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In 1985, I finally earned my Masters’s Degree in Learning Disabilities, It took me 9 years, so it was an event that deserved recognition.
In honor of the occasion, my mother bought me THE TOWNHOUSE. Isn’t that what every mother purchases as a celebratory gift for her 30-year-old daughter?
We bought the house from a dollhouse shop on the main street of Cheshire, Connecticut. I had high hopes for this newest addition. It was the first, and to this day, only electrified house in my collection. My plan was to create a 1940s brownstone.
We visited Miniature Manors, Paul Lawson’s shop in New Haven. I chose some beautiful resin windows and a fancy front door created by Derek Perkins for the first floor. The second and third-floor windows would be wood Houseworks brand Victorian-style windows.
The house and the degree weren’t the only things I acquired that year. I also became a mother of a beautiful baby girl that April. Looking back, it shouldn’t have surprised me the townhouse would languish in our basement for years.
After years of procrastination, Mom and I made a trip to Earth and Tree Miniatures in New Hampshire. I bought some fancy putty-like substance that I could smear on the facade and then, using a tool, create “brownstones” by scoring the applied putty. It seemed easy enough, but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make nice even lines. So, I decided I would look for a template of some sort to help. But then … I didn’t.
By the time I got around to attacking the daunting project, the putty had dried in its jar.
I took that as a sign—the brownstone was a cool idea, but too much for me to deal with. So…. simplest solution—paint! Instead of a New York City brownstone, I’d create a San Francisco-ish Victorian Lady. I painted the house yellow and chose a red and green color scheme for the windows and door. I was rearing to go! I painted the outside what I thought would be a cheery yellow. It turned out a bit more mustardy than I would have liked. I kept moving forward. I painted the Houseworks window red with green trim. They turned out fairly good but SO ANNOYING! I hate painting windows. I chose wallpaper and actually papered two rooms and a hallway. I laid cool 1940s-era tile in the kitchen. I even created a parquet floor for one of the upstairs rooms using wooden coffee stirrers. Then. Full stop.
I don’t even remember when I stopped working on the house. At least 15 years ago. Fast forward to this year.
My 7-year-old granddaughter Paisley has really taken to my dollhouses. After some discussion, it was decided that the Townhouse would become hers. I figured it would end up at her house, giving me more space to move my mother’s yellow house out of the furnace room. But Paisley had other ideas. “No, I want it to stay here so it will be something special we can do together when I come over.” How do you argue with that?
My plan is to chronicle our progress on this blog. It should be fun!!
Dorette Creations 