Astolat Castle – How It Came About

There are hobbies, then there are obsessions. When Elaine Marie Diehl’s customers entered her dollhouse miniatures shop in Sedona, Arizona, the nine-foot, seven-tiered, meticulously decorated dollhouse just inside the door gave them a clue about the owner.

Making dollhouses began as a hobby for Elaine. She would come home from her day job working in “display art” and play with her latest creation. The miniatures grew in size and price. People dropped by her home unannounced to see her latest creation. After one particularly profitable sale, she decided to give up commercial art and play full time, opening Minielaine’s Miniature Shop in 1981.

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Help Stamp Out Beige

Help Stamp Out Beige was the tagline in a paint manufacture’s advertisement in the ’70s, touting a new line of vibrant colors. I guess that’s what’s put me on this kick to be bold with color.

Victorian dollhouse and miniatures are one of the most popular styles. So when it comes to color, be like the Atlanta residents in the 1870s. For those that could afford it, spectacular Victorian homes rose from the ashes of the Civil War. By the 1880s, when the Queen Anne style became popular, synthetic pigments allowed for vivid blues, greens, purples, and yellows. Also common were multi-hue schemes that accentuated the style’s diverse architectural details, such as turned porch spindles and fish-scale shingles under the eaves.

A Wacky Tradition

Victorian homes also have a long and illustrious tradition of whacky color. Different colors helped to highlight the incredible details on these homes. Multicolored palettes can still be found in beautifully detailed homes today.

You really can’t go too far with your next Victorian dollhouse or one that needs a remodel. The Victorians believed that if one detail would do, two was better. Better yet was to paint them a different color, not necessarily compatible. They loved repetition, like putting enlarged porch spindles on the front gables.

Paint schemes with several colors and sharp contrasts play up these architectural features. The more detail, the bolder you can be. Extremely ornate corbels can have a sharp contrast between light and dark colors, while the less detailed panels can be painted in two dark colors.

Painted Ladies

Why not a red dollhouse, or one patterned after the wondrous orange Victorian above, decorated by Sue Pekaric. And for inspiration, you can’t beat the Painted Ladies in San Francisco or some New England towns, like the beauty pictured here.

So fear not! Be as lavash as you want with color. Some might question your taste, but no one can accuse you of not being authentic.

What do you think? Can a Victorian dollhouse be too garish?

 

Susan Downing, with Patrick Owens

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I invite you to visit my Etsy Shop where I offer many accessories and pieces of furniture in 1:12 scale. 

 

Wedding Planner Room Box

On July 29, 2000, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt stood beneath a flower-bedecked canopy at a Malibu mansion and exchanged marriage vows. Jennifer vowed to make Brad’s favorite banana split; Brad promised to find a balance on the thermostat; my teenage niece swooned, then proclaimed her life’s calling was to be a wedding planner. So I made this room box for Lisa.

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What Is The “Right” Victorian Wallpaper?

The answer could start with another question. “That depends. Which room? Town or country house?” When choosing the appropriate type of wallpaper for a Victorian dollhouse, it’s important to understand how wall coverings were used in the Victorian era.

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