Part of our view when we sip our second cup of coffee together in the morning.
I was entranced by it this morning. One of my greatest pleasures when I lived in cities was walking by apartments and houses in the early evening. I would get a glimpse of the interior life and style of that particular dwelling. A flash of a red wall, or gorgeous drapes, or a glimpse of bookshelves – I wanted to know more about the people who lived there. I still have that curiosity about the way people live, which is why I like Instagram and design magazines and books like Hotel Chelsea and The Maverick Soul and Bibliostyle.
Back to the mini studio: I imagine myself walking by this dwelling, seeing the guitar on the sofa, the Beatles print on the wall, getting a glimpse of a fireplace, of records (what does he listen to?), a dog dish (!) and a comfy sofa and Eames chair. Who lives there? Who uses that space?
That is the lure of dollhouses. You get a glimpse of a life, a style, of the taste of the imaginary owner of that house. It’s also the reason I would never have dolls residing in my houses. I want to imagine the owner. I don’t want some doll that frankly never looks all that real lounging on the sofa. This is not to say that those who make and design 1:12 scale dolls aren’t enormously talented – they are. But, for me, they never look quite right. And also for me, I have a vivid imagination and seeing a doll limits my vision. For example, I have an idea of Caroline. I could tell you things about her. But, I don’t have too many ideas because I like to keep her ‘free-flowing.’
Since the mini studio was made for Don specifically, I don’t need a doll. I just imagine a mini-Don.
I’m not sure who the owner is of the vintage white dollhouse. That’s still to be determined. Same for the modern dollhouse and the ‘newest’ vintage dollhouse. Or my rescued-from-the-dump dollhouse. That makes a sort of sense as I’m still working on all of those dwellings.
Speaking of which, this afternoon I am going to go upstairs and start painting more stone for the exterior of the rescued-from-the-dump dollhouse. I’m thinking of naming it Dove Cottage, not be be confused with the famous Dove Cottage inhabited by William Wordsworth. “Dove” because I love doves – as simple as that.
To make the painting less tedious I’m going to listen to some podcasts. I’m very into podcasts about books and reading.
Happy Sunday.
It sounds as if you have 6 dollhouses now..? I can only visualize 4. Would it be inconvenient for you to post pictures of all of them? I love dollhouses and have happily visited some of the vendors you referenced! Happy New Year to you and Don! Barbara in MN
I have 5. The 6th is Don’s Studio, which was a birthday gift to him, so it’s no longer mine!
When I have a chance I’ll post pictures of all of them, Barbara. Happy New Year!
like that view of don’s studio and all the choices you made for it. great work, claudia!
i like looking at interiors, too. and puttering around my own place.
happy sunday!
kathy in iowa
I wholeheartedly agree. I love puttering around here as well.
Dove Cottage! I love that. Do you remember the name of the cottage where Mrs. Muir lived? Dove Cottage got me wondering. Wouldn’t it be great if all of us could name our homes? But then, I guess there is nothing stopping us. You’ve got Mockingbird Hill Cottage. I will put that on my “to do” list for the year. Didn’t the homes in “Wind in the Willows” all have names? Will pull out a copy of that one too. The British shouldn’t have all the fun!
I don’t remember the name of Mrs. Muir’s cottage, unfortunately. Why not name your home. The Brits do it and I think we should feel free to do the same, Tana!
Claudia,
I know exactly what you mean about walking past homes as the lights come on! When I was in Nursing school and housed in a dorm at the hospital my friends and I always took an early evening walk to sneak a peek into very large and ornate homes in a historic district near us. Not only were they very beautiful, but so incredibly different from my small town modest home.
It stirs the imagination and is a fond memory for me. Your love of the dollhouses lets me sneak of a peek of your creativity!
Sherry b
That’s how I felt when I moved to Philadelphia and Boston. Old historic homes that were completely different than the very small bungalow I grew up in! Thanks, Sherry!
I like the idea of imagining the owners of your dollhouses. The way you described it reminds me of how one would think of their characters when writing a novel.
I’ve always been one of those who loved to peek into houses when walking or driving by. So lovely at night when a room is lit up and the curtains or blinds are not yet closed and you catch a glimpse of a room. I love to see how people decorate or live. In fact, your post yesterday about the Chelsea Hotel had me curious, so I looked it up. I came across this fascinating article about a couple who live in one of the rooms. You might’ve already seen it, but just in case, here’s the link:
https://www.6sqft.com/my-220sqft-debbie-and-ed-hamilton-have-made-it-work-for-24-years-in-a-chelsea-hotel-sro/
Now, of course, I’m wanting to read the book that you got for Christmas even though I had never even heard of this hotel until you mentioned it! I’m also going to look up the other books you mentioned in this post.
I’d like to get into podcasts; perhaps listening to them once in awhile instead of music while I’m cleaning and/or puttering about the house. If you have any good recommendations, I’d appreciate your input.
I’ll make a list soon. I’m only just now getting into them. I usually don’t listen to music or tv during the day and I tend to think of podcasts the same way. But when I’m doing miniature work, podcasts really are a blessing.
Once you learn about the Chelsea, you get hooked! Trust me. Thanks, Melanie.
Four little words in the middle of your post – “I want to imagine” says it all. It reminded me of Alice Walker’s quote – “I have fallen in love with the imagination. And if you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.” One of the real joys is indulging in this gift, I know I do.
An early Happy New Year to everyone.
Thank you for that quote, Anne. I love it. Happy New Year!
I love the name and idea of Dove Cottage!
My ignorance again. I don’t know what y’all are saying about Hotel Chelsea so will now go googling.
It sounds hoity-toity, and I only went to Europe ONCE 10,000 years ago, but I do remember, lah-de-dah, of being in a gondola on the canals in Venice, looking up into the upper floors of those gorgeous Venetian ‘palaces’ and seeing glimpses of, oh, red-velvet drapes on massive windows overlooking the water, crystal chandeliers twinkling in early-evening/fading light; a lot of gold/gilt which I guess were framed mirrors or portraits; like being transported to a past century, with rooms of silk and brocades, ornately-carved furniture and the like. It was so unreal that it felt like one of the rides at Disneyland.
I still don’t know much about the Chelsea Hotel but of course now realize it’s world-renowned. All the famous people who’ve stayed/lived there, written about it, sung of it. I feel like we did talk about it once before here, now that a bit is coming back to me, because there was that new novel which came out this year called The Chelsea Girls, I guess about the theater district AND this hotel.
(Sometimes I can get pretty worried about my memory at this age! I’m not well-versed on East Coast/New York City as I’ve always been West Coast. New York often feels like another land, far-far away…)
The hotel is in Chelsea which is south of the theater district. Thanks, Vicki!
Google away, Vicki!
Thank you, Vicki!
I fell so happily into this post and imagining Don’s studio, too. It’s like that with minis, isn’t it? I always have that feeling when I visit the Thorne miniature rooms in Cgo. Who lived in this room — a family? What did they do? Town people or country? Children? One can go for hours.
It sounds like you’ve a lovely day in store!
I love the Thorne rooms. They’re simply incredible! Thanks, Jeanie.