Of Doors and DollHouses


Sniffles and sneezes. *sigh* There's nothing worse than a summer cold. Boy, do I feel miserable now, but I know that though it feels like my head is going to explode any minute now, I'll be back to my old self soon. My couch and bed and have been seeing a lot of me the last few days, which Ruby has loved. That saves her from having to follow me around all day long!

I have some good news. I did it. I decided what color to paint our interior doors. You all gave me many wonderful suggestions in my last post which helped me tremendously. Ultimately, I decided on a color that I've always loved - robin's egg blue. The shade I bought is very close to the example in the photo above, much brighter than what my studio once was. Why such a bold color statement? I mean, my cabinets are already red, right?

I found this comment left by Jenni of Quixotic Aesthetic after I had made my decision, but she explains perfectly why I made the choice I did:
"I love the red cabinets, but red doors would be A LOT of red. Brown seems too safe and your house is not safe. I love the blue green but I also like the idea given by Ticking and Toile of doing more a robin's egg blue with white in a worn look. Or even a pale turquoise. It would look fabulous with the white beadboard. If you hate it, it's paint. Easy to change--relatively."

The part about not being safe is exactly what I was thinking when I made my final decision. I LOVE red and if my cabinets weren't already that color, red would have been my first choice for the doors. However, I didn't want the doors to steal the cabinets' thunder{ha!}, so I decided against the red. How beautiful they would have looked going down our hallway, though!

I adore the dark brown, too, and have plenty of it in accents around the house.
This color just makes me feel happy!
It would have been gorgeous on the doors! Dark, rich, classic - beautiful! But I feel that maybe that it is a very predictable color choice. It is logical, traditional, and perhaps even expected because it matches my dark brown accents.

I know that I'm not one to incorporate color into fabrics like curtains, upholstery, pillows, etc...I crave whites and neutrals in that area. Even when it comes to accent pieces, I tend to use white or dark brown save for the little red lamp on my kitchen counter! But despite my longstanding love for whites and neutrals, I just feel that the doors, like the cabinets, need a special, dramatic color of their own. Just as I toned down the red of my cabinets by antiquing them {distressing them by sanding and brown glaze, and maybe a bit of white glaze}, I will also tone down the blue on the doors a bit. I want them to look old, worn...like they've been here a hundred years.

Finally, I chose this color because I want to add some good old fashioned cottage style cheeriness to Twice Remembered. This color just makes me feel happy!

So whether one is drawn to the warmth of red or the coolness of blue, hopefully most visitors will feel right at home here. :) I'll be sure to post photos when we get our first door painted. I can hardly wait!


Can I tell you something?

I'm addicted.

Just plain old addicted.

I can't stop thinking about miniature dollhouses. Miniature doll food. Miniature doll furniture. Miniature doll dolls. I feel like I've stepped into a whole new dream world of possibilities, so from here on out, you all will not only hear me talk about what's new at the Twice Remembered Cottage, but also what's new at the Twice Remembered Cottage dollhouse. Please bear with me...I haven't been this excited since my mother bought me a giant Barbie RV at a yard sale when I was a little girl {incidentally, I played with Barbies until I was 15 or so!}. Ohhh, what fun is about to be had by all us girls here at home - and all of you too!

I want to tell you that if you've never built a dollhouse before but have always wanted to, why not start this journey with me? You can find relatively inexpensive
I feel like I've stepped into a whole new dream world of possibilities...
kits starting at around $30 {look on Ebay and Amazon.} You'll probably pay more for laser cut kits. Mine isn't which means that it's going to take me forever to punch out the pieces. I've read that dollhouse building can be challenging and requires lots of patience and many, many, many hours of labor, like building a real house, really, but the reward is well worth it. The "challenging" part kind of scares me, honestly. I'm wondering if I can really do this. But I guess I'll never know unless I try. My doll house kit should arrive any day now and I can't wait!

I'm excited to blog about my very treasure for the dollhouse. Funny, eh, considering the house hasn't even arrived yet! Check out this antique style cast iron stove...isn't she just lovely?!



She's on back order, though, and won't be shipped until August, but that's ok. I still have a house to build!

22 comments:

  1. I love doll houses!! I can't wait to see what you do!!

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  2. Kim,

    I think Robin's Egg Blue will look splendid on your doors. (Originally, I thought you were considering turquoise which to me has become more predictable than chocolate brown.)

    We are now not only renovating; restoring our homes together but now constructing and decorating miniature ones as well! What have you started?!

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

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  3. I can't wait to see how the doors turn out. Although I was partial to red (and am thinking of doing that in my house), the blue will achieve the same result. I'm just so excited to see it.

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  4. Hurray! I can't wait to see the finished door! Maybe it will motivate me to get crackin' on my own blue door.
    I love minitures and doll houses too! I was fortunate to have a much younger sister which gave me the perfect excuse to play with our set till I was probably eighteen or twenty! I look forward to seeing yours and keeping up with it.
    ☺ Celeste

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  5. So sorry you have caught a summer cold. Hope you get to feeling better soon.
    I can't wait to see how your doors turn out. Any color you chose to use would have looked beautiful! And like Jenni said, it is just paint, if you hate it, you can always repaint!
    Hope you have a great day!
    Beth. :)

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  6. I have a dollhouse kit that I have had since I was about 10. One of my father never ending project he wasn't able to get to. Happens when you have your own business. I am so excited to work on mine this year. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.

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  7. I'm in a funk today too because of a gross head cold. Yuck!

    What a fun thing to be fascinated with! Doll houses are so fun!

    and Robin's Egg Blue is my recent color of choice, so ya! Go for it!

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  8. I have a dollhouse that I am restoring. I am completely entranced by it, so I totally understand your delight in your project. I also have a kit I won on Ebay that I will get to someday.

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  9. My mom used to own a dollhouse store. When she passed away all the stuff ended up in boxes, hundreds of boxes. 10 years later I sorted through it all and ended up selling everything. Such beautiful things and lots of good memories. The details in the items are stunning.

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  10. Robin's Egg Blue is one of my very favorite colors! I think it will look gorgeous in your cottage. I love red too, and have red walls in my family room. It's such a warm color!
    I am thrilled about your dollhouse adventure! Can't wait to read your posts. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Kim, I am so excited to see your doors...I think it is going to be beautiful and a little whimsy!! How fun! I love little doll house's...can't wait to see how you design yours. Enjoy your weekend!!

    Hugs to you friend,
    Victoria

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  12. Hi Kim.
    I thought I'd share a photostream on flickr of some of the barbie dollhouses I've made. I'm in the process of making another very large one. You are right, so much fun... but a LOT of work ;)
    Linda
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/agardenofroses/4103442047/in/photostream/

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  13. Ooooooh. You should visit my blog and put dollhouse in the search box. Something amazing will pop up.

    Also, I have a book on making doll house dolls that might be interesting. I'll see if I can find it and post the title/author.

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  14. http://www.northdixiedesigns.com/2008/05/lucys-doll-house-staten-island.html

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  15. I have a summer cold as well...I actually think it's a sinus infection. ugh.

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  16. Hey Kim ~ I have always loved doll houses myself - miniature anything really. When I was young I used to make my own furniture, books, ect for my doll house which was a cape cod kit.

    You might enjoy this article from an old children's magazine about a dollhouse that was built around 1814. http://www.victorianpassage.com/2010/04/the_story_of_a_doll-house.php

    I thought it was cute anyway.

    Pretty color btw! Well hope you get to feeling better. TTFN ~ Jessica

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  17. It's refreshing to see that people are still enthralled with miniatures as so many dollshops have been closing in recent years and miniature shows dwindling.

    I've been a miniaturist for over 15 years and am still loving it.

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  18. I just hate summer colds!!!!! I also love the Robbins Blue Egg color...I think it will look great! Thank you for sharing it with us!
    -Ashley-

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  19. You should check out the fairy doors of Ann Arbor http://www.urban-fairies.com/index.html
    some great ideas for slipping in some doll house love in unexpected places. I'm thinking of trying the "library" in our house!!

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  20. Welcome from a fellow addict :) I hope you've discovered the greenleafdollhouses.com forum. They are a wonderful help in terms of construction or anything else you have questions about.
    Daisy

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  21. I haven't been back to visit in a while and just saw your color choice. Yea! I love it. I think you will be happy with it. Of course, I am very partial to blue, especially robins egg blue or nearly any shade of turquoise blue--particularly if it looks aged. Can't wait to see it!

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