Number 62

 

I got this one from Ebay, the seller wouldn't post so I sent my poor, long suffering OH all the way to Stoke on Trent to pick it up - considerable miles from West Wales. However, the house needed me. It was in almost original condition but badly in need of salvaging, unable to  breathe under layers of dirt. I guess they had a coal fire in the nursery this house once lived in. Below is the description of number 62 from the catalogue courtesy of Brighton toy Museum (https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/w/index.php?curid=11269).

I didn't begin work on it for quite a few weeks while I considered what to do with it. It sat in the corner of my study and I put some furniture in while we became acquainted. It had such charm I even considered leaving it as it was.

Inside it was tatty, grubby and worn but the original papers were intact. Outside, there were missing bits of the fretwork on the gables and it had suffered a coat of badly applied white paint quite a long time ago. The hinges were loose and the windows rusty and warped. So, in the end, we carefully dismantled it and began careful restoration.

While OH cleaned up the windows and repainted them, I gave the exterior a light sand and repainted it in the original cream and reapplied the flowers on the front. The roof was in good repair so I just touched up the scuffed edges and made small repairs to the gable fretwork. The floors were dull and scuffed so I touched up the scuff marks with some artist's pastel and a light rub of wax. Teh interior looks lived in now, rather than derelict but I am so pleased we had no need to replace the wallpaper.

Since there was nothing to do inside beyond clean it as best I could, this one only took a few days. It is now back in the corner of my study, furniture replaced and a small family in residence. And yes, you've guessed it, this one is staying in my collection too.