Sunday, January 12, 2014

No more stripping done

Well, tomorrow I go to Sydney for a few days on my way back to Darwin. I've unpacked quite a lot of my sister's boxes in our real-life house - I didn't get any more paint stripping done on this dolls house, though. However, I had brought with me a couple of rugs I acquired on ebay, and another set of Walther & Stevenson dolls house furniture, so I had a play with furnishing the house.


I was delighted to spot a set of Walther & Stevenson dolls house furniture on UK ebay late last year - I wonder how it got to England from Sydney? In the set were some pieces I already had, and many I didn't, including the lounge suite and the radio shown in the photo above.


There was also a grandfather (or grandmother?) clock (missing the clock face) and a hall stand (missing the mirror) in the set from England. (The pink table here is made from lids from jars, nailed to a wooden cotton reel - it came with this house, but I forgot to photograph it last time.)


The blue kitchen set came with this house, too - these photos will help remind me what I have, and what I still need in this house. (I have bought another rug for this room, but it hasn't arrived yet.)


The most exciting part of the UK ebay lot was this Walther & Stevenson bathroom! I was absolutely delighted to get it, even though the toilet is missing a bit, and the boiler (chip heater?) doesn't have its shower head - I can probably make one from a bit of wire.

There was another bedroom set, too:


For some reason, all the mirrors in this lot are missing, so I shall have to try to find replacements ... The door of the larger wardrobe doesn't hang properly, either.


With the pink and blue bedroom sets which came with this house, I can now have three bedrooms.


I have added a few of the other pieces that came with this house - the rug in the bathroom, a cushion, pillows and mattress, a hairbrush, and two of the dolls. A lot of the other items that came with it are more recent, or, like the felt carpeting and a matchbox lounge suite, in poor condition. I may use some of the felt, and I'll keep the matchbox furniture, but now I have the Walther & Stevenson lounge suite, I will use that instead.


So I have lots more paint stripping to do on future visits to Bathurst! In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye out for more rugs, and looking through my stash for bedding, dolls, kitchen accessories, etc.

9 comments:

  1. You certainly do have lots more paint stripping to do. what on earth possessed the person who painted all that furniture in monochrome pale pink or pale blue! I hope you manage to find some tiny morrors to fit.

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    1. Yes, an awful lot of stripping - 11 more walls to strip the paint from the wallpaper, before I even think about removing the top layer of paint from the furniture! Underneath the pink is apricot paint, and underneath the blue is a pale green. The jar lid table is green under the pink, too. Those colours would look much better with the original wallpaper - but it may be quite a while before they're back to the original colours! Then there's the outside of the house, also currently pale pink and white .... At least I know now that it's possible to reveal the wallpaper again :-)

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  2. This is a labour of love for sure, Rebecca but it will certainly be worth it, It is already looking lovely where the original wallpaper is revealed and especially with your brilliant Walther and Stevenson find, fancy having to bring it back from England! Keep up the good work on this fab holiday project!

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    1. Thanks, Zoe! I was thrilled to find the W & S, and the seller was open to a Buy It Now offer, so I didn't hesitate! Now I'm back in Darwin, all I can do is think about more furnishings and accessories, and dolls - until I can go and do some more work on this wonderful house!

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  3. Rebecca, what a beautiful collection! The lounge/living room looks very much like the 1935 lounge recreated at the Geffrye Museum, http://www.bridgemanart.com/en-GB/asset/311564. It has a definite Art Deco profile. You have a beautiful, and amazing, collection of dollhouses and furniture!

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    1. Hi Neen, Thanks for that link, it's very interesting! I'm so glad that I found more of the furniture made (I think) for this house, it really adds to the period feel. I think this is one of my favourite houses :-)

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  4. This house and the furniture are gorgeous. I just love them!

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    1. Thanks, I love them too! Now I'm starting to think about which dolls might live here ....

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  5. What great furniture...I even like the monochrome pale pink and blue as they blend in with the soft colors in the house. The lower floor wall paper is fantastic! Lots of work to do but the results will be rewarding!

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