A Victorian House

I was having a conversation at work about some of my antique miniatures, when another coworker said "I have an old dollhouse that I started when I was kid.  It's yours if you want it - it's at my Nanas in a closet!"

A few days later it was loaded in my car!  She was very meticulous and kept the box, the spare pieces, the instructions, and a box of accessories including lots of lights.

The house is the Crestview by Dura-Craft.  Here is the view of the back.

Here is the view from the front.

Here is the side view and the accessories that she threw in.

I have been collecting Victorian style miniatures for quite a while.  I have even drawn up a few floor plans for a Victorian home to house my collection.  So of course I had to get out a few things and see how they fit!

Before I knew what hit me, I was measuring rooms and making plans for what goes where.

I have had this office furniture for quite a while, maybe it would fit in?  The Sonia Messer chaise looks good in here - maybe he (or she) is a doctor - perhaps a psychiatrist ?

A fireplace for each room!  It looks like I have another project on my hands - stay tuned.

Click Here to see the Living room

Estate Sale Saturday

I came across a great estate sale this weekend.  The house was full of antique dolls, doll furniture, toy stoves, and few miniatures for me!  I have posted a few pictures.

While I didn't purchase any of the stoves, I took some pictures.

There was room after room of some great full size Victorian furniture 

(and even an antique casket!)

Most of the carved furniture here is Belter

Below are the miniatures that I walked away with:  A gold folding screen, a miniature vintage framed "painting", a Strombecker wooden stool, a Strombecker wooden hamper, a miniature iron, a pair of brass scissors, a Renwall pink potty seat, a couple of Renwall lamps, a Red Flyer wheel barrow, and a cast metal chair. (red)

Dunham's Cocoanut Dollhouse

Since I have been collecting miniatures, I have been fascinated with the Dunham's Cocoanut Dollhouse, made in America in the late 1800's. The house was originally a wooden packing crate for Dunham's Cocoanut, a shredded confection used for baking, particularly as a cake topping. The crate was sent out to stores to hold and display several boxes of shredded coconut.

I came across one of these the other day at a local antique mall.  It measures 28 inches tall.  The houses are known for having a split in the paper on the interior where the two pieces of wood on the crate come together.

The wooden crate has it's original red paint and lithographed paper for the exterior, the floors and the interior walls.  It is a little rough around the edges, but still fun to see.

The first floor is a kitchen with a red checkerboard floor and a pantry full of Dunham's Cocoanut and some dishes and a clock.

The second floor represents a dining room complete with a mounted moose head, an aquarium with fish, shelves, paintings and and a bay window with potted plants.

The third floor is a Victorian parlor with a piano, some ferns, and lots of pictures on the walls.

The top floor is most likely a bedroom with some stained glass accents in the window and several wall pictures.  The paper on the floor is made to look like wood plank and has a large area rug.

Both the ends of the create are painted and embossed with this 

 The sides are papered to look like a stone exterior with windows.  The printed windows do not correspond with the windows on the interior.