Sunday, June 13, 2010

At Home in the Lines DH/D, 1926


Well, I still haven't finished scraping the overpainting off the outside of this house, touching up the paint and putting on the roofing paper. But George and Margaret Sinclair decided that the appearance of the outside didn't matter as much as having a home to live in; they were getting rather tired of living in a shoebox.

There are curtains at both downstairs and upstairs windows -


some glass would make the house less draughty and more secure; the glazier seems rather hard to tie down to a date ...


Speaking of downstairs and upstairs is not quite accurate - as you can see, there are no stairs - or at least, no visible ones, inside. This is one of the mysteries of dolls houses which dolls seem to cope with well.


Margaret has boiled the kettle for tea, and chosen a book from the bookcase,


and puts her feet up after her tiring day working as cashier at a teashop.


George spends a lot of time upstairs, where he has a comfy chair by the fire.


He lost a foot in the war, and, poor man, seems to have neither a false one fitted, nor crutches.

As he was also gassed, and suffers from nerves, he is unable to work.


He feels bad that Margaret has to work, but grateful that they have been able to find this small, cosy two-roomed cottage. It is luxury after their last lodgings.


As you may remember, the inside of this house had also been completely overpainted. I have reproduced three patterns of wallpaper from Lines houses of the period by scanning pieces of wall that I bought from someone who had taken apart a house which had so much woodworm that it couldn't be saved. My reproductions are not as good as Dolls House Restoration's, but they'll do. I intend to buy some of his parquet flooring and window shutters, but in the meantime, I have used wooden flooring from Jennifer's Printables upstairs, and a copy of a vintage wallpaper sample downstairs (the original is in my Triang 52).

The kitchen range is original, and came with the house. The upstairs fireplace is also original, but I acquired it separately. The furnishings are vintage pieces from ebay - except the upstairs lights, which were Oese's (I can't find it in the photos, but it came with these vintage pieces in the house Oese bought).

I forgot to say: the pattern repeats for these three designs are in my post Slow Progress, if anybody would like to use them in their own houses. The one I used upstairs is darker at the top of the repeat, so a sheet of the pattern shows distinct lines, unless you can photoshop them out!

22 comments:

  1. Hi Rebecca,
    lovely house, better than a shoe box:)
    Men are sometimes mysterious for me: why did George choose to spend most of his time upstairs, if he has only one foot and this house has no stairs?
    Kisses from France :)

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  2. I like this valuable old dollhouse dolls very much - is it coincidence that my doll man has also problems with his feet? He has none left. But my two ladies managed to survive the years without loosing limbs...
    How much work it is to create the right surroundings for the pair - but on the photos it looks very convincing already.

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  3. you renovated and furnished this house with love - one can see it! and the story of the owners is thoughtful and funny as usual.
    nice to see the lamp, I nearly had forgotten. have you find a place for the other pieces too, they are so very big, aren't they?
    the wallpaper looks so good and matches very well.
    have a nice sunday, Rebecca!

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  4. what a difference! this little house hase just come alive with your magic touch... the wallpapers look fantastic! love it.....

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  5. Great house Rebecca. I love the wallpapers. The downstairs floor looks really good and you have some wonderful pieces of furniture. The kitchen range is fabulous.

    The upstairs wallpaper is the one I have printed off to do my old Triang house when I get some time.

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  6. Having a hard time picking a favorite item in your little house...the original painting over the fireplace, the bookshelf full of books, George's comfy looking chair (even though it is solid wood), the fantastic chandelier in the bedroom....or the wonderful story that ties it all together!

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  7. Hi Rebecca, you have done a great job on this house, well done! I love it. Lizzie

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  8. Hi Béa, thank you! Yes, men are mysterious in many ways, and dolls are also mysterious - so why one-footed George chooses to be upstairs - who knows? Maybe just to get away from the cooking smells?

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  9. Hallo diepuppenstubensammlerin, that is very interesting! It sounds like the male dolls have had harder or more active lives. Perhaps they all fought in WWI? But surely some of the women would have been nurses, or otherwise affected ...
    Thank you for your comment - I'm glad you think it's a convincing home for them. Now that I have the basics done, I will look out for things like a radio, newspaper, toiletries, plates and bowls and so on.

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  10. Thank you, Oese! That is a lovely comment :-) I like the lamp in here - the table and chair and armchair will go in the 1971 bungalow, I think. They are a bit big for it, but I think they will look OK. At the moment, the school desks are in that house, while I borrow the school roombox for a party. When that is finished, I will have a go at furnishing the bungalow.

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  11. Thanks, Christine! I do like these wallpapers - was very lucky to get the old samples of three patterns I like. They don't smell or feel like old papers, but they give it something of a vintage look :-)

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  12. Hi Pan, thanks! Glad you like the papers and furniture! Most of it is oak, and seemed appropriate for a tudor-style house! You've reminded me to add the link to the post where the wallpaper pattern repeats are, so thank you! Look forward to seeing your old Triang one day :-)

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  13. Hi Florine, thank you! Glad you like the story as well - borrowed from a certain Golden Age detective writer - wonder if you can pick it? Though only the name George is the same - I decided not to go with Fentiman, just didn't seem right.
    I have had the painting over the fireplace for a while - it came unframed, then I found a frame for it, and then a house! I have been collecting some of these things for this house and couple for a while - the Goss jug and bowl decorated with thistles, and then the other jug with thistles too ... will probably still add to it!

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  14. Hello Lizzie, thank you very much! Do you recognize the bed? I think it's probably still visible in a photo of one of your fair stands!
    I think this house needs a few more knick-knacks and accessories too, so I may post more photos sometime.

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  15. The furniture is so wonderful. I especially like the green patterned material in curtains down stairs. Is it '40s.
    The fire place with the flames is fabulous. I love the little elegant pitcher on the side board. Sigh... I guess I just love all of it. You have captured that period perfectly. CM

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  16. Beautiful restoration Rebecca! I love the floral wallpaper in the bedroom, and there are so many treasures in this house! Oese's lamp look great in the bedroom, seems as if it has been there all along, the floor in the kitchen is wonderful and the Goss jug and bowl and the other jug (I cheated and read the above comment)are absolutely stunning! My favourites though are the mirror, the painting above the fireplace and the corner cupboard in the bedroom!

    And I think I know why the dolls don't complain about not having stairs, since their owners hands are always at their service as comfortable lifts :-)

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  17. Hi CM, thank you! I'm glad you like the green lace - I bought it as 1920s lace, from the bottom of a 1920s skirt or dress (or underskirt, perhaps). The pink fabric is also fragments of a vintage dress or something - not enough to tell, in its case.

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  18. Thank you, Helene - glad you like it! Oese's lamp does look like it belongs with this wallpaper, doesn't it? I love it when things just go together like that. The corner cupboard is vintage Japanese - you see pieces on ebays occasionally, sometimes with marquetry in designs of Mt Fuji etc, sometimes, like this one, a geometric pattern. I don't have much, but when I was looking through my spare furniture to see what could make this house look less empty, I thought I'd try this out - and it goes well, I think.

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  19. You passion shows through in every room. Justlovely.

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  20. Thank you, Lynne - and thanks for visiting :-)

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  21. Rebecca, I haven't read Sayers in several years, but I must start again as this story line sounds very interesting!

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