Mod Dollhouse
I promised a post on the dollhouse my mom just dug out of her basement and sent me this year for Christmas–the house wasn’t the gift, the act of mailing it here from the east coast was. It WAS my Christmas gift in 1969. At the ripe ole age of three.
Here I am holding the refrigerator in my hands in August of 1970:
My dad built it for me. I was enchanted by it. It was unlike anything I had ever seen–all one level with no roof, so very easy to maneuver the dolls around in. And my parents furnished it with Creative Playthings “mid-century modern” doll furniture that was a 1960s phenomena. It no longer exists in any store, just on Ebay. (*Yes,* I’ve been checking, in case I decide to upgrade the dining set or something. Heh.)
I have often wondered if this doll furniture is the reason why I have a serious LUV for modern design today. I mean, it’s got to come from somewhere, right? No one has a subscription to dwell and a Louis XVI ghost chair in their living room by chance, right? It certainly didn’t come from my parents…they had mostly colonial-revival stuff in our house growing-up. Except for the single Herman Miller Eames leather recliner and ottoman that my father liked to watch football from…that chair landed on the curb circa 1984.
The dollhouse arrived at the ranch a bit worse for wear–not from the cross-country jaunt it took, but from the way I left it in…er…say, 1979. The wallpaper my parents lined all six rooms with is peeling in several places, and the carpet squares that used to fit in the living room and bedroom apparently long since went the way of mold and mildew and were tossed:
I bought a new set of dolls to use in the house for Emme Lu because I had a sorry hodgepodge collection of weird fake Barbie-like dolls that my grandmother brought me from Florida in the late 60s and dimestore rubber animals (see old photos for weird conglomeration of dolls). I decided to get a little family of dolls for Emme, although I’m thinking of replacing the “blonde” little girl in the family with a black-haired girl…actually, I’m thinking of yanking out her yarnhair (which is really a rather unusual grayish mauve color) and gluing black yarn back in its place. You know…so that Emme can role play or whatever.
Here is the goofy bowlegged look I sported in my younger years:
I did enjoy that dollhouse. I hope Emerson will too. Now all I need is a nursery (ahem…toddler bedroom) to put it in.
Man you were soo cute. That house rocked! I hope Emme loves it!
Comment by: Jenny - 01.27.2007 - 6.24 pm
How splendid! I love that dollhouse! And the eye-level pic is grand.
Comment by: OmegaMom - 01.27.2007 - 6.51 pm
First off, you were a super cutie!!!!
I love the dollhouse. It’s awesome that you have it still. I’m not sure if my old one is still in my parents’ attic or not, but you have prompted me to ask them tomorrow. My dad built mine as well. I remember thinking the coolest part was that they used leftover wallpaper and carpet from our house and my grandmother’s house in the dollhouse, so the rooms looked like some of our own.
Comment by: Aimee - 01.27.2007 - 7.19 pm
Very nifty!
Comment by: Johnny - 01.27.2007 - 8.52 pm
THAT is an amazing dollhouse! Very cool. I’m sure you and Emme will have an absolute blast playing with it.
And you? You were the cutest little girl ever! You were totally rocking the sock/sandal thing too. Sadly, the look doesn’t go over as well when one is in their 30s (but I do it anyway).
Comment by: Jessi - 01.27.2007 - 9.04 pm
That dollhouse rocks! Love it. I think I wanna play with it.
Comment by: Jacquie - 01.28.2007 - 6.09 am
Swoon, that is FABULOUS! How lucky to be able to share that with Emme Lu, and pass it on! And you are ADORABLE!!!!!
My dad also built me one back in the early/mid-70s, and I am sure it is still in storage somewere - just not sure where or even which country! It was a Cajun-style 2-story with a large front porch and a lift-up roof shingled with pine cone scales. It was furnished with miniature Queen Anne and Colonial furniture - like a little highboy dresser and canopy bed, etc. But it was inhabited by little mice people, rather than dolls. Yes, mice “people.” There was a Ben Franklin mouse, complete with a colonial hat, ruffly shirt, and wire rimmed glasses. And I think there was a Betsey Ross mouse, and others. They stood upright and I think their bodies were furry and they had beady eyes, but other than that they were fully clothed. Sometimes the cats would steal them…
Comment by: atomic mama - 01.28.2007 - 11.27 am
Funny, I just found out from my mom that I almost had to wear the big leg braces with the metal bar inbetween because I was born bowlegged, but luckily I was able to get away with just orthopedic shoe inserts through my toddler years. Who knew?!
Comment by: atomic mama - 01.28.2007 - 11.33 am
ummm… did I read that right? Your dad put the Eames lounge chair and ottoman out on the curb in 1984???? That should be a crime! We don’t have the ghost chair, but we do have copies of Dwell as well as several Eames dining chairs and one of the cool fiberglass numbers he did - oh, and a sorry looking Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer (the seat is about the fall apart, but we can’t let it go).
great dollhouse - I especially like the bookshelves
Comment by: joelle - 01.28.2007 - 12.27 pm
That’s really cool!
Comment by: Maggie - 01.28.2007 - 4.35 pm
What an awesome toy for a little imagination. And you were totally adorable, little tan beauty!
Comment by: christie - 01.28.2007 - 4.41 pm
Wow, you were (are) gorgeous! I absolutely love the pic where we are looking through the doorways. I can’t find a link now, but you probably saw that modern doll house that was being sold by DWR and maybe some other places a couple years ago. The dollhouse itself was not so hot in my opinion — lots of colored transparent walls, but it had great accessories. I wonder if it had furniture sold separately and if it’s still available. If something other than the original will do for you that is!
Comment by: new girl - 01.29.2007 - 6.12 pm
Oh my. I’m drooling and soooo envious - envious that your father made it for you, that you STILL have it, AND that you can play with it WITH Emme. Thanks for this post and all the pics - you were/are adorable, sweetie. And Dwell magazine - best part of the month! It’s almost like porn; I get so excited with each new issue.
Comment by: walternatives - 02.05.2007 - 2.31 pm