For my eighth Christmas, my dad and grandfather surprised me with a three-story dollhouse. Made from a wooden kit they special ordered from the Sears catalog and painstakingly assembled in my grandfather’s workshop, the dollhouse was magnificent. In order to stabilize the towering house, my grandfather made a plywood table and covered it with astroturf so my dolls could have a lovely yard skirting their stately home.
To complement the house, my mother and grandmother selected furniture for every room and, of course, the perfect dollhouse family. I played with that dollhouse for years, probably long after the age most girls were still playing with dollhouses. I never considered wallpapering the rooms or painting the exterior. The dollhouse was perfect. I was not a budding interior designer. I was a budding storyteller; and the dollhouse gave me the perfect backdrop for thousands of stories to unfold.
When I was in my early 20s, my parents’ basement flooded. Many of my toys and games were destroyed, including my dollhouse family and all their lovely furniture; but my dad saved the dollhouse. Though the astroturf stand succumbed to water damage, Dad was able to detach the house and put it in a safe place. When I was 41, my parents moved from the home they’d lived in since I was 12. Dad asked me if I wanted the dollhouse. Of course I did. It tore my heart that he even had to ask. I should have taken that dollhouse into my own home years before.
On my parents’ moving day, my husband and I traveled two hours to their house to help them move. After my parents were settled in their new home, we collected the dollhouse, packed it carefully in the back of my husband’s SUV, and carried it home with us.
For the past 15 years, the dollhouse has sat empty, in a safe but lonely place, on a sturdy shelf in our storage room. I’ve checked on the house several times a year…while hauling out Christmas ornaments, searching for Easter baskets, or fetching the summer outdoor pillows. Whenever I saw the much-loved, now neglected house, I vowed to restore and renovate it as soon as I retired.
I retired June 1, 2025; and the slow process of dollhouse renovation began.
First of all, the house needed a family.
(To be continued…)
16 responses to “Dollhouse, Part 1”
-
This memory brings up so many happy memories of my own childhood dollhouse. My dollhouse resembled a Victorian home from the turn of the century. I begged my parents to take me to the dollhouse stores to buy furniture and accessories. I still have much of the old furniture, but unlike you, I gave away my dollhouse during one of my parents’ moves. I can’t wait to read about the restoration project!
-
Thanks, Amy! I hope my slices don’t disappoint. I’m struggling with the renovation/redecoration process. It’s going very slowly.
-
-
I look forward to reading about your restoration journey. Restoring a dollhouse, just like restoring anything, takes time, patience, and love.
-
I have the patience and love, but I need to find the time! I’m excited about the project; but when I think I may have time to work on it, something always comes up.
-
-
What a treasure! Somewhere we have the dollhouse my grandfather built for me–which no doubt needs some renovation too. I spent SO many hours with it. I look forward to reading more about the restoration project.
-
Thanks, Elisabeth! I hope to spend quite a bit of time on it this spring and summer. It’s a bigger undertaking than I expected, but since my granddaughter is only seven months old, I’ve got some time to get it in prime playing condition.
-
-
So cool! I have always been fascinated by old doll houses. I hope it continues to bring stories and imagination — and perhaps you will share photos of the process.
-
Thanks, Heidi! I will be sharing some photos, but I’m almost embarrassed to do so. It’s taking me such a long time to get anything accomplished. Turns out I am not a candidate for an HGTV renovation show (if that were a thing for miniatures).
-
-
I can’t believe how extensive and magnificent that dollhouse was and is. And now that you have a granddaughter, what better time to restore. “I was a budding storyteller; and the dollhouse gave me the perfect backdrop for thousands of stories to unfold.” That is really lovely. Hope you enjoy the restoration journey; I have a feeling you will.
-
Thank you, Heidi! I’m not the best at crafting or decorating, so I hope it will turn out okay. I loved it when it was just plain balsa wood; so I’m sure I’m putting pressure on myself for no reason.
-
-
I like how you are telling g this. The building the house/restoration is in sections like your story will be. I love that it needed a family!!! Can’t wait to see the next part.
-
Thanks, Kim! The family part takes an ominous turn. (Haha!)
-
-
What a wonderful way to share the story of your dollhouse. My daughter always wanted a dollhouse, but she never got one. She has three boys, but they have a dollhouse. It’s not elaborate, but I love watching our youngest play with it. I can’t wait for the rest of the story and to see who makes up the family.
-
Thank you, Ramona! My boys had a Fisher Price dollhouse when they were little. It was sold room by room – very cute. They had about four rooms. After they outgrew it, we gave it to a family friend who had two small children.
-
-
Lori,
I remember you mentioned the dollhouse in another post. I’m looking forward to following the restoration process. I wonder if dollhouse kits are still available. I’d love to build a dollhouse for my granddaughter.-
Glenda, Hobby Lobby sells the dollhouse kits. I’ve bought some furniture from them recently. They have smaller single rooms but also a larger Victorian-style house and what they call the Vermont farm house. The restoration process is going very slowly. If I were a real-life contractor, I would have been fired many times over.
-
Leave a Reply