This Old House - Antique and Vintage Dolls House Rescue

  No. 18 ("Half-size Kits" or "Half Kits"), pre-1909. Dimensions: 26 inches [66 cm] wide, 19 inches [48 cm] deep and 35 inches [89 cm] high I have yearned for a Kits Coty house since I first began collecting but I never thought I'd own one. Ok, so its a half Kits Coty (they came in three sizes). This one has had a rough life - it came to me very grubby and daubed in horrible black gloss paint with a hideous red front door but I knew what was lurking beneath. There were broken bits, pieces of the roof had been reassembled wrong but I just knew we could fix it.  Originally, the left side of the roof were supplied loose so they could be lifted off and furniture added. They have very often gone missing over the years so I was delighted to find ours intact. some previous owner had glued it down and it is probably due to this that we still have the original. It took a bit of brute force to jemmy it off but it came away with an explosion of ancient dust and flaking pai...

  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...