Can you guess what has made it into my collection...??
Here's some teaser shots of it coming out of its box.
And then, a telling mark!
Yes, it's a lovely vintage Brio house. I was told by the seller, who had it for ten years, that it is from 1966. The seller intended to restore it a bit, but never got around to it. The house has most of the original details intact, including the wallpapers, stairwell, and banisters. I love the wallpapers and might even scan them for my large VERO.
There were some repairs, dusting, gluing, and cleaning to do...
And then one big flaw that I don't quite know how to address...a fault line in the upper room.
I covered it with a rug for now, but need to figure out how to reinforce it. I tried gluing it, but the crack did not come together enough.
I furnished the whole house -- fun!
Also fun: I just came back from Chicago and made it to Three Blind Mice, a miniature fair, on the way home to O'Hare. I met up with Amy of Amy's Miniatures and Smalls (waves, Amy!) and we made our way around the mostly overpriced vendors. A few nice finds, though. Also in Chicago, I picked up a magazine on my lunch hour that I had never seen or heard of before: Atomic Ranch. It's all about classic mid-century modern (MCM) ranches and how people have decorated them, and love them. Very inspiring photos, and it made me want to set up the whole Brio. Perhaps they'd consider a feature on mini MCM? :)
Credits: There's a lot of vintage German pieces in these rooms: bedroom desk, bed, side lamps, bedding, sitting room chair and side tables, toilet, kitchen sink, and all the flower pots and the two window boxes! The sitting room coffee table is Ryan's Room; sitting room rug is AG Minis, as is the hanging lamp in the kitchen; amazing hanging globe light is by minimodernistas; the living room swan chair is Reac, as is the desk chair in the bedroom; side table and white bookcase are Re-ment; rug is The House That Jacq Built; bathroom sink is from the Dolls House Emporium; bathroom pouf is Lundby; kitchen table is Wolverine; stove, refrigerator, and two chairs are vintage Topper Toys. Accessories are Re-ment, eBay finds, MAR Toys, Three Blind Mice fair finds, Bozart, and Playmobil.
Re-ment: I have written about all the Re-ment in these scenes with two exceptions. The dish soap and sponge are from Is Dinner Ready Yet? #10, and are good for 1:12.