KittyKatt's Dolls House Project

A History of the Furniture   and Accessories  (Updated 4th April 2025, with pictures!) My dolls' house is roughly 1/16 scale, where 1 foot (12 inches ) in real life is 3/4 inch in dolls house size. But the rooms are very slightly smaller, (probably  to squeeze in the bathroom and the garage!) which adds to my feelings that it's hand made. The furniture for my dolls house is also made to 1/16 scale, although as most of it was hand made, it can vary! It's mostly made either by Barton or Dol-Toi, (both English companies, now sadly defunct) with some made by, Barrett , DCMT and also Lundby (a Swedish company, who bought Barton in 1984). Some of it I've had to guess the manufacturer, and some I have no idea who made it (yet!). Dol-Toi  1944 - 1978 A Dol-Toi wardrobe dating from the 1950s. The back of the wardrobe shows the distinctive Dol-Toi label. (Many have probably worn off or been scratched off over the years!) Dol-Toi Products (Stamford) Limited had its origins in a...

  The pink bathroom suite is made by Barton from plastic, and dates to the 1960s (possibly 1964?). I wanted a reasonably authentic bathroom that was in good condition, and still reasonably priced.  The set still has all its original taps,  the toilet still has its seat and lid intact, and the handle of the flush mechanism still works.  This was the era when coloured bathrooms were becoming popular.  The dolls house bathroom suites of the 1950s and earlier were often made from plaster (which often broke when dropped, so not many remain in good condition,) wood or metal. These are also hard to find in good condition  at a reasonable price. I suspect this could be because many small owners wanted to make things more "authentic" by filling everything with water!  The laundry bin is probably also made by Barton, around 1970. The pale pink towel rail is by Dol Toi, dating to around 1960, and is made from metal with wooden "feet". The little blue and pink to...

  Bedroom #1 This collection is mostly early Barton, the dressing table and chest of drawers have the typical larger knobs of the earlier ranges, and the chest of drawers  has a rather attractive slightly bow front. The beds are made by Barton, although the bedding is new! ( But the bedding has utilised fabrics such as vintage lace for the trim of the pillowcases and sheets for a more authentic look). The wardrobe is almost certainly early DolToi. (It's made of solid wood and has the wooden back. Not everything got stamped with the company stamp, and labels have a tendency to fall off / be picked off over the years!) The clock dates to the late 1940s/ early 1950s and I think is probably Dol Toi, although there's no stamp or label (not surprising on something that tiny!). Interestingly, when I visited P and C,  I noticed C had the "real size" clock this model clock was obviously  based on, on her sideboard, which when I admired it, she said was a wedding present back ...

 I've installed the lights in my dolls house. They're LED, and battery operated, so no wiring needed! :D  (Just as well, as the ply wood that forms the outside walls of the house is very thick, and would take a lot of drilling with my miniature hand drill.)

 Today I put the flooring down - black and white tiles in the bathroom and kitchen, traditional lino in the bedrooms and parquet in the sitting room. It's all on sheets that can be trimmed to size and then stuck down. I haven't stuck anything yet, just laid it all in place, to check I've trimmed everything correctly as it "settles".

 I've decided to keep the outside paintwork on the house mostly "as is", to preserve the vintage charm, ( I'm not looking to make it look as if it's just come from the showroom) and I don't want to be rubbing down lots of paint that almost certainly has lead in it! Also, the paints from 70 years ago were very different in their consistency and make up, so it would be difficult to replicate the more gentle sheen of the gloss paint from that time.  However, the fascia board at the top of the house was nagging me, as the paint there was badly marked and also flaking for some reason, and flaking lead paint, as well as not looking good, isn't particularly safe either. So, I rubbed that bit down to get rid of the flaky bits, wiped it with a damp cloth, let it dry and then painted on a primer, to stabilise the surface.  Then I had fun matching  the paint. In the end I used Tanglewood Park by Valspar in a silk formulation to give a very gentle sheen. I think the h...