Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 8. Nursery & Necessary Room

The delightful nursery is located above the kitchen next to the boy's room. Oh, I see the twins are in trouble already! They were supposed to be down for their naps... 

The endearing, adorable nursery continues to be my favorite room in the house. I love the charming furniture & accessories and smile every time I look at this tiny space! No, we didn't have that many babies in our real family, but who can resist pink & cute & cuddly?

Here's a closer look at some of the nursery pieces:

Comfy blanket, mattress & pillows mother made

The children's chifforobe and nightstand:

Note another rug made by my grandmother!

And the toy box with the twins wearing grandmother's hand knit diapers!

I know I have way too many pictures of this little space, but I LOVE THIS ROOM!!!

Since you have had a peek at the bathroom, let's go in and look around... 

This diminutive bathroom holds all the essentials:  sink, toilet and tub. There's a bit of room left for a blue hamper and a tall, narrow shelving unit for towels and whatnot.

Grandmother made the toilet seat cover and rug

This section of the house where both nursery and bathroom are now located was formerly just one large bathroom. During the renovation, I carved out a prominent place in front of the large bathroom for my favorite room and squished the bathroom furniture way back. In general, I find the bathroom to be a plain, utilitarian necessary room and not much fun. So, I spruced it up a bit with a pretty upscale cosmetic mirror above the sink... 

Next on the agenda... upstairs to see the third floor addition... 

Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 7. Boy's Room

Until now, all the rooms we have toured contain furniture dating back to the 1950's: the dining room, kitchen, living room, and master bedroom. However, this next room (the boy's room) has newer furniture. Why? Here's the story... 

I would like to give myself credit for safeguarding this dollhouse for over 60 years, but that would not be quite accurate. Mother, many years ago when I was a teenager, had an opportunity to sell the dollhouse and its contents to a good friend with a young daughter. I told her to go ahead and sell, I wasn't interested anymore. Unbeknownst to me at the time, she tucked the dollhouse away for safekeeping until I was married with two children of my own. She then told me she still had the dollhouse and did I want it now? Yes! Oh my, yes! I couldn't believe it!

That's when the renovation of the dollhouse began: painting, wallpapering, and carpeting. Also, we needed a boy's room in the dollhouse (we had a son) and a third floor addition (to move the girl's room upstairs where the old original pieces would fit easily). So, for the boy's room, since there was no "hand me down furniture dating from the 1950's," I went shopping. The selections were all craft store/hobby store miniatures readily available where we lived at the time. These "new" pieces were fun to collect. In fact, I've seen similar pieces on Pinterest that have been painted with chalk paint and used for a "shabby-chic" look in more current, trendy dollhouses.

Have a look around... the boy's room reflects some of my son's interests and activities growing up. He loved little cars and actually had a large Micky Mouse on his bedroom wall. No, he didn't have that much furniture in his room or a rolltop desk, but this is a dollhouse, right?

Remember the grooves in the ceiling when we were viewing the master bedroom? Back in the 1970's after mother returned the dollhouse to me, I asked my husband to cut a small piece of spare paneling to put a third floor in my dollhouse. He cut a piece and fit it with the flat side up and the grooved side down which became the ceiling of the floor below. Then he carefully cut the roof (gasp!) to accommodate the furniture that would be in two more rooms upstairs. During this renovation, the dollhouse went from being my mother's and grandmother's house into being all mine -- and probably ruined her "collectible" status forever!

Did you notice the little train under the Christmas Tree and the one in the boy's room? When the children were small, my husband made an HO scale model train layout on a 4' x 8' table which he later sold to a friend before one of our moves. The cute little trains remind me of fun times playing with the small HO trains when the children were little.

Before we leave the boy's room and head to the nursery, look at the small cross-stitch rug I made (since I couldn't crochet). I made it to go in the original nursery, but after the renovation when the rooms were shuffled around, it didn't fit in the tiny nursery and ended up as part of the boy's room along with the shoofly.

The tiny nursery is next... 

Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 6. Master Bedroom

Twin beds in a master bedroom? Remember the old movies had twin beds for the mom & dad? When did movies and TV programs begin showing a single large bed for the married couple? Yes, times have changed, haven't they? When my dollhouse was new, I don't think double/queen/king beds were even in existence... especially not for dollhouses!

Several pieces of furniture in this room date back to the 1950's:  the twin beds, the dresser with the mirror, and the high chest of drawers. The green chair was added at a later date. The baby with the bassinet were gifts from my grandmother to my daughter when she was young and playing with the dollhouse.

Interesting note -- the back of the mirror on the dresser has $1.50 marked in pencil!

The way the story goes, mother made the bedspreads when I was a little girl. The ruffled drops were made from left over fabric from mother's own draperies and the white tops from a soft terry cloth towel. I don't know if she made the sheets and pillowcases or if they came with the beds.

In this picture you can see grooves in the ceiling. I'll tell you the story behind them when we tour the next room...

Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 5. Comfortable Living Room

As we enter the living room, notice that there's no flatscreen TV here. The old chunky RCA works just fine. Look, there's a basketball game on! Mother and daddy were huge basketball fans. Mother found a tiny picture years ago and "put the game on," so to speak. Another special memory frozen in time...

With strong encouragement, our son took piano lessons for a short while. The lessons are long forgotten, the piano remains...

The fireplace is original to the home although, if memory serves me correctly, it was painted the red pattern of the porch. During a frenzy of activity during the 1970's, I was "antiquing" everything I could get my hands on. (You remember: apply a coat of paint, then rub a glaze over the paint to highlight the brushstrokes.) Thus, the fireplace became another victim of my short-term interest...

I believe the green sofa and easy chair date back to Christmas of 1952, too. Grandmother made all the cute crocheted rugs in the house; neither mother nor I had the talent for such things.

Traces of the 1950's "formal living room" remain while the room slowly transitions into more of a "family room" -- thereby, reflecting my own family's more casual home style preference by the 1980's.

A bright day, a makeshift photography studio, a trusty camera, and a steady hand all work together to preserve these vignettes for you and for a very special "Little Miss" who's just six. She has never seen grandma's dollhouse; but it's waiting patiently for her while her little fingers develop, shall we say, a more delicate touch. My mission in writing these entries is twofold: first, to introduce my "grown-up" dollhouse to my adorable granddaughter in story form; second, to research the dollhouse itself as well as all the furniture (for possible value). Meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying the tour!

Let's see, where were we? Oh, yes, please continue up the stairs to see the second floor.

The master bedroom is next...

Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 4. Retro Kitchen

As we enter the kitchen, located at the end of the house, you see relatively new pieces added when I was going through my "Early American" decorating phase. I loved the "antique look" and it showed up in suitable niches throughout my house.

Around the corner, notice the "retro" look. The old appliances are just fine. In fact, I remember my grandmother cooking in a kitchen just like this one whipping up scrumptious meals! I wonder if she actually bought me those pieces many years ago.

The little red table and chairs have been around forever, too. Mother put the red checked cloth on the table and I've never taken it off.

Anyone for a bite to eat?

Let's take a closer look at the appliances:

Refrigerator

Remember the old refrigerators, the layers of ice building up? They were such a pain to defrost!

Stove and Oven

Remember the all white appliances? Later on, color was popular:  gold or avocado. Now, stainless steel is stylish. I wonder what color will be "in" next.

Sink

A big farmhouse sink (a necessity back then!) has now become one of the latest in kitchen trends. Oops! Not sure we should have the electric toaster and iron plugged in near the water!










Here's an overall look at the kitchen before we head to the living room. My there's a lot of stuff in there! Each piece holds a special memory for me, especially that little teapot in the foreground:

This kitchen is certainly reminiscent of an earlier time and remains the heart of my little home.

Please go on past the dining room to tour the living room. Oh, I see someone took down the Christmas Tree and has been playing with the little train Santa brought:

Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 3. Welcome!

Please come in!

There are some things I would love to show you, if you have the time...

In the entryway and the dining room are three original pieces. Perhaps Santa included them with his deliveries in 1952... I just always remember having them.

The desk:  It reminds me of my grandfather's desk, polished wood with carefully placed accessories. Look at that old black rotary telephone! Do you remember one in your grandparents' home?

The sideboard:  Yes, the legs have been broken a few times, but always carefully repaired.

The dining table:  By far my most favorite piece in the whole house! Look how the table pulls apart for a leaf insert. I'm amazed this has survived all these years. Actually, this table is similar to the table my grandmother had which now my daughter has in her home. I remember having wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas meals on her table growing up. This tiny table reminds me of special times every time I look at it.

Both mother and grandmother took a strong interest in "my" dollhouse; maybe, just maybe, they put the bug in Santa's ear to begin with... mmm?

Before we move on to see the kitchen, take a brief glance at the Christmas Tree, added sometime in the 1990's. The sled is new this year, found at consignment shop nearby.

Rich Toys Vintage Dollhouse Tour: 2. Annual Tradition

At Christmas time, just like the tree, my dollhouse comes out of storage and enjoys a few weeks or a month of attention for the year. Sometimes a room is rearranged or a few new details are added.

The dollhouse is quite full... of memories... of dreams... and of carefully curated pieces. I don't have extras, just special things saved through the years that have found permanent spots in the rooms and in my heart.