Another Antique House

[CheckMouse]

Good idea, Cheryl. The attic will be closed up again - with screws this time so it can be opened again - and I could place some info in there. The story is shifting a bit since I have decided to put my black lady and her son in the house. Could be a black family who escaped the South through the Underground Railroad and made their way to the West and freedom. Papa finds a decent job at a dry-goods store in the little town of Dayton. Hmmm - need to look around for a little girl to fit the scene, just a toddler, that Papa wants to get a dollhouse for!

LIGHT BULB MOMENT!  :idea_1:  I need to make at least one wooden crate, to match the house scale, with the store logo on the side!  

[MiniCrazy]

Ooh I'm loving the way this is going!

[CheckMouse]

I'm off on several tangents at once right now - and tomorrow I start a four-day hitch at the Seattle Home Show. Love the job, love the paycheck - but hate to be away from the minis!  Anyhow - Project 1 is to make a little replica of the house as a dollhouse to put in the upper bedroom. Got the shell of that made last night and left it in the jig to dry. Project 2 is to find a little girl doll to go in the house - I don't think my little boy wants a dollhouse!  I found an absolutely adorable little black baby girl on HBS website (can't post ANY pictures in this!) but she's really too young to want a dollhouse, only about a year old. There's another little resin doll, a girl about 3 years old, with the long dress of the period, and holding a dolly. You know she would love a dollhouse! But she's white.   I have painted the hair and the clothes on these resin dolls, but never the skin. Don't know if I have the courage to risk ruining the face. Should probably buy 2 dolls in case I mess one up. Project 3 is to make a replica of the wooden crate itself, not as a house, to put in the kitchen somewhere. I played around with that on my Print Shop program today and came up with a pretty good printie. Rough draft looks good; so now I can print it on good paper and good quality and have box for kindling or something, complete with the company logo stenciled on the sides.

Project 4 is to start getting some pictures and history of kitchens in that era, around 1906 to 1910, so I know how to furnish this one. 

I can't quite explain, or even understand, how this house has consumed me. I feel like I owe it something, like I owe it a chance to shine again. While searching for kitchens I came across a website of someone who restores old RL houses, trying to keep them true to their beginnings while making them functional for today.  He had this quote which really hits the spot - (that first line is his also)

 

The following is a passage expressing my belief:

“. . . Old buildings are not ours. They belong, partly to those who built them, and partly to the generations of mankind who are to follow us. The dead still have their right in them: That which they labored for . . . we have no right to obliterate.” “What we ourselves have built, we are at liberty to throw down. But what other men gave their strength, and wealth, and life to accomplish, their right over it does not pass away with their death . . .”
by John Ruskin 1849, “The Seven Lamps of Architecture” chapter 6

... and now I must leave the treasure for 4 whole days ... 

[Selkie]

Love your research and energy for this project.

[havanaholly]

CJ, I found some Heidi Ott dolls that might come close:  http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/0/4/6/1/5/5/webimg/349225894_tp.jpg

[suej]

C J everytime I look at your pictures and read an update I think "if walls could talk" and they almost are as they reveal a little at a time. I think its also a neat thing that you have had this house stored for awhile. Just like in RL timing is everything. Your journey with this house is happening exactly when and how it is meant to be. That little Bobbi in its unopened box that I dug out of my 25+ years storage this past summer would have probably never been finished had I started it back then over 25 yrs ago...just too much 'stuff' going on. Now I treasure that little house because not only does it have a history with me but it led me to this site and thus to a whole new world of friends and education. And I love to learn. Thank you for sharing this gem.

[MiniCrazy]

Well said Sue. I'm loving watching this transformation too and the effort CJ is putting into it o make it just right. So sorry you have to leave your project behind but it gives you time to step back and plan accordingly for your return.

[CheckMouse]

Thanks for the tip on the Heidi Ott dolls, Holly.  I'll have to check them out too.

 

I sent an email to the fellow I found online, the one that restores old RL houses, and whose quotation I posted earlier. He replied, said he liked the sound of the little house, and will get me some pictures from the era some time next week! I asked primarily for pictures of kitchens of ordinary homes of the era, not the well-to-do homes. This home belonged to pioneer stock - neat, clean, loved, but not fancy. 

I should not be at the computer right now - got home from work awhile ago and just had to stop in to see what's going on at Greenleaf. Have to get up early and head out across the Sound tomorrow morning to work in the Seattle Home Show.   (Tough commute, but somebody's gotta do it!)

[MiniCrazy]

Wow CJ you have had that little house for a while. I was thumbing through the old posts last night and came across your original post from Dec of 2011. Just proves that sometimes you just have to wait till the time is right. Four years ago you may not have found the information that has motivated this build.

 

Funny how things work out.

[CheckMouse]

Yes, I do feel a tad guilty for leaving this little treasure in the loft for so long, just using it as a cupboard.. But on the other hand, I don't think I was ready 4 years ago to appreciate the workmanship and do it justice. But once I brought it down and could see it every day, it certainly got my attention!

[CheckMouse]

The lady of the house has a name - She is Abigail.    It's a strong name, and the Abigail in the Bible (I Sam 25) was a very courageous woman who defied tradition and saved her town from destruction. I get the distinct feeling that the parents of the little girl, for whom this house was built, were sturdy pioneer stock, facing their hardships head on, and overcoming their difficulties. Haven't named the little boy yet, and haven't got his little sister yet.  Don't you hate it when RL takes you away from what you really want to be doing???  This little house still has me by the scruff of the neck and won't let go - but I hope she understands I need to do a few other things, too!  Must start searching for appropriate wallpaper, too.  Because these walls are just rough wood, I'm planning to use posterboard backing for the wallpaper. It will be easier to manage, and easier to measure and apply.

Still have to cut the stairway landing and enlarge the upstairs doorway. 

[havanaholly]

The little boy looks like an Abner or Elijah to me.  Is he Abigail's son, or grandson?

[CheckMouse]

It's her son. Papa will just always be out the door and gone to work; don't plan to get a father-doll. But I've already started on a replica dollhouse, so need a little girl for the family. 

[CheckMouse]

Went to Hobby Lobby with my aunt last night. We browsed together until we got to the back wall with the dollhouses and furnishings. I  have no idea where she went after that! Had to connect by cellphone to find each other again! The minis were 30% off - need I say more?  I got a pie safe, an ironing board with an iron (either charcoal or flatiron), a simple wood cupboard with doors, and another with drawers (bedroom and kitchen), a water pitcher and bowl, and a package of 3 chair/stools.  Also got a package of wood flooring for the ground floor, and wallpaper rolls for each room. Still need to find a wet-sink with a pump attached.  I already have one bed, picked up at an antique store, vintage around 1880, that will go in Momma and Papa's room.  In my stash I have a bunk bed set, wood, which I will have to age a bit. Looks to bright and shiny. That will be for the two kids.  
I took everything out to the Craft Cottage this morning and placed them, still packaged (the house isn't cleaned up yet), in the different rooms, just so Miz Abigail would see that progress is being made!  I had planned to work on it this weekend, but my boss called, someone cancelled, could I please take the 3-day Golf Show in Seattle this weekend? Please?  So I have to postpone working on the little Appleby for a few more days.

[Selkie]

Not sure what scale your mother figurine is so this might not work at all but this little girl figure is adorable. She might work for the daughter if the scale is correct.
 

Mary Jane doll link

[havanaholly]

... Still need to find a wet-sink with a pump attached...

Chrysnbon makes it as a kit:  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&image=37186

[CheckMouse]

Holly - thanks, I didn't know they made one. I'll keep my eyes open. I'll also look through my stash of the C. kits; maybe I already have one!!  I snap them up when they go on sale.

 

Selkie, that is just a bit uncanny - that is exactly the doll I've been looking at! Moved it to my wish list on HBS website!  I'll have to paint her skin to make her a little black child. Guess i should make the doll black, too, or at least brown. That part scares me spitless! I plan to buy 2 dolls in case I mess one up. I have painted hair and clothes on these resin dolls, but never the face.

[Selkie]

Maybe try a more transparent paint and do a slow build up of color until it's what you want rather than going with an opaque paint and having to take it off.

[CheckMouse]

RL keeps taking me away from my minis, and little Lady Appleby is calling!  I have become obsessed with it - or maybe I am possessed by it!  I got an idea the other day (and made notes at work for future reference) - I would like to put a little "time capsule" in the attic, with scraps of the original wallpaper and the original curtains in it. I would also include pictures of how it was when I got it, progress as I worked, and some of the finished remodel.  The attic has always been closed up but I took the back off. When I'm through, I will put the same back on again, but this time with screws instead of nails, so it can be removed as needed!

 

Anybody have any ideas or suggested regarding the back?  It is completely unfinished - not even painted. I can't match the siding, and modern dh siding won't do. Should I paint it white?  Or should I leave it as is, in tribute to its original vintage?

Edited March 10, 2015 by CheckMouse

[havanaholly]

Why not shingle it?

[Cathy C]

I love your time capsule idea!

[MiniCrazy]

I Love Love Love the time capsule idea!

 

As for the back, here is my two cents.  If you use the time capsule, you are paying homage to the house in that way so you don't need to keep it natural. With that said it will probably not be seen from the way the house is made that will probably be against a wall any way. As far as finishing it, hmmm.

 

Well you could shingle the removable apex and just paint the entire back White.

Shingle the apex and stone the rest

Do some stucco look like a Tudor.

 

Wow that is a pickle! What does your heart tell you? Go with that!

[suej]

Is it possible to have horizontal planks that dont overlap and painted with a very weathered whitewash. My memory takes me back to the rural community where I grew up.

[Cathy C]

I agree with Cheryl that you should go with what your heart tells you.

But here's my two cents.... It sounds like no matter what you do to the back, it is not going to match the other three sides anyway. So if it were mine, I'd be tempted to leave it as is, maybe put a matte finish clear sealer over it.

[Debra from Olde Cape Cod]

Could you add full size siding to match what's on the sides? Or cut down some full size wood siding?