before picture, before I did anything to it, but here's an early one - the only thing I'd done then is to paint the floors which were plywood and speckled with the white paint someone had used for the walls and put down some shelf paper in the kitchen.  Since then I've painted all the trim on the windows, drilled holes for, repaired, and reattached the stone chimney, painted 2 rooms and three cabinets, made a little bed for the master bedroom, made up seven little plates for Max to play with (4 with pizza, 3 with spaghetti), and braided two rugs.  Oh, and I put up wallpaper in two rooms.

It's been a great distraction from the winter wonderland outside.  

This is one last pic of one of the rooms that's almost finished.  All it needs is a little furniture at this point.   

tags: dollhouses  miniatures