The Dollhouse

Wow, I guess time really does fly. I didn't think it had been that long since I opened a blog. I guess I wasn't ready to commit to it in 2011. This morning I read a posting from another miniaturist and I thought to myself that maybe others would like to share my latest project. It actually took me a while to find my blog again! So here it goes.

Earlier this year I was fortunate to buy an old dollhouse, the Hofco Victorian Townhouse #252. Someone had built the structure and that was it. The dollhouse came with all the original exterior doors and windows, staircases, and porch posts and railings. I was thrilled to find it and it was perfect for me, because nothing had been done to it.
 Hofco was a very well known dollhouse kit builder in the 1980's. I would guess this kit dates from the late 80's. It's built from plywood and it's very sturdy. The house even came on a table. We had to rent a small U-haul trailer to get it home. The first thing we did was add wheels to the table so it could be rolled around easily.

It was very dirty so I washed the whole thing inside and out. Then later I primed the entire house with Kilz.

The house has four floors, one under the roof, with twelve rooms all together. I had decided that this was going to be my "stash" house, the one where I would use all the miniatures I had been collecting for years. With twelve rooms I should be able to use a lot of "stash"!

The first thing I did was decide on a theme for the dollhouse. I didn't want it to be a typical dollhouse, so I decided it would be an Inn. I named it Tranquility Point Inn. It will be an ocean view inn with just a few select rooms for guests.  I came up with a color scheme that would reflect the colors of the beach.

Now to get painting!