This Old House - Antique and Vintage Dolls House Rescue

  I am so lucky to have done so well on the mini front this Christmas (2025). A week before I happened upon a half stockbroker, a house I have been hankering after since I first began collecting. Usually when they come up for sale they are on the other side of the country, but this one was in Swansea, just an hour away. It has been restored and still needs some inner window panes and there are a few changes I will make to help it blend in with my other houses. I love it though. The second house I purchased from Kevin Taylor just before Christmas. I knew I shouldn't be buying myself things so I wrapped it and marked to label, To Jude with love from John's wife - I know, I am crazy  but at least I am harmless. It is such a cute little house. A DHC made around 1924 - 1929 and again, it was in great condition for its age. I couldn't wait to get to work so the day after Boxing Day I made a  start. I gave it a gentle clean, waxed the floors and touched up the roof with bur...

  I have named the houses Taylor Towers because I bought them from Kevin Taylor who has the most exquisite collection of Lines/Triang dolls houses I've yet to see.  I never thought I would come to own such lovely examples myself but over the last year or so I have sold some properties that I've restored and stashed the money away like a miser. The houses, although a little tired as they've every right to be are actually in very good condition and I had no intention of stripping or trying to make them perfect. I only do that if a house is truly beyond help. The house on the left is a G & J Lines house that was made for Gamages and has the fabulous little brass badge on the front to prove it. The one on the right is similar in style but a little earlier in date. This house is the one shown in the Dolls houses Past and Present catalogue. It is a G & J Lines number 8 which were made from 1895 - 1912. I did very little to the exterior of number 8 apart from a little scra...

 I've had an antique ice box drawer lying around for years, waiting for the right project, so when my trusty  helper gave me a lovely antique doll for Easter I immediately knew where she belonged. She is 11 inches tall so too big for any of my dolls houses and I wanted to be able to see her. Her dress is original and so very very delicate, already beginning to fray. There was very little work required to make her home. The box was full of old cd's which have now been moved to another box and stored in the loft - it's hard to get rid of things that used to mean so much, even if we will never play them again. But I digress, I cleaned out the inside which is lined with lead paper (there is probably a correct term for it) which offers a very beautiful aged effect. I waxed the exterior and removed a rusty nail that was sticking from the bottom. Instead of papering the interior, I simply hung a curtain I made from vintage fabric and lace from my stash and upgraded some larger sca...

DH/11 1921-1923. Dimensions: 35.5 inches [89 cm] wide, 17 inches [43 cm] deep and 35 inches [88 cm] high. There's nothing I like more than a challenge, and this DH11 was a big one! A poor specimen with no back, stripped out inside and a very tatty exterior. It had a certain charm but I still couldn't wait to begin bringing it back to its former grandeur.  The first job as always is to clean them thoroughly and check for worm and rot. This one had no worm but I treated it anyway. When I turned it over to check the bottom for marks or damage I found the base completely rotten in one corner so the first job (or the second if you count the cleaning) was to get the Trusty Assistant to make a new one. While he was doing that I stripped the roof paper and tidied up inside. This is a big house, not as big as the DH12 but it has a pleasing number of rooms but a narrow annoying to decorate stair way. To make things easier, I got TA to remove the wall to the right of the stairs in the pic...