Mockingbird Hill Cottage

I think I’ve got a touch of what Don has – the jury is still out, though. He feels pretty crappy. I feel pretty crappy. And wouldn’t you know it? Just as all the snow has melted, we’re due for a storm tomorrow that will bring us what could be several inches of snow, and in keeping with our track record from last year, we’ll be out there shoveling while feeling under the weather.

Good times!

Ah well. Such is life in the Northeast/Hudson Valley.

This morning, while we were sitting on the loveseat having our second cup of coffee, we were talking about the ‘new’ dollhouse and how much we love it on the kitchen table. (I know you know this, but we’re truly offbeat and funky and eclectic by nature.) Anyway, Don said – out of the blue – that he wished that we could put his miniature studio on the blue table in the living room. He never really sees it upstairs, as he’s usually there only to sleep and change his clothes.

I initially pooh-poohed the idea, saying that I wanted to keep the surface more open. But he kept at it and suggested that he bring it downstairs to see if it worked there.

To my surprise, it did.

Surrounded by that greenery, it looks like it could be sitting in artsy Topanga Canyon (Los Angeles). And, because of the open back and roof, so much light comes in! Plus, the splash of red works along with the other touches of red we have throughout the main floor.

It has a gold Christmas tree.

I was so touched. That, three years later, he still loves it and wants it right there where he can see it, means so much to me. It’s the only house – so far – that I built from the ground up. It was made from a kit supplied by miniatures (dot) com. Everything – the board & batten exterior, the design of the interior of the studio, and the decision to dispense with the roof – is mine. I furnished it with things I knew Don loved, so that, even if we couldn’t afford a real studio for him, he could have one in miniature. I made the Adirondack chairs, the desks, the fireplace, and the microwave cabinet. Everything else was ordered from artisans or was a gift from fellow miniaturists/blog readers.

So, now we have four dollhouses on the main floor of the house. Hummingbird Cottage, the vintage dollhouse in the den that I found last year, Don’s Studio, and the house Don is giving me for Christmas. I told Don that not many guys would go for this kind of thing, and his response was, “Are you kidding? I love them!”

May I say once more how lucky I am that this man is my life partner?

I spent a few hours cleaning the interior floors and walls of the ‘new’ house yesterday and it’s still  dirty! I’ll go at it again today. I imagine it was stored somewhere for a long time; an attic or a barn. I can see it sitting there, ignored for years, and it makes me sad. I’m so glad we rescued it.

I want to share part of a comment from Liz that was on yesterday’s post:

“A few months ago while at an antiques show I had looked at a sweet dollhouse in a vendor’s booth. The house had interior rooms which could only be viewed by removing the roof and some of the sides. I thought this was a very unusual design, and the dealer explained that many dollhouses were made in the exact floor plan of the child’s home – hence the interior walls & rooms.”

Now, that makes sense, doesn’t it?  It confirms our instinct about this house; that it was modeled after a real house. What an amazing creation!

Happy Monday.