A 'Past Project' from 33~34 ish years ago...

Just before my daughter's fourth fifth birthday (so SWMBO informs me - 1994!) she became interested in the Dolls House shop we had in Frome at that time... Based on Catherine Hill... quite steep and one of the attractions of Frome. The shop, sadly, moved to Warminster a few years later... run by the same elderly couple that ran it in Frome.

So... with her apparent interest of such, and visits with her to the shop, I ventured into making one for her. Plenty of dolls house kits available from the shop at various prices - and some I'd have loved to purchase for her. But... as I'd worked at/for a hardwood timber merchant, until '92, selling all the materials I'd need it was more of a challenge to make from scratch... my own design.



Late nights - some weekends - trying to hide it from her... I constructed a two storey plus attic rooms "Georgian" style (?) detached, 4 bed, 1 sitting room plus kitchen, main entry with central staircase... Just managing to complete it in the early hours of her 4th 5th birthday. I didn't put in 'electrics' at the time but did a few years later.





It's now looking a bit worse for wear and neglected. In need of some TLC and coat of paint. Where do the years go... Photos are of it 'today' and not when first made way back... sadly I didn't think of doing WIP photos all those years ago

Wow, labour of love for sure.

Love the stairs and the furniture, great stuff. Will it be Grandchildren time anytime soon?

That is a thing of beauty Frank and far better than my doll's house, which, as mentioned elsewhere was never loved or even played with....such are daughters, but at that time she'd already started to become a voracious reader and still has five or six books on the go at the same time. She's now over forty! - Rob

Thanks Ian. Have a 4yr 8mth old grandson Ian . He's been known to have a play with some of the items in there. Especially seems to like the cats

Woodbloke said:

That is a thing of beauty Frank and far better than my doll's house, which, as mentioned elsewhere was never loved or even played with....such are daughters, but at that time she'd already started to become a voracious reader and still has five or six books on the go at the same time. She's now over forty! - Rob

Click to expand...

Thanks Rob. Mine's now 37+... also enjoys reading and passing the books back and forth with SWMBO and her friends.

Tempted to do 'individual room shots'

That is beautiful, Frank. Really truly lovely.

I think doll's houses are great, and yours is superb.

My wife has a number of dolls houses. Some of them are peopled by 1/12 scale miniature figures which she used to make from Fimo and which she sold all over the world on eBay. Most of the houses we bought as bare carcases which we then decorated and furnished, some furniture bought as kits and some I made from scratch. Most of them have lighting which I installed. I did make the open fronted house with the balcony from a sketch my wife did having seen a similar one. Several of them (eg the 30s house in the first three photos) I mounted on turntables so you can see the various rooms. It is a fascinating hobby - if you have the room!

A whole new genre we've not seen around here before.
Excellent; and those people are great too.

Those dolls houses look excellent, I will have to show my daughter. She has one which has been an on going project for 2 years or so. She's making the furniture herself, I set her up with a little toolbox of basic tools, and she goes out and works in the 'shop. Wants to do it all herself rather than buy when possible. The work that goes into something so small!

A nice collection there Nick ( @marineboy ). Your wife has done a grand job with the figures.

I certainly got tempted a few times when visiting the dolls house shop with the daughter and wife when the daughter was uying things for it... but managed to resist. *Thankfully* we didn't/don't have the room .

Much appreciated Roger ( @RogerS ), Nick ( @NickM ) .