Are there any other dolls house fanatics on here?

no but I loved helping my dh with his model railway and painting the tiny figures and making up the the houses..( I even had the doors and windows open with people going in and out with their shopping etc ..I used to have picys but lost them all I think when last laptop bit the dust.

Knacky..
I like that. Haven't heard it before.

????? post posted itself - to continue...money, presents and cutting things up. You can get dolls house kits and plans if you or your DH is nacky with a hammer and nails, or even, as DH did design and build one based on what he could find in the shed.

DD is the dolls house fan in our family and as she started with them when she was about 6, I have inevitably been involved. DH made her her first one with oddments of hardboard and a kit of fitments and papers from Hobby craft. Then he made the granny annexe. Then I saw in one need of restoration and renovation in a junk shop, then she bought the next wreck for conversion and she has since acquired another, 5 in all. Style varies from 1930s farm workers cottage to 1920s house to modern houses.

She buys stuff for them but generally makes everything from furniture to family to all soft furnishings. I just stand by in awe.

If you are knacky with your hands it isn't an expensive hobby. For 10 years DD relied on her pocket

Nonnie, you should be able to find a doll's house in a charity shop if you are content with a modern one. Or you could make one yourself. They do not have to be expensive, said she, envious of all the proud owners of Victorian mansions!

My new dolls' house is a converted pinewood dresser, as it houses the dolls and teddies from my childhood that I have never been able to contemplate discarding.

They have just moved in, so right now I am busy fitting up the various rooms, Yesterday, I made a couch that folds out to a double bed (10 x 7 inches) for a pair of sisters. The doll family' s two boys sleep in hammocks (they have they have 16 sisters and female cousins, so they are very much the minority, although there are more male than female teddies and three grown-up men dolls.).
Trying to persuade DH to repair my metal kitchen stove -

Dolls' houses are marvellous fun, aren't they?

I still have mine too. Made by my Dad in 1960. My parents furnished it and I have a wonderful time capsule there. When my much younger sister reached 7 they modernised it for her by giving it a flat roof - but the same furniture. My twins came twenty years later so Dad made a new roof with extra bedrooms in it so that they could both play with it.

My first granddaughter arrived this year and I’m already thinking about it’s next reincarnation, but what she’ll make of the hoover junior with the fabric dust bag, the 1950s TV and the pink bathroom suite is anyone’s guess. ?

I have several vintage houses, of the sort popular as toys in the 1950s.

I furnish them with vintage furniture, and I do tiny needlepoint to make carpets, cushions etc. I have also made some furniture, weaving and basket making.

Whenever I go to a car boot sale, flea market or and antique/junk shop I am always on the lookout for tiny things I can add to my collection.

I think it is a great hobby as it doesn't take up too much space.

Nonnie - why not? It's a fairly harmless hobby. I have just bought one from eBay. Took me a while to find the right one but it is lovely. You can buy or even make things yourself.

I was never a girly girl, that was my sister but I have always had a secret longing for a proper dolls house. There used to be a lovely shop in Covent Garden I always visited when there.

So far I have GSs but have told the family that if ever they produce a GD I will be in charge of the doll's house. In my mind it will be kept at Grandma's house and will only be played with under supervision until she is old enough to know how to look after it. Don't think I can justify buying one just for myself.

There was a thread a while back where a member put up pictures of her dolls houses, as she was wondering what to do with them. They were fabulous! Made by her dad

That would be me Miss A Still got them and still not done anything about them. It's one of those 'getroundtoit' jobs which still hasn't been gotten round to!

Lovely hobby albeit a bit expensive to buy items but I used to make a lot of things which was really part of the fun.

I have just done something really stupid. Spent a couple of hours painting Noah's ark (and the animals). When I had finished I had to break the pewter figures off of the original castings. Had a job breaking off the geese only to realise that they were peacocks and I have snapped the tails.........

I saw Queen Mary's dolls house a few years ago. What to give the woman who have everything - everything but in teeny tiny scale!

I remember going to visit Queen Mary's dolls house at Windsor! It was a favourite outing when I was very young (I left the UK when I was six, so before that) I loved going to see it, and I am sure I went several times, as I could never get enough of it.

There was a thread a while back where a member put up pictures of her dolls houses, as she was wondering what to do with them. They were fabulous! Made by her dad.

Evening all. Just returned from the NEC dolls house fair with bits and bobs for mine, mainly for a conservatory I acquired recently. So mainly plants for it, watering can, etc.

I went with my sister, who bought an outside loo for hers, complete with sheets of newspaper hanging from a string for loo paper!

Welsh wife, I was taken to see queen Marys dolls house when I was very small, still remember being astounded at it and still have some postcards of its interior. I was VERY jealous of her, but I don't suppose she was allowed to play with it much, unlike ourselves, who can please ourselves what we do with ours.

Telly, i frequently 'play' with mine, rearrangi ng stuff in it. Growing old is inevitable but growing up is optional! That's my philosophy anyway!

One of my friends has a beauty in one of her spare bedrooms - she tells me she has more or less finished furnishing now.
My father made me one during the war and he put lights in it using bicycle light bulbs and working on a battery normally used for bike lights. Had years of fun with that but have never felt the urge since being an adult - although I always have a good look at them whenever I see one in a shop or at an exhibition.
Have you ever seen Queen Mary’s dolls house? It is show at Windsor Castle.

I am with you there. I have a hand made thatched cottage that I bought on ebay many years ago. It was a raffle prize and the winners didn't want it! I have it mainly Victorian style. I originally intended to furnish with antiques but they are mainly out of my range. I have made odds and ends at the moment with fimo, which is really new for me. I am working on the garden and making birds etc. I also paint and find that you can bring them to life. I Currently experimenting with solid water for ponds etc. I love miniatures and thinking about it never had a dolls house as a child. I am quite enjoying my second childhood! I am also thinking of getting another one too!