Tudor style dollhouse: From house to pub

At last I feel great excitement about my Tudor style dollhouse! I've been playing yo-yo with this house for months now. As it is not a proper Tudor, but a replica of the Tudor revival houses (called Mock Tudors in the UK) that were build in the 20th century, I never planned on decorating it in the Tudor style. However, the more I researched the decor of the time these houses were build, the less I liked it. I just couldn't figure out where I was going with this house. Keeping with a period when decorating is one thing. Being happy with it is quite another! And as I'm the one putting all the time, effort (fun) and money into it, I feel it's important that I actually like the house when I'm done with it!

By last week I decided to decorate it in American 1950's style, because that is a style I like and can live with. And then a few days ago it hit me.... why not turn it into a pub or shop or something? It's a small house and I have no intention of knocking out walls, but surely it was do-able? And now, finally - after two days of research (should've gone pub crawling! haha) - I can tell you that this house will be turned into a small, but exclusive coffee lounge/pub/function room. A re-purposed building!

I'm so excited about this! It will give me something completely different to work on. I will be decorating with 1/16 scale furniture, as was the intention all along. Will be a long while before I have enough furniture and accessories, but as I do have a few pieces, I thought I'd try them out and see what it looks like. This room will be the coffee shop/lounge area. I like where this is going...!

I played around with some paper I have too. The front walls of the house have been removed by a friend of mine who helped me fix a few things I needed tools for, which I don't have. We will put them back once I've done all the renovation work on the house. 

I do love these papers. I quite like using bold patterns and colours in my dollhouses. Wait till you see the size of the patterns and colour of the paper I've chosen for my other houses! They're huge! hahah 

So what do you think? Will you be popping over for a drink or coffee in a few months time when the pub is opened for business? Hope so! 

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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!

The renovation ahead

I thought I'd share a bit more of my Mock Tudor with you today. Looking at these pictures, you will see I have quite the renovation job ahead of me. I doubt very much if I'll start on it before the new year though. You know how it is, once we reach the first of December it's all downhill to Christmas and New Year! For me, December is a time to focus on family and reflect on the past year (not too much though, better to look to the future, rather than the past!) and think about all your hopes, dreams and ambitions for the next year. It's about baking cookies, lighting candles, spending time with the kids and just taking it slow for a while..... wait.... I'm loosing track here! Back to the house!!

I've started working on furniture and accessories for the bedroom, will share that with you next time. I've also joined a miniature and dolls house club where I'm hoping to learn lots more on the topic, as I'm a bit of a novice as you might know!

So without further a-do, here are the photos:

The exterior will need a proper painting, and there are damage to the roof I will have to fix.

There's no front door, oh and no stairs inside. 

Also some water damage where the door should be.

The interior will be the most work. 

I plan on removing all the old wallpaper and flooring, 

and replace it with new wallpaper, paint and maybe carpets.

I'll see as I go along. 

Lots of water damage here too. 

I've removed all the curtains, will make new ones.

I need to figure out how to remove that mirror, as it seems

to be stuck with superglue!!

Oh, and I'm not fond of all the lamps and light fixings currently

in the house, just not sure how to get rid of them either!

Of course I had to see what my miniature paintings would look like in the house!

I quite like it. 

What do you think? 

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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!

My first ever dolls house!

After months of searching, loosing auctions and lots of frustration, I finally won the auction on a dolls house this weekend!!! Just when I decided I will have to build one myself! haha And at a ridiculous price! Vintage, will need lots of renovation and TLC, but I don't mind!! I was soooo excited, I could barely breathe!! And here she is (not the best picture, was taken immediately as I walked in the door with her, more pictures to follow soon!):

I've already cleaned her out, removed all the carpets (not glued thankfully!) and curtains. Some water damage, no stairs or front door, and a LOT of research for me to do!! So far all info I could gather indicates it's a mock Tudor from the 1940's. I will be keeping the exterior as is, just give it a new coat of paint and restore whatever's needed. The inside will not be decorated in a Tudor style however - I hear some of you gasping at this, let me explain!

One of the main reasons I was looking for a dolls house, was to use it as a prop/background to take pictures of my miniature paintings for Little Canvas. I will need to decorate in neutral colours, and different styles, so as to show of my paintings best. I've already started looking at wallpaper, carpet and fabric samples for the curtains. 

I will keep you updated on my progress as I go along. On a very tight budget, I will have to figure out a way to create most things myself, even some furniture! If you have any ideas, suggestions or advice, feel free to share in the comments below, as it will be most welcome!

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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!