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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Redecorating the Dollhouse

The Triplex, Sept 2010

Dining room and parlor

The kitchen

The girls' bedroom/study

As a little girl, one of my dreams was to have a dollhouse. I adored miniatures and even owned one of those four-story Barbie townhouses with the plastic Grecian columns. It was hideous, let me tell you. Later on I bought a plywood dollhouse kit from Michael's, but furnishing it was beyond my 11-year-old budget. It wasn't until I was in my mid-twenties that I finally got a dollhouse I am truly proud to call my own. Of course, now it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I'm a 29-year-old that owns a dollhouse, but there is nothing wrong with being an adult who plays with toys. Besides, dollhouses are hip -- or so says the New York Times.

My dollhouse has changed a bit since I put it together two years ago:

The Blythes' new home

I really want to redecorate the living room to give it a modernist vibe and add a bed and proper 1:6 scale bookshelf to the bedroom/study. While browsing on Etsy, I found the magic of Smidge House:




I really, really love the mixture of oranges and greens in the first photo. I do love complementary hues! I am thinking of using Dr. Edna's office from "Mad Men" for my color palette inspiration:


I'm going to wait a bit before I start the redecorating since I tend to change my mind a bit. For those of you who are wondering if my dolls get any say in what their home is going to look like -- the answer is no! I spent Saturday afternoon carefully dusting every floor of the triplex. The girls spend absolutely no time on housekeeping, which is ridiculous. They do own a 1:6 scale Swiffer and broom, you know. They have no excuse!!!

12 comments:

  1. I think it's adorable that you have a dollhouse (and the dollhouse itself is, too!). I used to have a pink Barbie dollhouse I shared with my sister - we made much of the furniture ourselves and added a basement, a shed and another floor because we didn't like the all-pink design of the original!

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  2. poet: What a great idea, I should have added a basement and shed to my Barbie townhouse! (Of course, now it's about two decades too late). The pink definitely drove me crazy.

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  3. i love dollhouses too! i keep wishing i could bring my childhood one to my nyc apartment, but right now there's really no place to put it. i had a 'precious places' house- remember those things where the dolls had magnets, and you were supposed to move them around with a magnetized key? that was my favorite thing. i love that you have a dollhouse now! and i am off to browse that etsy mini-furniture shop. ~joelle

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  4. joelle: I'd totally forgotten about Precious Places! I can vaguely recall TV commercials for them. They remind me of Polly Pockets. The late 1980s/early 1990s were an exciting time to be a kid!

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  5. Wow you have so many dolls! Are those mini-blythes, or are they full-sized ones? I'm afraid I'm not very up to date and only glean partial knowledge from doll-lover friends... *_*

    I find it cute that they live in a bookshelf. It reminds me of the polly pocket houses. XDD

    And I don't suppose sticking some awesome-patterned wrapping paper to 'wallpaper' your dollhouse walls would work?

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  6. So cute. I don't own any dolls but they are so adorable I'm thinking of hopping on the Blythe trend (maybe??)

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  7. ren: The ones on the sofa are petite Blythes, the doll in the blue dress is a Dal and the rest are regular size Blythes. The bottom two rooms are actually papered with wrapping paper I purchased at Eslite... I keep my eye out every time I go there, but patterns are usually a bit too big for the dollhouse (or The Triplex, as I like to call it).

    Diana: Thanks! Blythes are so much fun... "meeting" other Blythe collectors on the Internet (esp. Flickr) has been a great experience for me.

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  8. Thanks so much for mentioning my shop on your awesome blog! :) I have terrible commitment issues when it comes to decorating too, lol.

    Your dolls all have such incredible style-- I love their clothes! They really should pitch in and help clean the place though! ;)

    smidge girl

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  9. Most excellent! Love that it 's part of your shelving.

    I am trying to get some spooky miniatures done for halloween for my tiny abode but when it comes to making 16th scale scary things I seem to suck beyond belief..

    Love your current furnishings but I can understand why you're tempted with the others.. those sofas especially!

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  10. Ha ha I am an old lady that still has the wonderful dollhouse Mom somehow managed to get me for my 11th birthday. If I can find room on my "girly room" I want to set it all back up again.

    Mom loved dolls and played with them until she passed away. Never get so old, that you get too old to play. =) Or to put it another way, you are never too old to play with dolls and dollhouses (or whatever makes your heart sing).

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  11. Coming back to tell you I've tagged you with 10 questions about your style and inspiration!

    Cheers,
    poet

    seamstress-stories.blogspot.com

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  12. Catherine!
    There is absolutely nothing wrong with a grown woman owning a dollhouse! I've loved dollhouses forever. When I was a little girl my mom and I built one together using one of those awesome balsa wood Victorian kits. I still visit it whenever I'm visiting my folks.
    We sewed curtains and tablecloths and tiny pillows for my little dolls. Such a lovely time.I remember swooning over the tiny forks and grand pianos and chandeliers at the hobby store.
    Dollhouses are pure magic. Yours is lovely. Thanks for sharing.
    xoxo!
    Gina

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