Surprise rose in the midst of an increasingly fall-like landscape.
Three new babies on my monstera. I was thrilled to see them as there had been no new growth during the summer. I know many of you think I have a green thumb and I guess I do, but I’ve had problems with certain houseplants this summer. My schefflera keeps dropping lower leaves – lots of them – but there is new growth as well. I can’t tell whether this is some sort of natural shedding or if something’s wrong. This particular plant has always been a bit touchy, but over the winter it did really well. I also have a few succulents that have bit the dust. So – I have my successes and my failures, just like everyone else.
Dollhouse renovation idea:
This is a small dollhouse. The rooms are not spacious and the kitchen is downright tiny. The stair placement is troublesome because it takes up so much room in the center of the house.
Not much can happen in this area. So now, we have an even smaller living room.
When I put the hutch in the kitchen, I realized how little space I would have there. One of the things I dislike about Hummingbird Cottage is the narrow, dark kitchen. Impossible to photograph, I did everything I could to lighten it up, but wasn’t very successful. In retrospect, I wish I had opened the wall up in some way.
So….
That’s what I’m going to do with the downstairs. I’m going to take the wall out, put a couple of columns in to support the floor above, take out the stairs and add something I found in a miniature catalogue – set of pull-down attic stairs. If this is a funky English stone cottage, why not? I thought about a spiral staircase, but they take up a lot of real estate.
Or, since it’s my dollhouse and dollhouses can be anything, maybe I’ll dispense with stairs altogether. I’d really like to open up this floor with a kitchen island where the wall is.
Those are my thoughts at the moment. I’ll let them percolate a bit while I’m off on my European adventure.
Your thoughts, my friends?
Happy Sunday.
The rose is lovely and what a pretty surprise! I’m hit or miss with my houseplants also. Sigh!
Love the idea of opening up the bottom floor of the doll house. I would do away with the stairs. I mean they take up room, aren’t attractive and no one uses them. The decorating is the important part. Percolate away while in Europe! Hugs!
Thanks, Linda! Unless you have a big dollhouse, stairs are a pain in the tush! xo
Claudia, I agree with Linda and I would just do away with the inside stairs too. Or if you can extend the back of the house foundation, you could install a spiral staircase outside the room area and have it be part of a decorated patio. Looking forward to watching you create mini-magic!
Bagheera has been home five days. He was doing well so the surgeon said he could come
home from the hospital early. Poor guy is bored but needs to be sequestered and coned for two weeks. We take turns being in the room with him. He really enjoys the wet paper towel baths, especially around his face, since he can’t groom most of his body. In a few days, we can allow his sisters to have supervised visits.
So happy to hear that Bagheera is doing well. Give him a kiss from all of us!
That rose is such a lovely colour. We have had numerous snow days here since mid-September, so I think autumn is giving us a miss this year. I like the idea of an open plan/no stairs for the dollhouse – it will showcase your artisan pieces very well.
I guess, even though it’s early, it’s cold enough up there to have snow! Stay warm, Barbara.
What a fabulous hobby-decorating a lovely, littlecottage with no restraints and just creativity and fun. You are blessed with a wonderful imagination and your pretty little dollhouses. When I was four, my mother made me a three room dollhouse out of matchboxes and cardboard. We never had enough money for the real thing. How I wished for a dollhouse like the ones you own!
I had a metal dollhouse but never one like the ones I have now. I made many a house out of shoe boxes!
Is the hutch the thing with the shelves for plates and cupboards beneath? We’d call it a dresser in British English. Rabbits and guinea pigs live in hutches. I’m endlessly fascinated by the differences in the way we use English. I’d be interested to hear from you after your trip about any you note.
I love the top rose, by the way. Does it have a scent?
We call it a hutch here, Karen. A dresser is the piece of furniture with drawers where one keeps her clothes. We also use hutch for the homes of rabbits, etc. I already know that you say biscuits and we say cookies! It has a faint scent – the rose.
I bought a house that was 1/4 done, the stairs were in the wrong place for me. So I decided to just not have stairs.
Enjoy your adventure to the UK
Good idea, Lynne! Thank you for your good wishes!
Personally, I don’t see the necessity of stairs in a dollhouse. I think an open floor plan with pillars would be great. You’ll have time to decide while you travel….maybe get inspired.
Being a caretaker of our green plant friends is more about being mindful of their needs. And….sometimes it’s just dumb luck! It took me a couple of years to figure out the correct watering requirements of my sensevaria. Now they are thriving. Your monstera is gorgeous….it likes it there. Enjoy your day! ;)
The monstera was fairly small when I got it last year and it was so dry that I thought it wouldn’t survive! But it’s thriving now.
My sisters and I had a dollhouse when we were little. It was tin and the staircase was painted on the wall. And the dolls were very good sports and would trudge up and down the staircase with ease. I think your idea of attic stairs will be a good solution. The furniture is looking lovely already.
I had the same kind of dollhouse. Thanks, Tana!
Well, you can do no wrong when it comes to doll houses, Claudia! I go with anything you come up with…so, sounds like removing a wall is a good plan. (In ‘real’ life, in the cottage I used to live in, the buyer who followed us removed a weight-bearing wall between 1920s-era kitchen and formal dining room {I’ll make sure I never see it; I’m not happy they messed with it}; I hope they had a good contractor.) I’m so excited to know you’re getting the doll house bug again. It’ll be such a wonderful winter project for you.
I grinned a bit over the stairway dilemma. Happens in human life, too! When I lived in the aforementioned, darling cottage – – it had a high-pitched roof and most people thought it had a 2nd story but, nope, not; however, gigantic attic and perfect for a 2nd floor or attic bedroom. My aunt & uncle had planned for it at one point. Fast-forward 50 years and after research by my architect, where my aunt & uncle had told me the stairs would be, again NOT…because, in the 21st century, it would have been deemed not to code and any stairs we WOULD do would take up most of the space in the only other bedroom besides the master; so, dashed plans.
It’s after 11am here and I can’t believe after saying we’ve just had no rain for nine months that it might actually happen although we’re quite a bit north of where forecasters are saying it will likely hit. We remain hopeful (unless it changes, one day’s estimation is 60 percent chance). so will be scurrying around getting ‘rain ready’ outside. I wasn’t going to refresh the straw in my outdoor cat shelters til next month and we’ve got other stuff we have to cover with tarps – – so, to the hardware store we go. I’d say it’s been over 20 years since I remember rain at end of Sept/early Oct; wasn’t expecting this! Gotta remember where we put all the downspout drains and that sort of thing. Feeling giddy with the thought of rain; keeping fingers crossed. I was driving around yesterday and trees/plants all over the hills and even in stupid people’s yards who refuse to pick up a garden hose (we’re not under restrictions with water!) are VERY dry and a lot is dead. Rain would be such a boon because our hot Santa Ana winds haven’t started up yet and, of course, we’re always so edgy about wildfire. Anyway, yay for rain. (Didn’t mean to sound so harsh about homeowners not doing any watering but I watched one house where I know the people inside are able-bodied and they let a tree die in their yard that’s been there since I was a kid; they finally cut it down a couple of days ago and left a big ugly stump, so I’m feeling grumbly about it. Was just unnecessary loss.)
Have you seen the video of country singer Willie Nelson singing that campaign song, “Vote ‘Em Out!”???
No, not yet. I’m sure we will soon! Love me some Willie!
I’m crossing my fingers and toes that you get rain, Vicki! You guys deserve it and need it!
I’m on Team No Stairs.
Thanks for weighing in, Margaret!
Doll house residents never use stairs!
Wishing you safe travels!
Try to stay away from the news while you’re enjoying Paris. 😧
They just levitate to the second level, right? I’m going to do my best to stay away from the news (right after I say I didn’t vote for him!)
I agree with most- no stairs. More room for beautiful furniture & decorating. Can’t wait to see the progress!
Enjoy your adventure!!
Thanks, Debbie!
Claudia. It’s your creation. Do whatever you like with the dollhouse. I have 2 much larger dollhouses that I am working on . Both are two stories plus they have large attics Large enough to be full rooms. I don’t plan to have stairs in either of the dollhouses. To my mind they just take up a lot of space without contributing much to the design. And I just tell myself that they exist just out of my vision And doing so gives even more room to play with the decorating
I love what you have done with your dollhouses so far. And the story that you give to them. I am going to do the same with mine.
Love reading your blog by the way.
Thanks so much, DonnaJean!
I think it must be a faerie house! and we all know that they can FLY! so no stairs are even needed!
I love anything miniature. have you ever seen the blog by a lady who writes for children in Seattle? her name is Maggie. I think you would love her. she has created an entire world! and she does it ALL herself by hand! the name of her site is Mouses Houses. I just love seeing her ideas!
she uses things you will recognize… but has turned them into furniture etc.
and YES. I am one of those people who thinks your thumb is EMERALD green!!! LOL. xo
Yes, I’ve seen her blog. Enchanting! Thanks, Tammy.