Sunday, January 26, 2014

Number 4, the biggest and oldest

Here's the last of my 4 new dolls houses in Bathurst. I bought this one on ebay from Melbourne, and happened to be in Bathurst when I had it freighted - fortuitous, as it's big and quite heavy! So it cost enough to bring it up to Bathurst, let alone all the way to Darwin ...


This house is over 3 feet wide - about 37" (or 92.5 cm), and 37" high as well, to the top of the roof ridge (40" (1 m) including the chimney, which isn't visible here as it needs to be fixed back into the house).

Style-wise, the house could be anywhere from about the 1880s-1930s. I don't know much about it, but, if the wallpapers are original, I think it probably dates from around the 1920s.
(There is a removalists' label inside one of the fronts - probably from a former owner, who perhaps might have a bit of information about it? I might try contacting them ..... )



The house has two opening fronts - well, they should open on hinges, but the hinges are broken, so the fronts are removable at the moment. They are held closed by little wooden latches that you can just see (at the bottom of the roof line, on either side of the non-opening central section), and there used to be a lock, as well.


There are two bay windows, one on either side of the front door ...



And just inside the front door is the staircase:



You can see that the exterior paint is quite worn and crazed, and some strips are missing from the door frame, window frames and roof ridges. I quite like the aged appearance, and the missing bits reveal earlier decoration. The existing brick exterior is incised into the wood, and painted (and then the paint seems to have come off in places where it's been washed or sanded). The exterior must originally have been papered with red brick paper - a tiny bit appears at the bottom of a window frame, where a strip of wood is missing:


The roof also has tiles incised into the wood, and is then painted grey - but where the roof ridge strips are missing, there is grey tile paper visible:



Inside the house, there are four main rooms:


and a little annex in the top left room! This was described in the auction listing as a pantry, but I'm pretty sure it was intended as a bathroom!



It's the only house of this age that I have which has a bathroom - very exciting! (Still needs cleaning!)

I mentioned the wallpapers - let's have a closer look at them. In both downstairs rooms is a rather faded and slightly stained paper with an art deco design:


I'm going to keep this paper - I've bought some artists' chalk pastels to disguise the water stains a bit. The colours were obviously brighter when the paper was new - you can see remnants of colours in some places - grey, yellow, pale blue, salmon and white. Perhaps the original colouring would be preserved behind the stairs, or behind the wood in the corner of this room - but I don't think I'll take the house apart to find out!


The lower left room, which I think of as the kitchen, had other wallpapers applied over the art deco one. I think I'll probably leave the remains of the bright blue paper, with black and red shapes on it ... but cover the water stain here with pastels ...

While whatever flooring was in the lower right room has long gone, there are remains of floor papers in the kitchen:


There's a streaky bluey-green paper, and on the right, a streaky brown paper. Both are covered with a reddish substance, which I think is probably from the base of lino which was stuck onto the papers at some point, and then later removed. So I think the original flooring was bluey-green in the centre, with brown strips at the sides (and back and front too, perhaps?) I'm not sure yet what I'll do with this floor - probably find some old floor paper and place it over this.

Upstairs, the wallpapers are less exciting, but both rooms have two layers of flooring. This is the upper right room:


Here's a better view of the original wallpaper, as well as a scrap of one of the papers applied over it:


The original paper was cream-coloured, I think - it's browned in places - and embossed in a small pattern of irregular round shapes. One of the later papers was a ca 1970s embossed design of green on white, which can be seen in the corner in the photo above. On the back wall, there are remains of this paper too - just the brown back part of the paper, which I am removing - you can see the shapes of the embossing in this brown backing. You can also see a scrap of another paper, with a pink on white design.


The floor in here is very exciting. What you see first is blue stripey lino with a pink painted surround - but under the blue lino is a pink floor paper with a design of tiny dots:


Isn't it wonderful?! I'd like to lift the lino off altogether - I just hope I can do it without tearing this lovely paper.

The upper left room has some rather nice lino:



and a plain terracotta wallpaper:


It also has the same kind of very delicate floor paper under the lino, this time in brown. The lino isn't as loose here, but you can just see the paper:


I tried out a couple of pieces of furniture, just to see what they would look like. Obviously, there's a lot more cleaning to do, let along possibly removing the lino, and finding new floor papers for the kitchen and lower right room.


This bath would look good with the lino - not such a good match with the brown floor paper, if I remove the lino ....


I thought the triangular decoration of this sideboard made from Handicrafts design 5363 (available from the early 1920s-1934) would go well with the art deco wallpaper ...

I am also thinking about dolls to live here. The rooms have very high ceilings - about 13 inches (32.5 cm), and this lower right room is 12" (30 cm) wide and 15" (about 37.5 cm) deep. I could either have 1/12th scale dolls with very spacious rooms, or perhaps slightly larger dolls - I'll see what I have, and what comes along .... lots of excitement ahead!

23 comments:

  1. Hello from Spain: Great home. You have a lot of work in that house. I am looking forward reconstruction. Keep in touch.

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    1. Hi Marta, Thanks for visiting. Yes, a lot of work! I don't know when I will finish it - but I will show it when I do!

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  2. Great house Rebecca. I quite like the crazed paint and worn exterior. Gives it history and character. I hope you can save the original papers. Great space. I look forward to seeing it when it is cleaned and decorated.

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    1. Hi Sharee, glad you like it - and appreciate the worn finishes too! I am in two minds about the lino in the upper left room, as it's so decorative itself. The blue lino looks like it will be easier to get off, but I will take it slowly - if I leave the lino there, the floor papers will be safe underneath! We'll see. I think it will look good with curtains, too - lots of work!

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    2. It is actually quite cool lino and it is part of the house's history. The bath you have in the above image does suit it too. I hate making those sort of decisions but I am sure it will look great either way.

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  3. it is a beauty! :) vey lovely and big house! quite exciting to see all the details! :)

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    1. Hello Anna, I'm glad you like it! I love finding papers hiding under others, it is very exciting! Now I will see what I can work out - lift the lino or leave it, find new flooring for downstairs, try out furnishings and dolls - when I next visit Bathurst! :-)

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  4. Such an interesting house. It's a bit like my real house up in the Snowy Mountains. It has about 5 to 6 layers of lino. One of them was very similar to the mosaic looking one. Should have kept some of it...didn't even think it could be used in dollhouses.

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    1. Hi Indy Poppy, how fascinating that your real house had all those layers of lino! My mother's house has some different patterns, but not layers - one pattern has been preserved at the bottom of the food cupboard, another on the shelves of the high crockery cupboards, and there are three others in the back extension, the breakfast room, and the most recent in the kitchen ... fascinating layers of history! And yes, sometimes people do sell it on ebay, for dolls houses or vintage caravans, or for craft - I've known of a couple of artists who have used it in their artworks. I'm always thrilled when I find a dolls house with real carpet and/or lino!

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  5. Una casa impresionante!!! Es muy grande y tiene muchas posibilidades,que seguro que tu sabrás restaurar y hacer de ella una gran mansión como en sus origenes debió de ser!! Te espera un gran y agradable trabajo.
    Besos.

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    1. ¡Gracias, Pilar! Espero que pueda hacer un buen trabajo!

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  6. That is a very impressive dollhouse. I have never seen that Art Design before (in front of and next to the bathroom). The design incorporates industry and art, the main themes in the Art Deco world and very big in the mid-20s. It certainly doesn't look childish, I wonder if it was built for an adult, the way baby houses were? There's a show in the US called, "If walls could talk " and it is about letters and other things home owners have found in their houses, i.e., Lincoln's grocery bills. It then traces the history of the house. You should host a web series with the same title, these dollhouses have so many stories to tell!

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    1. Hi Neen, thanks for your thoughts, that is very perceptive about the lino design. If the house is from the 20s, I would think the lino was applied a bit later, but Art Deco continued to influence design in the 30s and 40s ... As for whether it was built for an adult or child, I guess we'll never know for sure, but I've certainly seen dolls house designs like this which were intended for children's play - though older children played with dolls houses then, too. That show sounds fascinating, I'm sure I'd love it - and I wish I could trace the history of my dolls houses!

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  7. Impresive dollshouse! you can make a great work with it! Courage! Hugs

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    1. Hi Maria, Thank you! It's very impressive, and I hope I will do a good job with it.

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  8. Hello Rebecca,
    Amazing dollhouse. even in that state it is so full of charm and character.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Hello Giac, Yes, you're right, it has a lot of character. I hope to keep its charm and character, so I'll go slowly with cleaning it and trying to reveal the original papers and minimise the water stains. Hugs, Rebecca

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  9. Will you be at the Sydney Show in May? I'll probably be de-accessioning some of the pieces from my German haul, and would be happy to give you first dibs...

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    1. Yes, I'm hoping to be! Is this the German haul from July, or a more recent one? If July, I'd better go and watch the video again ;-) If you could fit it in Miss Daisy (assuming you'd be taking her), perhaps you could bring the Bestoys dolls house too? If my sister is going to be in Sydney with me, then she could take it back to Bathurst - quite a few ifs there .....

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    2. It is indeed the German haul from July: but it's probably easier if I photograph what I plan to de-accession and send you the image.

      At this stage I plan to take Miss Daisy: am just waiting to see if I can get a good Olympic Park hotel deal with free parking like I did last year. Will let you know closer to the time :-)

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  10. hey rebecca, i love this house, i can't believe that you have it. it was for sale on gumtree for ages and ages... it is so lovely.. the floor paper looks wonderful.. some nice old lace curtains and it will be ready for occupants .. christine XX

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    1. Really, Christine? I only started looking regularly on gumtree last year, so I probably missed a great deal .... then again, there were lovely houses on ebay I didn't bid on because of distance, or not having the space, etc .... Anyway, I am glad that I do have this one - I think it will be lovely cleaned up and furnished, and with curtains, as you say :-)

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  11. Oh the secrets and stories this lovely old house holds....

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