Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Okay, here we go with the final Dove Cottage wrap-up. I’m providing as many views of the rooms as I can, given that the house is small and taking photos of the details can be a challenge. Where possible, I will list sources. There are a lot of photos, so enjoy.

The exterior. If you’ve forgotten what it looked like to begin with, see yesterday’s post. I’m quite chuffed about this transformation. The Arthur dollhouse, which this is, was designed to be a cute little cottage with a porch. When I got the house, the porch roof and railings were missing. Barbara sent me her Arthur kit for replacement parts, but I stuck with the entrance level as it is, since I’d decided to create an English cottage and didn’t want an American porch. I made the stones from egg cartons, made acrylic inserts for the windows (a giant pain in the tush,) painted and aged the roof. I had the piece of wood that I made into a step in my stash. I also replaced several window frames and the door frame.

The front door was also missing. Thankfully, I found it in Barbara’s kit. I found the diamond window film at miniatures(dot)com. The door knob is from WestonMiniature on Etsy.

The bistro chair is from Cosediunaltromondo on Etsy.

I made the dolly tub from two Nyquil caps and the flowers are from miniatures(dot)com.

I had the ballast (pebbles) on hand as I used it in the roof garden of Hummingbird Cottage. Easily obtained from a railroad/hobby shop.

The pot of flowers is from miniatures(dot)com. I aged the pot with some paints that I had on hand.

The ground floor of the interior. I can’t remember where I got the wallpaper but I think it was from Itsy Bitsy Mini. I stained and installed the beams, painted the ceiling, and stained and installed the wooden floor. That gorgeous pink toile chair is one of my prized possessions – made by the very famous June Clinkscales and purchased through TinyDollHouseNYC on Etsy. It’s very heavy and beautifully made.

This bookshelf unit was made by Cinen on Etsy. I love, love, love it.

The vast majority of the books are from LandauHouse on Etsy. A few of them are gifts from Ben. He got them at TinyDollHouseNYC. I had the ‘ceramic’ planter in my stash. The clock was a gift from Ben (the guy I coached in the movie.) I had the candlestick in my stash and the shell was found on a beach in Florida.

The beautiful blue pot on the floor is made by Maddie Gerig Shelly. I got it at a miniatures show. Maddie is the niece of the famous miniature pottery maker, Jane Graber.

The table is from Etsy, but I can’t remember the name of the seller. I copied the link and sent it to Don and he gave it to me for my birthday a couple of years ago. The cup and saucer are from LavandeHouse on Etsy. The book was a gift from Ben. The rug is from TinyHomeGoods on Etsy.

The potted palm is from TinyDollHouseNYC. The sofa (another prized possession) is from ArlettesMiniatures on Etsy. The floor lamp is from Victoriaminiland on Etsy. And the beautiful art (a framed stamp) is from MiniMyEye on Etsy.

The crock, which you can see more clearly in other photos, is made by Jane Graber. I got it at miniatures show several years ago. The island is from ViliaMiniatureDesign on Etsy. I painted and aged it, stained the counter, and made that little cupboard into a refrigerator. I recently found that faucet to replace the one that came with the island. I really love it. It’s from TeaseMiniatures on Etsy. The hanging lamps are from Victoriaminiland on Etsy.

Another framed stamp from MiniMyEye on Etsy. The umbrella stand is from TinyDollHouseNYC and was a gift from Don. It came with the walking canes. The umbrella is also from TinyDollHouseNYC. I got the boots from miniatures(dot)com. The boot tray is from LavandeHouse on Etsy.

I got the Aga on eBay. I stole the copper pot from Hummingbird Cottage. I found the kettle in a miniature shop in Paris. And the beautiful platter hanging on the wall is from LavandeHouse on Etsy.

The hutch is also one of my prized possessions. It was made by Barbara Vajnar who sold her creations as Bubbas Country Cupboards. I bought it at a miniatures show. The hinges are handmade by another artisan who Barbara worked with. The interiors of the drawers and the cupboards are impeccably made. Barbara retired over a year ago and I’m so sad! I managed to snag a corner cupboard that she made when she sold off the remainder of her inventory on eBay – that will go in the Beacon Hill.

The plates are from TwelveTimesMoreTeeny on Etsy. The butter crock is made by Jane Graber. I found it on eBay. Some of the mugs and plates I had in my stash. The egg cups are from VictoriaFasken on Etsy. And the covered cake plate is made by Veronique Cornish. I found it in the booth of Little Dollhouse Company (Canada) at a miniatures show. I believe the tin and the blue pitcher were gifts from Barbara. And the wooden bowl was a purchase from WestonMiniatures on Etsy.

The bedroom:

I’m pretty sure the wallpaper is from Earth and Tree Miniatures, based in New Hampshire. I made the floor.

I found the wicker table at a miniatures show – I believe it’s from Uncle Ciggie’s Miniatures – she makes beautiful miniature wicker pieces. The Agatha Christie book is from LandauHouse on Etsy. The lamp is a very old non-working lamp from the Petite Princess line (memories of my childhood!) I’m thinking the cup/saucer was a gift from Barbara.

The bed is from TinyIronMiniatures on Etsy. The dust ruffle is a handkerchief given to me by longtime reader Martha. It was her late mother’s. You can imagine how precious it is to me.

The pillowcases and pillows are from TonisCraftRoom on Etsy.

The quilt was a gift from Barbara, but I’m using the backing as the coverlet. I found the two prints at a minatures show in the booth of the great Patrizia Santi. I’ve been hanging on to them until I found the perfect spot. This is it. The rug was also found at a miniatures show and I had it in the modern dollhouse. I can’t remember the maker.

The wardrobe was found on Etsy – I won’t give you the name of the seller because what was sent to me was very different than I had expected. There was a large gap between the doors. But returning it would have been more costly than the unfinished piece, so I cut a piece of wood to fit the gap, which seemed to work. Then I painted and aged it. Of course, I can’t open the doors, but who cares?

The framed painting was purchased at a miniature shop in Paris. The chair is from ArlettesMiniatures on Etsy – she made the sofa, as well. (It may move to the Beacon Hill in the future…we’ll see.) The room looks fine without it. But it’s here for the foreseeable future.

The art studio:

This space was originally intended to be the bathroom, but I just wasn’t enthused about one of only three rooms in this tiny house being devoted to a bathroom. Boring. So it became the art studio. I think the wallpaper is from Earth and Tree Miniatures. If not, it’s from Itsy Bitsy Mini. I made the floors and painted them. The wood trim on the eave was the solution for a mistake I made with the dimensions of the wallpaper. Sometimes a mistake leads to something really cool!

The painting on the wall on the left is from WestonMiniature. The red piece of art propped against the wall is an old brooch that I used to wear. The chair was in the modern dollhouse and now lives here. It’s from AliceMiniatures on Etsy. The beautiful handmade easel is from AtelierHannasMinis on Etsy. It is amazing, every part of it works and it can be adjusted. The little painting is by yours truly. The stool was a gift from Barbara.

I had the shelf unit in my stash. The bust of Queen Victoria is from TinyDollHouseNYC. The paint tubes and palette and paint box were made by me from a kit I got at miniatures (dot) com. The kit is from Dragonfly International. I also made paintbrushes, but I can’t find them!

And there you go!

Dove Cottage (save for a few little things) is finished.

It’s my favorite creation so far and if I hadn’t gone to recycle when Don was working out of town, it wouldn’t be here. It was a battered little house set aside by the guy who runs the transfer station because maybe a little kid would like it. Probably a kid would like it, but I got to it first! I never planned on it becoming what it is now but, boy oh boy, I’m sure proud of it. The shell is the same, but the exterior is completely transformed. Reuse, recycle. That’s what I love to do.

Thanks so much, everyone.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

 

I always have to take a picture of these roses right away. The flowers only last a day or two and since it rained hard last night, I’m doubly glad I took this yesterday morning. If you look closely, you can see part of a little bug peeking out of the petals on the left.

Don saw the mama deer and fawn early this morning.

I posted a little video of Dove Cottage on IG yesterday. Tomorrow or the next day, I’ll write a post about it. I’m officially calling it ‘Done.’ There will be a few things to add – mostly in the form of lamps – but it’s pretty much finished.

Just to remind you of where we started and where we are now. Seen first at our local transfer station/dump, I briefly thought about taking it but then the thought, “I don’t need another dollhouse” immediately followed. So I took a picture of it, but passed.

Of course, I posted that picture on Instagram and immediately got countless responses of the “Get it!” variety. So, I drove back there, verified that it was okay for me to take it, and brought it home.

And now, about 4 years later, here it is.

I’m really pleased with the final result. As I said during one of my little videos, I’d like to live here. I love my first dollhouse – Hummingbird Cottage – but this one is very special. I suppose it’s because it was something I found for free but wasn’t exactly excited about. The only thing I knew was that I would immediately eliminate any of the ‘cutesy’ trim. And, even though many of the parts were missing, there was plenty of that. Sometimes, these Greenleaf dollhouse kits (the Beacon Hill is one) have elements that are out-of-scale, geared, I guess, to little kids. I’ve ripped most of that off of the Beacon Hill and I did the same with this one. It’s the Arthur kit, by the way.

As you well know, I take my time with these houses. I do that for a variety of reasons: I have a lot of things going on in my creative mind at any given moment, I have to be in the mood to work on it, all of the elements cost money, in fact, some of those elements are ‘investment’ pieces that I needed to save up for. I always give a new project a coat of white primer so that I can start with a clean canvas.

Anyway, at some point I thought of an English cottage and here we are. The hardest part? Making the stones, which took a long, long time and left me wanting to tear my hair out at times. But boy, was all of that work worth it. Best decision? Taking the stairs out, taking down the wall between the rooms downstairs, and closing up the opening to the second floor. It’s a very small house and the stairs and wall severely limited the downstairs space. Plus, having them smack dab in the middle of the first floor blocking the front door was a bad design move. Now we get to see that pretty front door. I’ve never been a fan of dollhouse bathrooms, so I gave myself the excuse to eliminate one in this house. We can assume the bathroom is just beyond the bedroom or kitchen. And now I have a lovely art studio instead.

It’s also full of some of my favorite artisan creations; the hutch/sideboard, the sofa, the chair(s), the big bookcase, the bed, the wicker side table, and the easel. I will give details on all of that in the ‘sources’ post.

Renovating and furnishing a dollhouse is expensive, even if you do it as cheaply as possible. That’s another reason these projects take so long.

More, most likely tomorrow.

I’m writing this early as I have to get a few things done before 10 am when I will be glued to the next January 6th Committee Hearing.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.