Category Archives: room box

Posted on 01 October, 2019

victorian-era-venetian-bedroom

Victorian Era Venetian Bedroom found on Apartment Therapy

Origin Of The Term

Puddling refers to an amount of extra drapery length that is spilled or “puddled” onto the floor. In the days when fabrics were rare and expensive only the wealthy could afford them; only the truly rich could afford extra material to just lay on the floor! Puddling added opulence and style, providing the hosts a not-so-subtle way of showing guests just how well off they were. And as some of the richest aristocrats in the world, the Venetians puddled.

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Posted by Patrick Owens

Categories: curtains, room box


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Posted on 17 March, 2018

My hope is the Dollhouse Decorating Blog will encourage miniature enthusiasts to be adventurous in decorating schemes, while adhering to authentic design principles of the era in which they are working. My posts will concentrate on the history, and eras of dollhouse miniatures and the artisans that turned a child’s plaything into an art form.

I have had a life-long love affair with miniatures, beginning when I went to an exhibit of Christmas miniatures at my daughter’s day school. An elderly lady who made room boxes, dollhouses and furniture said we were so lucky to have a miniature store in town, the Cabbage Patch, where I met Douglass Bitler.

Having little money to spend on my new hobby, Douglass and other enthusiasts taught me to fabricate miniatures items out of ‘found’ objects, such as making toothpaste tubes out of metal tubing from the hardware store.

Keeping Memories Alive

Most of my ideas for projects come from the desire to keep memories alive. My great-great-grandfather Will Hunt ran a general store. He was part of a posse that ran Jesse James out of Huntington, West Virginia, and lived long enough to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. While you watch this 1 ½ minute video, think about the memories you want to keep alive.

Will Hunt's General Store 800

 

Making New Memories In A New Era

There is a worldwide resurgence of interests in dollhouse miniatures. I am especially happy that young people are finding the joy of recreating life in a small space. One of my granddaughters recently expressed interest in having her own dollhouse. I sketched a Victorian beauty, just like the one I had at her age. Her reaction shouldn’t have surprised me, I guess, the way kids have changed.

“Gee, grandma! It’s so old-timey. I’d rather have something I’d like to live in.”

Hooray! That attitude will keep this art form alive and well.

 

 

Susan Downing

Posted by Susan Downing

Categories: room box


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Posted on 30 July, 2017

work of Ivo Kohek

The work of Ivo Kohek

The Work of Ivo Kohek

This is an amazing room box. That is, I think it’s a room box. I can find very little about this wonderful artisan other than what’s on his Facebook Profile. It states that he has lived in Buffalo New York and Sao Paolo Brazil. He currently lives in Porto Alegere in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande Do Sul, a hundred miles or so from the Uruguay border.

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Posted by Patrick Owens

Categories: room box


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Posted on 24 August, 2016

cabinet-dollhouse-alois-pauli

Cabinet dollhouse made in 1892 by Alois Pauli

Albrecht’s Dollhouse Workshop

In the town of Elsterberg, Germany, not far from the Czech border, is a shop specializing in “beautiful things from the past and the old things newly manufactured.” Besides making sales, the goal of Petra and Albrecht, the owners of Albrecht’s Dollhouse Workshop, is to preserve the tradition of individually created toys and dollhouse miniatures.

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Posted by Susan Downing

Categories: cabinet, room box


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