Dollhouses by Robin Carey

New Gothic Victorian Dollhouse

2011-11-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

This Gothic Victorian inspired dollhouse began as a Tennyson. I liked the basic footprint for the house however, felt it needed major design changes. i added extra doors and windows, changed window sizes, and created a special brick chimney. The interior staircase was also moved.
Siding was a must, and for contrast the bay was done in a vertical siding. After all the architectural construction issues were dealt with, the color pallet was next....
I had picked up a flyer at the paint store with a house I loved done in red and green. so using that for basic inspiration, i moved to a fresher updated version. most of the paint colors finally chosen are from the Martha Stewart paint line. this was a very fun pallet to work with!

The hand cut and painted bricks used on the front and side steps and chimney were just the right texture and tone to pull it all together.
Front doors are always an important focal point, and this door has a wonderful stained glass window in an oval design of lilies, landscape, and delicate border.

Staining the interior trim gives the house a warm homey feeling, yet the printed all and floor papers make it light and fun.

Another addition was the fireplace. A lovely one from England with a nice slim profile. To carry through the terra cotta, more of the same bricks made for the outside were used on the base and surround area.

The staircase was moved to the other side of the house and a second staircase was added to the third floor.

In doing the gardens and flower selections, the color choices were very important. The green moss usually used was to "green" and had to be changed to a more light spring green color.

The colors in the flowers are strong and add another layer to the design, yet they do not take away from, or overpower the house. For this reason coordinating all the garden colors with the house was a challenge.

The Key West Island Manor Dollhouse

2011-05-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

This is the Key West Island Manor dollhouse. Another theme house project capturing the allure of the island of Key West. The house began as a "Newport" kit made by RGT. The windows were all replaced with a more fun and theme appropriate style.

Cuban design style influences are seen all over the island. A very Cuban addition to the house are the ornate grill work pieces installed on the two dormer windows.

An additional side window and French door side entrance were also changes to the original profile of the Newport kit. Custom laser porch and roof trim, and two additional balconies completely changed the original house shell into a true Victorian island beauty!

These beautiful Victorian homes in the "old Town" area of the island are on small close lots with intense lush tropical gardens. This landscape captures this look with a mix of many tropical plants and trees that all thrive in a zone 11 climate.

Many homes have brick walkways and bricked areas for enjoying the the beautiful surroundings. The two brick platform areas created have many display possibilities, for seating, bird baths, fountains, etc. and can be changed out to give a totally different look to the front of the house.

The interior color pallet runs through the many colors of the ocean, from cobalt blue, to light aqua green. The companion colors are the sand and coral tones, a mix of tropical earth and sunset.

The floors are a mix of cool tiles ( important in a tropical climate) in solids and patterns. The front room flooring is representative of a freshly cracked coconut,with the deep rich brown tones against the pale white of the insides.

The peacock theme is the secondary subtle theme that runs through the house. There is a full length peacock stained glass window in the new front door, and another peacock in a second floor window. A third scenic pattern stained glass window was also installed on the first floor. The full color pallets of these windows are stunning against the white canvas created by the outside color of the house.

The stair railings are laser cut wood and are painted in a clean bright white that really makes all the details of them just "pop". The risers of the stairs have a tile finish that appears to have come straight from Cuba. Cuba, by the way is only 90 miles south of Key West!

A spiral staircase leading up to a tower is always a great fantasy addition for a Key West house. The possibility of a treasure ship crashing on the coral reef was a common occurrence at the turn of the century.
The staircase is wood, and was embellished with wooden laser scroll work and then spray painted in a hammered metal finish. the same metal finish is on the dormer window inserts, and the three placements of the tone make a nice balance from the inside view.

This is a very large house with plenty of decorating space inside.It has a great footprint with a very efficient use of space. it was an awesome, fun project, and now it is time for something on the smaller side, going into the summer months...... Thanks for looking!

The Southern Mansion Dollhouse with Summer Kitchen

2011-02-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

The Back Story

The Southern mansion is the secondhouse of my dollhouse making career to have a story and a history prior to finding it's way to my tea/work room.

The first house was the Yorktown , previously owned by Beulah Caplinger, a lady I felt a connection to but never knew. That house is on the blog with other prior finished houses.

Back to the Southern Mansion. My father arrived for the holidays in 2008 pulling a small trailer behind his car. On Christmas morning the contents of the trailer revealed the biggest dollhouse I had ever seen. It seriously filled my entire dinning room table. He had purchased it at an auction sale in Ohio, and drove it in this trailer all the way down toSouth Florida.

So, here it was, someone's gigantic project that was never finished. Also along with the house was a huge box of furniture and furniture kits. So very much time and money had been invested in this well build shell of a house.

Looking at the raw wood rooms, and half assembled stair cases, I could not help but wonder what theback story wasand who it had been made for. Did they know? Was it a surprise? I'm fairly sure the house was constructed by a man.

The house had to be removed from the enormous base it was on, and accessing the gigantic foot print it still had, the only reasonable design solution was to take off the two wing additions. The house then was 32 inches long. This is a respectable size for a big house and would also allow the house to be easily shipped. With no space in my work room at the time the house was taken over to my Mom's house a few miles away and lovingly stored on a work bench in her garage.

The Challenges

In the fall of 2010 I decided to retrieve the house from Mom's garage, and see what the possibilities were for it. I had a house with two door openings on either side that had been entrances to the wing additions, damaged siding, and no base floor. The kit windows , if you could even call them that ,were not going to cut it, and this stately home deserved a lovely entrance and beautiful doors.

I decided rather than replace the siding, which was actually the walls themselves, to fill them in and do the elegant paper stone finish that I like doing, and would give the house more character. I used joint compound and leveled out the exterior wall surfaces.

For the Restyling of doors to nowhere, I decided to do a chimney on the outside and floor to ceiling fireplaces on the inside, for one side of the house. A side door and a French door with a small balcony for the other side of the house. We seen to have a plan.

The house details and decor

The exterior

The exterior is done in textured paintable paper individually cut into block style shapes and individually applied. The crisp whitegives the house a fresh clean look and a pallet for adding richer and defined tones. The English chestnut front door and shutters help ground the house with a warm tone and wood texture. For the window boxes I painted them in a fashion forward new neutral color for an updated look. The pallet for the flowers is tonal pinks and bright white with greens in the lighter shades, for a soft feminine , and very dollhousey look.

Change of plan

I had planned to make a kitchen as one of the two first floor rooms. The house was just not having it. Everything I did in that direction for one reason after another just did not manifest. The room simply had to be an elegant dinning room. When I run into to many road blocks , I know enough to stop and reevaluate the plan. As soon as I went with the elegant dinning room concept, everything just flowed into place. Actually more like gushed, with things just going together, blending and matching perfectly.

Now with a huge beautiful house with no kitchen, I wondered if I could somehow make a matching kitchen from parts of the wing additions. On our trip last year to Williamsburg, I saw many homes like this with the summer kitchen being in a small separate building. This was a great fun project. It allowed me to still have some elegant touches to match the palate of the main house, but also add earthy tones and textures like the warm red brick fireplaces, and rustic tile floors.

The interior

Again, the use of large amounts of white, keep the feel of the house bright cheery, and clean. The floors are marble papers individually cut and applied in assorted subtle patterns. This is a large house with big floor areas and larger tiles really show it off. The wallpaper choices for the first floor follow thewarm earth tones, and a deep burgundy color is the pulled through everyroom in the house to flow and compliment.The white papers are all dimensional. The two fireplaces are the showpieces of the house, and designed and decorated specifically for this house. The staircase sides are detailed with matching border prints, and wood trim.

So, this Southern Mansion house is now finished.

I still wonder in looking at it what the original owner's vision had been for it and what had happened. But again I feel that for what ever reason, I was just supposed to be the one to finish it. Now it will be up to the next person to decorate and enjoy it.

The Garden Cottage Tudor

2010-11-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is the Garden Cottage Tudor. This was a charming little project, and my first addition of vegetables to the gardens. The vegetables are done in raised beds, kind of giving them their special identity in the layout. I did a large grouping of sun flowers and then made black eyed Susan plants for the flower beds to move the same distinctive colors through the design. The roses add rich bright tones, and make this a visually happy little cottage.

The small shed piece on the side is for wood drying , or it also had a shelf and could be storage for garden supplies. The side chimney is done in the real stone, also used in other past houses. The texture and the lighter gray color were a better fit for this small cottage than the deeper tone brick. It adds visual weight, but does not burden the light cheerful theme of the house.

The Countryside Tudor

2010-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

This house was adapted from a vintage Dura Craft Tudor kit. This is a nice large house with big rooms for decorating. I changed the profile to feature a front chimney, replaced windows, added windows, and added a second side door. I also lengthened the back roof space, and changed the interior room layouts.

I had a lot of fun playing with the different brick patterns, and balancing stucco, brick and beam areas. The house being so large needed stronger brick placements to give it a more grounded look. Keeping the proportions of the large walls, yet toning down the space to make the house feel inviting and cozy was a challenge.

The garden is done with a pallet of blues and coral/peach, and then I added the golden sunflowers for a punch of yellow to brighten it all up. The rustic cut log fence is open and airy, yet the wood tones act as an extension of the wood beam trim from the house, out to the garden.

The natural textures used on the roof shingles and on the bricks give the house a wonderful earthy and rustic feeling. The stucco also adds another layer of texture as your eyes take in the complete visual of the mixed medias.

The loft with ladder piece is not attached and also fits on the other side of the same wall, so it could be used in either room. It also will fit underneath the staircase in the bottom room. I love being able to change things up and this loft with ladder piece, being a movable piece can inspire many different display ideas and uses for the rooms.

The Coral Island House

2010-09-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

I was finally ready for some color, so this coral color caught my eye on a real house in Key West. I also saw a brick walkway in a magazine that I just loved. So these were the inspirations for this Coral Island house.

The base of the house was a very old kit I got on eBay called the Theresa and was made by Greenleaf. The seller told me the kit was complete; however the huge piece that makes the first floor was missing! This was not fun! There was also no actual picture of the house only a line drawing on the two sheet instruction page.

I really like to have more than one color on a house for trim. I think it makes it more interesting. The white is very crisp and clean looking but I wanted a fuller pallet. The bricks accomplished that. They added not only a whole other dimension, they filled the color gap. I made all the bricks and painted them in a rosy terra cotta and cognac (a very trendy color) and some cream tones. All mixed together they create a rich warm feeling that works well against the coolness of the house.

The landscaping is all tropical zone 11 that you would find from palm beach to Miami and down to the Keys. The landscape is a mix of bits from craft stores, and the handmade clay flowers arefrom Thailand. Also moss and paper, and other natural materials. More beautiful palm trees from Marilyn: http://www.virtualdollhouse.net/Customer/Earthscapesbyheath.htm

The stained glass windows in the front door are from Pat who sells them on eBay under think*small .

The original design of the kit had the stairs facing the front, but I rarely like that, so I turned them to face the back of the house. The lovely stair runner came from Denise http://handmademiniatures.yolasite.com. Wanting more light coming in and a more open to the outside feeling, I added the French door and the full size windows. The house flows out to the garden by doing this, just as the homes in Key West do.

I enclosed the stairs and added a narrow door that opens and the inside under the stairs is finished. It could be storage or a small powder room.

The kit also had the small center window the same shape as the two dormer ones, but I felt the round window gave the house more character. I added a Widow’s Walk just for fun and to keep the Key West theme, as many of the larger homes there had them for actually watching for ships that crashed on the coral reef. Treasure salvaging was very lucrative around the turn of the century.

The Garden Town House

2010-06-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

After two very large Key West houses, I needed a break for just a small and very fun project, before my next Key West and Tudor houses. I just finished this Town House that my Mother envisions as being a Courtesan’s house located not far from the business district of Paris.

The black fence is a strong contrast to the soft white of the house, and balances out the black of the window filigree work. The balcony pieces are metal that I cut and curved to size. They were painted and dry brushed. Although I kept the same basic pink pallet for the flowers, I made it much stronger to stand out against the fence.

The interior color pallet is light and fun. A full range of pastels in the pink tones and soft greens. The Laser cut wood stairs and railings from Captain Sawdust are painted a soft creamy white. The detailing and texture of these additions reflects the already busy and exciting expressions in play through the wallpapers and paper cut outs. This design is a layering of soft tones, textures and busy patterns. I think mostly white furniture in this house would be beautiful. I cut apart a chandelier and re worked the materials to create a small one for the stairway and then two matching wall sconces for the fireplace.

The Key West Island Paradise Home #2

2010-03-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

This dollhouse was my second house depicting a Victorian Sea Captain’s style Key West Island home. On this house I had a stronger focus on the tropical landscape. I think this time I really captured the feeling of these island homes and their lush gardens. I lived In Key West for three years before moving to Ft. Lauderdale. Using the three large Royal palm trees helped balance the profile of the house. I love looking at them through the second story windows from the inside of the house.

The house started out as a “house that Jack Build” Lady Anna or Ashley model. To capture the open airy feeling I needed, I cut 9 extra openings from the original design for additional windows and doors. More natural light coming into the rooms gives them the relaxing warm breezes feeling. The exterior is a crisp clean white with an accent of the color “sea glass”, a very trending color right now.

I chose not to use the original Mansard roof, but create a tower for watching ships out in the gulfstream. The laser cut trim in the design of a ship’s wheel defines the space with a nautical flair. The tower really opened up with the additional windows for a scenic view.

I used many of the same wallpapers as on my first house which is in my personal dollhouse collection. I just loved they way many of them lent themselves to the theme and worked well together in the design. I kept the pallet for this house in the blues and yellows to bring in both the shades of the water and the yellows of the sunsets.

~ Robin Carey

The beautiful palm trees were created by Marilyn Heath Lauffer, of http://www.virtualdollhouse.net/Customer/Earthscapesbyheath.htm

The Key West on Miniaturas Magazine!

2010-02-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

The English Tudor Dollhouse

2009-11-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

The Key West Island House

2009-08-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Key West Island house is a theme house that depicts all the pleasures summer, and of island living. Key West is a 3 by 5 mile island that sits at the very end of a small chain of islands off the tip of Florida. It is the southernmost city in the continental U.S. and is only 90 miles from Cuba.

The house started out as a kit of the” Alison” by real good toys. It has a two story room addition, as well as a custom tower. Extra windows and doors were also modifications to the original design.

The large white Heron bird is on the fence sits very stately and quietly. The white are my favorite but they also are in brown. They have a huge wing span when they take off.

Riding a bike is very common, and in the basket are Longans, one of my favorite tropical fruits and a loaf of Cuban bread. You have to buy Cuban bread every day ... it doesn’t keep. There is a small scene on the table for butterfly collecting. There are just tons of them all year round.

On the lounger is coco frio, a fresh coconut that they take a big machete to and chop the top off, put in a straw and you just drink the fresh milk.

The Spiral Staircase Room: Many houses have towers and widows walks for watching for shipwrecks. In the spiral stair room are maps and charts and books on navigation and sailing ships. Finding treasure especially after a storm is always a possibility. There is a treasure chest by the desk.This room is the fantasy and endless possibilities of finding the great treasure.

The 1st Bedroom

The Beatrix Potter Bedroom

The Sitting Room: The sitting room is a quiet getaway room ... a place to sit in a comfortable chair, have a drink, and maybe smoke a Cuban cigar and read a great book. All through the house are books by Hemingway, Samuel Carter and subjects pertaining to the sea.

There is a bucket of shells by the lounger as well as the shell collection upstairs on display. These are actual real shells. There are very few shells on the beach except after a tropical storm or hurricane since a large coral reef sits just out from the island preventing the forming of natural sand. However this reef was the cause of the many shipwrecks that occurred making the salvage business one of the main businesses around and before the turn of the century.

The 2nd Bedroom

The Garden Room addition depicts the passion for raising orchids. On the tables are slices of Key Lime pie, the most popular desert on the island.

The Kitchen: In the kitchen are tropical fruits and of course, fresh caught fish and shrimp. The shrimp boats sail out in the evening and you can watch them around sunset, and come back in the morning. There is fresh fried fish on the plates at the table.

The living room and foyer depict the social life of Key West. Living on a 3 by 5 mile island means you have a lot of friends. There is always a party. The party here will be an after sunset party where everyone will come after watching the sunset from the pier. There will be drinks, and gourmet treats, and piano playing. The front door will be open and the evening breezes will blow through the house. You will be able to smell the aromas of Cuban food and coffee from the neighborhood wafting by. And as the evening moves on, the fragrant smell of night blooming jasmine and angel trumpet blooms permeate the air as the guests leave and walk down the quite streets home.

Special special thanks go to Denise from http://handmademiniatures.yolasite.com for the exquisite hand made furniture, and Robert Dodd from http://captainsawdust.com for the magnificent nautical wood trim that he custom made for this Sea Captain’s house.

I also found a new friend named Rapeepong, from whom I was able to purchase all these wonderful tropical fruits and foliages made from clay. She is in Thailand and sells both privately at rapeepoi@gmail.com and through eBay at http://myworld.ebay.com/bestminiature.

~ Robin Carey

Life at Mornington Mews

2009-08-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Mr. & Mrs. Thornberry live in Mornington Mews. The full cast of characters for the house includes Dr. Charles (standing beside the Thornberrys) the personal physician and long time family friend, the butler, downstairs maid, chamber maid, footman, chef, cook, cellar man, gardener, chimney sweep, Mrs. Thornberry’s attending, and Mr. Finny a local character, and the tramp that always finds a hot meal due to the kindness of the cook.

Mrs. Thornberry is having her birthday in a few days, and Mr. Thornberry has purchased her a lovely emerald necklace which he is showing Dr. Charles. Mr. Thornberry, as you can see, has suffered a mishap and broken his leg.

Yes it is a house elf! Every house should have one...

Special thanks to Detta for her dolls:
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Dettas-Darling-Dolls-And-Minis

The Mornington Mews

2009-04-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

A special thanks to Robert Dodd of captainsawdust.com. The beautiful laser cut staircase in the butler's pantry above was created by Robert Dodd. His email is sawdust47@msn.com.

The Sea Captain's House ~ Victorian Manor

2008-11-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

The Mint Julep

2008-11-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Princess Anne

2008-11-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

The Tudor Cottage

2008-11-22T16:40:00.001-08:00

The Vineyard Cottage

2008-11-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

The City Club

2008-11-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

This is the City Club! It was the first of the town house, row houses, and sits on the same block as the Bed & Breakfast hotel. The City Club is host to four different meetings of the finer pursuits in life.

On the first floor is the Ladies Literary Society. The members are currently discussing and reading copies of my two favorite books. The first, a novel entitled… The Ladies of the Club" by Helen Hooven Stantmyer: a 1176 page story of women’s lives in the aftermath of the Civil War. She wrote this book at the age of 88. The second book, "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" is a simple collection of personal thoughts, poems and observations of Edith Holden. Edith died at 49 years of age, when she accidentally lost her balance and drowned in the Thames River, reaching to pick flowers from a chestnut tree.

On the second floor is the Music Club. A mix of string and vocal is being performed today. A few members are missing as many also perform professionally, and scheduling overlaps often occur.

On the third floor are the public facilities, and enjoying themselves immensely are the members of the wine and cigar aficionados. This club always has a good turnout for their meetings. This club being of course, for male members only.

The Art Club prefers the tower room and the open inspiration of the city at its feet atop the roof. Many mediums are found in use for this creative and talented group. Clay sculpting, oil and water color painting are all found in use today.

~ Robin Carey

The Bed & Breakfast Hotel

2008-11-14T20:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Bed & Breakfast, now housed within the San Franciscan townhouse by Robin Carey. I was introduced to the residents of the hotel by Robin, and thought you would like to know them too ...

"The Bed & Breakfast hotel has been in business as long as most can remember. It is owned by Mrs. Violet Lavender Primrose Cholomondley (pronounced Chumley) born in England and brought to America as a young girl. She is fondly known as Granny C.

It is a warm and friendly environment, with many guests returning each year. Granny C. runs the place with minimal staff, having only Mrs. Dusty Scrubbard Bridges for service, and Miss Elsie May Dawdle for cleaning.

It has always been rumored that perhaps a ghost or two may have been haunting the hotel. Guests have reported missing items as well as noises at night about the house over the years. Truth be told, an old tramp named Nigel has been living in the tower room for most of his life, or at least since Granny C. said he could.

Staying for the night were one older couple in route to the start of the trip around the world they had planned and saved for all their married lives, which number 52 as of last night! Good for them!

On the same floor, another couple just starting their journey in married life. They celebrated their honeymoon the same night.

Third floor guests included a young mother traveling with her small daughter, to visit an Aunt. Truth is she might not be going back home at all! Seems she cried half the night to Granny C. telling about her failing marriage. Granny C. is hoping for the best. The young salesman checked out this morning, off to an early start. The ambition of youth, Granny C. says. His room being barley more than a hallway with a bed, but Granny C. knows that money can be tight, and makes available a comfy bed, and top notch food for all her guests.

The young salesman checked out this morning, off to an early start. The ambition of youth, Granny C. says. His room being barley more than a hallway with a bed, but Granny C. knows that money can be tight, and makes available a comfy bed, and top notch food for all her guests.

The food is actually so acclaimed that many people, who are not even guests at the hotel, just come to the dining room for the fine cuisine. Granny C. also never minds about old Henry, who shows up every morning just to read his paper in peace. His children both moved back home with the grandchildren, and there isn’t a quiet spot in the house.

Speaking of the young people, the dear girl out front waiting for her transportation, is leaving home for the first time. She has been accepted to a university somewhere in the Midwest. She is the first woman in her family to have such an opportunity. We haven’t heard the last from her yet."

~ Robin Carey

The San Franciscan

2008-11-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

The San Franciscan has always been a favorite of mine, and this one is made all the more special by the Midas touch of Robin Carey.

The Willowcrest

2008-03-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

Seeing how much I loved the stonework on her previous houses, Robin sent me photos of the Willowcrest she had made for Dean Roberts from Greenleaf. The Willowcrest is one of my favorite Greenleaf kits because of its architectural details, and Robin's meticulous brickwork makes this one so very special!

The Yorktown

2008-03-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is the Yorktown Dollhouse by Robin Carey. You absolutely must hear the story behind the creation of this Yorktown house! Since Robin is a much better story-teller than I am, let me quote her on this:

I have to tell you the story of the Yorktown house. I saw this half started wood shell on eBay, and I didn't even know what the house was supposed to look like, but I felt so compelled to have it. It was listed as pick up only in Ohio! I have never done this before, but I emailed the man and asked him if he would consider shipping it. He said he would, so I bought it for only $10.00, but paid $100.00 to have it shipped. He had told me that he and his grandfather had found it while cleaning out an attic. His grandmother had started it but never finished it.I asked her name, and was told Beulah Caplinger. I wrote it on a piece of paper and posted it on the wall in my work room. When the box arrived, all the parts were there to complete it. Unfortunately she had nailed in some walls the wrong direction, and probably just got discouraged. I had to knock it back down to the foundation and start it all over.

As I was working on it, I kept telling Beulah, that I hoped she was pleased! Silly, but I felt some connection to this woman, and that I was supposed to finish this house. So I refer to it as the Beulah Caplinger Yorktown! I know I have made it for someone, as I never gave a thought to keeping it. So when The person who is supposed to have it is ready, my little voice will tell me to list it on ebay. It always works that way. I always try to listen to the universe and go with the flow. How fun! I will keep you in the loop as I start more houses.

Thanks,
Robin

Miss Muffet Dollhouse

2008-02-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

I have to say, my favorite in this house has to be the stained glass, and the flowers that are everywhere! Also my favorite: the awesome marble floor. The delicate railings, the sweet pink and floral wallpapers remind me of sugar and spice and everything nice. I am sure Miss Muffet is positively delighted to live in this house. No spiders allowed though ... tame or otherwise!

The Greenhouse - Added Later to the Van Buren

2007-11-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

The Van Buren

2007-11-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

Newly finished wooden one inch to the foot scale Van Buren doll house. The house is not wired. The house is 29 inches high, 30 inches wide, 14 1/2 inches deep and 20 inches deep with the porch. The base of the house was made from the Van Buren, made by Greenleaf, and has been out of production for quite some time The stone finish on the outside of the house was created by a dimensional material that was hand-cut and hand-applied. It is beautiful in person! The front porch was a custom addition, as well as the sandstone finish balcony additions on each side of the house. The roof is done in all wood shingles that were stained in grey tones, and individually applied.All the custom flower beds are included, as well as the window boxes, and landscape pots on the top of the porch.

The inside has very large rooms with plenty of room to decorate.The floors were done in a variety of patterns to give the look of marble or European Tile.The material is a bark cloth that was hand cut, applied and sealed.The ceilings are all finished, and four of the main rooms have a special decorative design that is highlighted with the house's deep accent color pallet.You will see base boards, and crown molding (some done in real gold leaf) and all other finish trims are done. The walls are all papered in coordinating colors, so the colors flow. The first floor left room has a wall treatment that gives a tile look, and was made in Spain. The two fireplaces are not attached, and can be moved about the house. The small room behind the stairs on the first floor, would make a nice powder room. It is finished inside, papered, and has hard wood floors. The house is attached to a wooden base 34 by 25 to keep it secure in shipping. The house can be easily detached by removing a few screws on the bottom if you choose.

~ Robin Carey

English Country Cottage

2007-10-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

I saw this beautiful English Country Cottage on eBay last month. The exterior was finished with rustic brick and stonework. I wish I could get a closer look of the front door: there seems to be a very intricate lock or latch on the door! My favorite has got to be the moss-covered chimney and all the colorful blooms that seem to sprout out of every nook and cranny of the foundation. There is such vibrancy in this dollhouse! Don't you agree?

The Cherrydale

2007-09-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

A Glimpse Inside the Santa Cottage

2007-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Cambridge House

2007-09-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

This was one of the first houses I did, and the first attempt at doing the flowers. My gardens have improved greatly since this humble attempt! This house sold on eBay year before last. This will be my 4th year for making dollhouses.

~ R0bin Carey