This Old House - Antique and Vintage Dolls House Rescue

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...

  DH/3, 1924-1933. Dimensions: 31.25 inches [79.5 cm] wide, 18 inches [46 cm] deep and 32.5 inches [83 cm] high. This is another house I had from Kevin Taylor, and I hope it isn't the last. I loved it straight away, instantly seeing its potential. It had no back and the rear part of the roof was missing. Again it had been painted horribly and the roof was papered with horrible stuff from the 1970s. I soon stripped that off and ordered some replica papers from The Dolls House Man on Ebay. Then I painted the ceilings, eaves and interior wood with a antique white paint, The new roof paper looked a bit bright so I darkened it down with black wax - you can see the bit i have treated beside the untreated part in the photo below. Then the fiddly bit with the windows and balustrade which took several weeks with both of us working on it. The railing was daubed with thick paint, it was quite easy to scrape off and then when he repainted it John put them on the end of his drill, slowly turnin...

DH/12, 1924-1940. Dimensions: 46.5 inches [116.5 cm] wide, 18 inches [45 cm] deep and 42 inches [105 cm] high (until 1927) OR 48 inches [120 cm] wide, 19 inches [48 cm] deep and 41 inches [122.5 cm] high (from 1928). from Dolls houses past and present website  This is how it was when I got it. Huge, abused and very much in need of some love and attention. I bought it from Kevin Taylor who has numerous beautiful houses - it was such fun to be shown around his collection. To say I was green with envy is no understatement. I had so much fun that I returned a while later to collect a DH3 and a DH11. I've added a short video of when I first opened it up, excuse my voice, I sound much more silly than I really am ... I hope. It needed a lot of attention, the roof had been painted a nasty red, the interior was just a shell but the bones were there and the bits that were missing were easily rebuilt. the first job was to treat it for woodworm, they were no longer active but I always do it as...