Period or Modern Dolls Houses?


There's been many a debate about whether or not dolls house projects should be true to their era. It's certainly a matter of personal and in reality there probably isn't a right or a wrong.

Dolls House News

I must tell you about a lovely little museum I visited recently;

“ The Ruddington Framework Knitters’ Museum” in the village of Ruddington, near Nottingham.

The museum is set in a number of former original knitter’s cottages and frameshops arranged around a pretty courtyard garden. They form part of the original Victorian framework knitters’ community that was prevalent in the village of Ruddington during the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s. 

The restored cottages, frameshops and outbuildings give a fascinating insight into the lives and working conditions of a typical Victorian homeworker. Take a few minutes to watch the short introductory video before you wander around.

The cottage rooms are tiny and it’s hard to imagine the living and working conditions the families residing there had to cope with. The cottagers shared an outside toilet and washroom and their water was collected from a pump in the garden.

There’s a frameshop on the site full of original Victorian framework knitting machines, you’ll be able to sit at them get a feel for what it must have been like to have had to sit there for long hours, doing a monotonous job, whilst barely earning enough to feed and clothe your family. 

Visitors are treated to a demonstration of a knitting machine being operated, they’re incredibly noisy, and to think these machines once took up much needed space in people’s homes with the whole family playing a part to earn meagre sums of money.

The Victorian’s were certainly clever and innovative; the machines are complex but are big and cumbersome. 

Adjacent to the cottages is a former Methodist Chapel that once played an important part in the lives of the local community. The Chapel now forms part of the museum and  houses an exhibition gallery.

The volunteer staff are very friendly and there’s a tea room for refreshments in one of the old cottages. You can even have a go at making your own pair of socks on a Victorian sock machine as the museum provides tuition by prior arrangement.

If you’re looking for inspiration for your next dolls house project then this little museum will give you some new ideas.

Thanks to RFKM for their kind permission to reproduce the photo shown above.

If you'd like to visit the museum go to: www.rfkm.org for details

A Beginners'Guide to Buying a Dolls'House

Now you’ve made the decision to buy a dolls house the first thing you’ll want to do is spend some time looking at the great range of houses available. A good tip is don’t by the first one to take your eye, there’s lots of choice out there so take a bit of time and have a good look at what’s on offer.

Think of the space you have available to display your dolls house, you wouldn’t be the first person to struggle home from a shop or a fair with your new dolls house only to find you have no where to put it.

Decide if you’re going to purchase a dolls house kit or a ready built dolls house. You’ll find whatever you decide most dolls house shops and suppliers can supply dolls houses at various build stages. If they don’t sell ready built houses most shops or suppliers are happy to put together dolls house kits for you if D.I.Y. isn’t your thing. Some shops will also install the dolls house electrics and decorate the house for you at an additional cost if it’s something you don’t want to do yourself.

Dolls house kits are manufactured to the highest standard and are very easy to put together so don’t be put off by the idea of DIY. They also come with a comprehensive set of easy to understand instructions to guide you through the build process.

You’ll need to think about the style of the dolls house too. Almost anything goes these days but the most popular styles still remain Georgian and Victorian. More recently there has been increased interest in modern dolls house styles and there is now a great choice available. It’s very much a matter of personal choice but it might be wise to set a budget for your dolls house too because it’ll be easier for you to make your choice then.

Think about the exterior of the dolls house and where you’ll eventually want to display it in your home. Most of the dolls houses manufactured in the UK open to the front and on some the roofs lift off for easy access. Dolls houses from the USA tend to open from the back which can be restrictive if you want to be opening them regularly depending on where you situate them.

The majority of dolls houses on the market can be extended by adding a basement or conservatory or even both, these items can often be bought at the same time as the main house which may attract a saving on the total cost or they can be purchased separately and easily added at a later date.

If you want to try your hand at miniature gardeningthen place your dolls house on a base board and you’ll be able to create a miniature garden or miniature street scene directly on to it.

Some dolls houses come complete with a base board but if yours doesn’t then simply use a piece of MDF to form the base.

Make sure you mark out on the base board the area you need to keep clear of any obstructions in order to be able to fully open the dolls house when you’ve finished.