Dollhouse from my great-grandpa :)

Hi 😊

It doesn’t really have anything to do with crocheting, knitting, or sewing, but I don’t want to keep this DIY gem from you! In the school thread, I once mentioned the dollhouse that my great-grandpa made for us kids back then.
I just discovered that I have photos of it on my phone and wanted to show it to you. I’d like to mention that every single part was made by hand with love. Every single roof shingle, every piece of furniture... everything is homemade. He even wallpapered it!

Unfortunately, my former stepbrothers broke it, but I think the left door can be reattached :) 




And these are the rooms:




(The one above even has my rug that I made in 1st or 2nd grade :)) 





And then he even had a special miniature edition of the Badische Zeitung printed! (It’s a real issue)



Isn’t it amazing? 
My great-grandpa is no longer alive; otherwise, he could proudly watch his great-great-grandchildren play with it now 😊

Wow, that’s wonderful! That’s a real treasure that needs to be preserved!
For me, I only managed to make homemade wooden furniture. It’s now set up in a bookshelf as a dollhouse.

Thanks 😊

Why only that? The doll furniture is wonderful too! 
All handmade heirlooms are just sooo valuable! 

I’ve never seen such a beautiful dollhouse before! It’s wonderful that you’re keeping it in such good condition!

WOW, what beautiful pictures of your dollhouses! The half-timbering has a certain charm, and homemade doll furniture is always something special.

Best regards, Inge

This is so awesome! I still have a few pieces of old wooden furniture that a prisoner of war made for my mother-in-law during World War I. Sometime in the ’50s, someone built a room around it that you can even light up with one of those thick, square batteries (I don’t even know if they still exist).

You’re showing us some wonderful treasures here. It’s sooo nice that there are things that stand the test of time and are cherished. Every piece is crafted with so much love and attention to detail. Your great-grandfather would be so proud that you’re keeping this little treasure in such high regard. I also love the little tiled stove and all the tiny details. A child can still have a wonderful time playing with it today. Simply timelessly beautiful.

Ruth, your doll furniture is gorgeous, too. I wonder if your great-grandchildren will one day say, “Great-Grandma made that”?

Warm regards, Ina

Wow, your treasures are priceless. Owning something this amazing is truly remarkable. Keep cherishing it. Furniture crafted with such love has personal value, too, and serves as a memento of the person who built it.

It’s a shame I no longer have the dollhouse my dad built for me. It even had real lighting, just like Veronika said. Those big flat batteries with the metal ends were connected to wires, and you had light. The wooden furniture was store-bought—I liked it better than plastic furniture.

I’d still be playing with dollhouses today. I guess we just never really grow up.

Thank you for your kind words 😊

As a child, I unfortunately didn’t play with it very much—I just wasn’t into dolls in general.
But I’ve always admired the dollhouse anyway!

It’s at my mom’s house, and it’s always a highlight for the kids whenever we visit! 

Beautiful dollhouses with so many lovely, authentic details!! I’d love to play with them right now!!!
Our dollhouse was much more modest and “modern,” but we loved it and redecorated it with great dedication, adding our own creations to the furnishings. It’s now with my sister’s two granddaughters, and Selina might inherit it in a few years. Of course, I’d be very happy about that.

Wow, Tina, I’m absolutely delighted with your dollhouse. Such beautiful details. How wonderful that you were able to keep it. I love dollhouses and doll rooms, and I used to love playing with them as a child. An 80-year-old friend of mine also has a big house like that, which her father built a long time ago. Even today, every time I visit, I’m still tempted to play with it.

You really don’t see such loving handiwork very often these days.

Ruth, I also think the idea of using the shelf as a makeshift dollhouse is great.

Oh my gosh, that’s so awesome!!! Mine used to be one that my paternal grandparents found in the bulk trash. My dad and mom then covered it with old wallpaper scraps, and I think there was carpet inside, too. I loved it so much and always played with it very carefully. Still, it sadly didn’t survive the move after my parents’ divorce. Even so, I think about it very often and would love to have it back. Simply because it’s something special when parents or grandparents make something like that for you themselves, rather than just buying it. 

So, I finally got around to taking some photos—the wooden furniture was made sometime between 1914 and 1918, and the room around it was built in the ’50s.

I put the postcard behind the window, so the little bears now have a view of Loch Ness.

Oh wow, Veronika, that’s really something special. The furniture reminds me of my favorite aunt’s—I used to love visiting her. There are so many little details to look at in yours, too. Even a birdcage! The curtains, the wallpaper, the rug... simply enchanting. And then, of course, the little bears. It’s a shame I don’t have my dollhouse anymore. My dad had built and wallpapered it himself back then. My mom sewed the curtains and the bedding. Sigh...