I have had a life-long love affair with dollhouse miniatures, and careers in art education and interior design. I hope to combine these life experiences to help other miniature enthusiasts get more out of this wonderful hobby we enjoy, a hobby that often reaches the level of an art form. Susan Downing
Kew Palace, Embroidered bed from a doll’s house built in the 1780s for the daughters of King George III
The doll’s house of Kew Palace was made around 1780 by the carpenter on board the Royal Yacht for the young daughters of King George III. I can imagine bored children needing the distraction while the adults enjoyed a leisurely cruise down the Thames and the Estuary.
(more…)Categories: Georgian, Great Dollhouses
The story goes that the idea for Titania’s Palace occurred on a warm day in the Spring of 1907 when Sir Nevile Wilkinson was sketching in the woods behind his manor, Mount Merrion House. His daughter Guendolen, age 3, played nearby and suddenly cried out that a fairy ran under the roots of a tree. She felt sorry they had to live underground in damp caves and asked her father to have a proper house built for them, which led to the building of Tatiana’s Palace.
(more…)Categories: dollhouses, Great Dollhouses, Victorian
Section of the White House replica being unloaded at an exhibition site. Source unknown.
Using the word “miniature” to describe enormous dollhouses has always seemed weird to me. That’s especially true with the 1/12the scale replica of the White House. This colossus is 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. It weighs 10 tons and goes on tour in a big rig. John Zweigel’s obsessions truly stretches the universe of “tiny things.”
Categories: dollhouses, Great Dollhouses
Front of the Doll’s House at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, furniture attributed to Thomas Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale was born in Yorkshire early in 1718. His family had long been in the woodworking trades and he probably received his basic training from his father. When his apprenticeship was completed, he moved to London and worked as a journeyman cabinet maker.
Categories: Chinoiserie, Great Dollhouses, Regency, Rococo
