blog — Call of the Small

I still remember the feeling of coming down into my kitchen on the morning of my fifth birthday and seeing a brand new white dolls house with pink trim sitting on the table as a surprise. I rubbed my eyes, clapped, and jumped up and down in my yellow nightgown. Isn't it funny how we recall the small details of what were such monumental events in our childhood?

Well, perhaps that same memory surfaced when I saw this VERO house on German eBay last month. Unlike my other VERO, this large house came disassembled (as is intentional - it is called "das zerlegbare puppenhaus," or collapsible/able to be taken apart dolls house) and is oriented more traditionally at 1:10 scale. You can see a picture of it here on the puppenhausmuseum website; it is from 1966 and is identified as VERO via a marking in the wonderful green "stained glass" window upstairs, in the picture above.

Here is the front. The doors are unfortunately missing, but it is my intent to try to get them fabricated.

The lovely owner restored the house with love and care, and packaged it extremely well for its long journey from Germany. It is in wonderful condition and retains the original floor coverings and some wallpapers. She replaced some of the papers; at some point, I might re-do the flowered paper as it is not completely to my liking.

The living room scene features some furniture that came from the seller with the house, and they are lovely complements to the flowers in the large window. I am pleased that the window has no tears and is in excellent condition.

Very sleepy = I'll post on the other rooms soon!

Credits: Couch, chairs and credenza are vintage VERO; coffee table is by Paris Renfroe; lamp is vintage German; sink is an eBay find; tub is a soap dish; and toilet is IKEA. Accessories are Re-ment, Bodo Hennig, Bozart, MAR Toys, and Mighty World.

My "room box-ing" continues, this time with a vintage German school room box. I actually purchased this on US eBay (for a change!) for a very reasonable price, and it was nice not paying outrageous shipping fees. I have seen similar types of room boxes in the past, but have not yet done thorough research to pinpoint the maker. It is stamped "GERMANY" on the bottom and the orange desks and chairs have a "Made in West Germany" sticker. I was told by the seller that the teacher doll is Erna Meyer. The students are Caco, perhaps? I do not collect vintage dolls, but I know there are a lot of keen eyes out there, so please comment with your opinions.

The room box is in very good condition -- I like the plastic window and the built-in plants on the window sill. The outside is covered in a nice brick pattern. The globe is very large and colorful, and the map in German.