Dollhouse Decorating

Miniature Decorating Ideas |Articles on decorating dollhouses and the history of this artform

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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

Posted on 24 November, 2018

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This exquisite doll’s house was made in the 1980s by Ellie Yannas after the owners of Bourton House met her at the Chelsea Crafts Fair and challenged her to make a copy of the house as it was in 1985.  She took scaled measurements of the house, went back to her studio in South London and made it in three sections according to the construction of the house.  The doll’s house took almost seven years to complete.

Interiors

The interior of the doll’s house replicates the inside of Bourton House and includes the magnificent staircase, trompe l’oeil murals, elegant wood paneled rooms with fireplaces, flagged stone floors,  bathrooms and even a fitted kitchen of the late 1980s.

Commenting on the dolls house, the vendor said, ‘This was a whimsical thing to do at the time, life was flourishing and our challenge was to bring the house alive and to record it all with a scale model’.

How about that cute model in the above photo?

bourton-house-gloustershire

Bourton House, Gloucestershire

Bourton House – Bourton on the Hill

Bourton House is Grade II Listed and was built in the early 18th century on the foundations of a late 16th-century house.  The present house was reputedly commissioned by Edward Popham under the supervision of an unknown Warwick-based architect in about 1708.  The two-story house is constructed of ashlar with a slate roof and comprises five bays with dormers and a parapeted stone roof.  At each end of the north and south facades, a bay projects, occupying the site of the former Jacobean floor plan.  The north and south facades have substantial Ionic pilasters supporting a central pediment with elegant semi-circular carriage steps leading to the main.
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. 

 

Posted by Susan Downing

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Posted on 22 November, 2018

dollhouse-headboard

Sunburst quilt dollhouse headboard, source unknown

Dollhouse headboards are usually the focal point the miniature bedroom, just as in real ones. It is what the eye goes to when you gaze into the room box. Here are a few examples I used in real life when the client wants to be creative. Why not have a creative dollhouse headboard in your project?

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Posted by Susan Downing

Categories: recycled


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Posted on 19 November, 2018

tudor-dollhouse--p-buckley-moss-museum

Tudor dollhouse on display at the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia

What’s Under Your Stairs?

The P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia has an enormous Tudor dollhouse under the stairs, just outside the gift shop. It was designed and built by Joe and Ellen Waterbury. The Waterbury’s were dollhouse enthusiasts and collectors of Ms. Moss’ artwork, who wanted to express their appreciation with an elaborate miniature.

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Posted by Patrick Owens

Categories: recycled


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Posted on 12 November, 2018

accessories-Edwardian-bedroom

Anne Gerdes Edwardian Master’s Bedroom found on Annie’s Minis

Accessorizing Halls, Bedrooms, Nurseries and Bathrooms

NOTE:  As was true in Part 1 (Kitchen, Lounge & Dining Room), the following article by Julia Morrison is an excellent guide for the basic items you will need to accessorize the 4 rooms in the title. Of course, you have decisions to make before buying the listed items. In what era does your project take place? (again, I chose Edwardian images). Aristocracy or We-The-People? Even before that, dollhouse or room box? Are you recreating a memory, copying a room from a painting or photograph? What’s your budget? Here’s Julie Morrison’s article.

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Posted by Patrick Owens

Categories: recycled


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