Dolls' Houses Past & Present

I've been an adult miniaturist since 1991. I intended to work in 1:12 but by accident my first house was a one-off 1:16 one-room workers cottage (my profile pic). I started my first 1:12 house in 1992. This was my only house in this scale for 22 years, because I fell sideways into vintage Tri-ang houses and Jenny's Home rooms, with Spot-On and Barton furniture plus a bit of Lundby. That collection is centred around two No 50s (used as the two halves of one house), a U and a Daisy Bungalow, all set in 1965. The bungalow forms the one representative chalet for my 1:16 1960s holiday camp (!!). (My two Jenny's Home Large Rooms are used as the camp's manager's office and gift shop/tea bar). I also have two roomboxes: a 1:16 chapel and a 1:12 cottage parlour scene. In February 2014, I became the very lucky owner of a Tri-ang DH/81 from 1933/34 - only my second 1:12 house, but also my oldest and most rare. Unbelievably, this was joined, just over a year later, by its sister house, the very similar but slightly larger, DH 82!

The summer of 2015 saw my collection grow to a total of 17 houses, plus the holiday camp (the equivalent of five very large and six large rooms), the two Jenny's Home Rooms and the two separate room-boxes. I cannot have any more - there is nowhere left in my real-life tiny cottage home for another dolls house! As my capacity for planning far outstrips the time I have for working on them, very few of these projects are finished!

Personally, I've been married to Brian since 1971. We have two grown-up sons and eight grandchildren. Now retired from nursing and midwifery, I'm a family carer, looking after my elderly father on 2 or 3 days/week. Besides dolls houses, my main interests are cooking and entertaining, supporting our local cricket team, music, literature and theatre.

Busy grandma who enjoys dancing to keep fit, genealogy, miniatures, needlecrafts and reading. Love being retired from the NHS.

Although I have limited space I do have several vintage 16th scale houses that I have restored and furnished with vintage furniture.  I also have a 24th "Tudor" house which lives in the bookshelves, and one day by hook or crook, I shall own a 12th scale.

Hi, my name is Cath & I have two major passions - motorbikes & dolls houses!

I love old commercially made dollhouses. Mine are usually pretty small.

If anyone recognizes the large, mostly fiberboard, American made dollhouse

in my profile photo, please let me know.

I'm Zoe and I live in North Yorkshire with my husband and two very cute Cavalier King Charles spaniels.

I have always been fascinated by dolls' houses but didn't start it as a hobby until my husband bought me a made up but undecorated Edwardian house (Sid Cooke) for a wedding anniversary in 1998. It took me 15 years, working on it in fits and starts, to get to a point where it was almost finished (are they ever really finished?!). It is my pride and joy and I can (and do) spend hours looking at it. It was so good to find this site where I could safely get this guilty confession off my chest!

Having 'almost' finished  my Edwardian house I had been thinking about what to do next when, in the back of a little antique shop in our local town, I spotted a lovely old dolls' house, in need of some TLC, and I fell in love! I knew nothing about vintage houses but my mum said it was like one she had as a girl so I guess it might be 1930s / 40s and it looked home made rather than manufactured.  I have since gleaned from this wonderful site that it is one of a number of houses with similar features by an unknown maker known as a Dolly Mixture. 

Typically, it would seem, the vintage house hobby fast became an obsession and I bought a Handicrafts 325 (or 'Artistic') house.  I had no idea where to start with furnishings for this one but gained massive inspiration from many members of this site.

The Handicrafts house was followed by 'a number' of other houses and I am now a fully fledged doll's house addict!

I have a blog to record my mini activities and you can find it here:

http://trulymadlytiny.blogspot.co.uk/  

I have also become hooked on Grecon dolls which now inhabit the majority of my houses and you can follow their lives, loves and exploits both here on this site and on my blog at:

http://grecondale.com/

Hi, I'm Rebecca. I live in Australia, in Darwin, right at the top of the continent. My interest in vintage dolls houses was started by my grandmother, who collected dolls and dolls houses in the 1960s and 70s (she lived in Oxshott, Surrey). She gave three of her houses to me and my sister. Since about 15 years ago I have been adding to my collection, and have a blog about it at http://rebeccascollections.blogspot.com/.

I am very happily retired from teaching after neary 40 years, living in in a small fell side village in Cumbria, a wonderful part of the country with the Pennines onone  side and the lakes on the other. I love filling in my time with all the things I have not had time for before, cross stitch, upholstery, walking our scatty collie, gardening, and my new hobby doing up my dolls houses, of which I now have three. Earlier this year my husband converted an old outhouse into a workshop for me so now I can go and do my stuff without having to find a space to work, and all my equipment is in one place, instead of being scattered around the house, ........ And I can leave things out rather thn having to clean up and put things away all the time!

Purely by accident I have three beautiful houses, my wonderful hobbies house built and furnished for me by my dad in the 1950's, in pretty much original condition. Because I wanted a grown up Tudor house I discovered, and started collecting Barton Tudor furniture which fits it so well. Then at an auction where I was after a chair to reupholster I saw a very well loved old house that no one was going to bid for, so that came home as well. Some research confirmed it as a vintage triang from about 1946. With broken and missing windows, doors and some of the oak beam details, and felt pen decoration it was in desperate need of some tlc. My last purchase early this year was my stunning Lakeland cottage which I saw in the window of the Oxfam shop in Ambleside, which I was told came from the collection of an old lady who left her entire estate including steiff bears to the charity. The outside mostly needs very little help but the inside was not so good, but has provided a fantastic blank canvas for my desire for a real Tudor house with all the beams, and oak planked floors. Two rooms completed so far, and another well on the way.

This pic is me with my dad.I have been making dolls houses for 10 yrs.I always wanted a really old one but could never afford the ones I liked.Then I looked at kits and didn't like them either,so I designed and made my own.Since then I have made about 30,mostly for family and friends.I have 4 of my own - no room for any more.I have made quite a few bits of furniture etc and customised lots more.Now I have found the internet I have bought a few vintage pieces,some of my houses are inspired by antique ones and the vintage pieces go very well!

I am at present working on an old dolls house for a friend that I found in a car boot sale for £4.It was missing its front,so I am making one.

What did I say about no room for more houses???? We now have 12 houses!!!

Hi i am new to this, my father collects old dolls house such as triang and i am buildign a huge town house for my girlfriend, look forward to chatting to some of you : )