The Wonders of Dol-Toi Accessories

I don't have much Dol-Toi furniture in my collection as, generally speaking, I find it to be too small, even for my smaller houses. However, the same can't be said for Dol-Toi accessories which I find perfect for adding interest to 1:16 scale properties.

The list of different Dol-Toi accessories a child could spend their pocket money on is huge, but here are some of my favourites:

Dol-Toi Breadboard, Loaf and Knife

As a young girl, I would have found adding details like this breadboard set and the pastry set below to my doll's house absolutely thrilling.

Dol-Toi Mixing Bowl, Pastry Board and Rolling Pin

My pasty board and the breadboard are essentially the same and the rolling pin sits in a groove like the one in the breadboard in the previous photo. The mixing bowl is made of plaster.

Dol-Toi Salad Bowl

The sweet little bowl of salad is also made of plaster.

Dol-Toi Toast Rack

These little toast racks are such a lovely vintage detail for a dolls' house kitchen that they've found homes in several of mine.

Dol-Toi Plate Rack

As have the plate racks for the same reason. They look sweet with painted metal Dol-Toi tea plates stacked in them.

Dol-Toi Pan Rack and Pan Set

These colourful tiny metal pans sit neatly in the little wooden pan rack and are another lovely detail for a smaller-scale kitchen.

Dol-Toi Groceries

The groceries are another firm favourite in the kitchens of my smaller houses. I find that majority of vintage groceries (as opposed to modern reproductions of vintage groceries) are too big for my dolls' houses, but these are great... 

Dol-Toi Groceries in a Barton Kitchen Dresser

...and fit perfectly into the cupboards and on shelves in 1:16 scale furniture.

Dol-Toi 'Electric' Mixer

The fab electric mixer is made of plaster. Which 1960s cook didn't own or long to own a Kenwood Chef!

Dol-Toi Pans with Food

Bringing the dolls' house kitchen further to life, these Dol-Toi pans have various contents and can sit bubbling away happily on the cooker top.

Dol-Toi Plates of Food

And for when breakfast, lunch or dinner is served, these sweet little metal plates with plaster food on them are just the ticket! 

Dol-Toi Lobster Platter

For those special occasions, how about a lobster platter? This platter is made of plastic with a plaster lobster, but the earlier ones are made of metal with plaster food. 

Dol-Toi Green Cups and Saucers

Dol-Toi's little metal tea sets are lovely and come in several pretty colours, but the green set is my favourite as it's so cheerful.

Oddly, the tea pot in the later tea sets is unfeasibly large (Scout jamboree size!) compared to the rest of the pieces. I wonder how many of the tiny tea cups it could fill... oh dear, I see a miniature experiment in the offing, ha ha!

Dol-Toi Cake Stand and Cake

Another lovely detail for a dolls' house.  The cake is wooden and the stand is glass.

Dol-Toi Soda Syphon

Which other British dolls' house maker supplied such grown-up and sophisticated accessories as this glass soda syphon? I don't think I even knew what a soda syphon was as a young girl of the 60s and 70s!

Dol-Toi Soda Syphon

This syphon has a slightly fancier base than the one in the previous photo.

Dol-Toi Decanter, Tray and Wine Goblets

Again, this set is far removed from anything I was familiar with in my childhood home, but aren't they great? And they do suit the more affluent households in my dolls' house collection now!

Dol-Toi Bottle of Wine and Wine Goblets

In addition to the soda syphon and decanter, Dol-Toi sold a selection of alcoholic beverages for the dolls' house drinks trolly or cabinet. 

Dol-Toi wine goblets (I'm not sure why they didn't just call them glasses!) vary a lot in size but are all generally quite tiny.

Dol-Toi Bottle of Whiskey, Tray and Tumblers

The trays came in silver and gold and were either round or oval.

For those dolls' house drinks parties, other tipples such as Absinthe, Advocaat, Claret, Port and Burgundy were available.

Dol-Toi Brown Glasses and Tray

These brown glasses always look to me as if whatever beverage was in them has already been drained by the dolls' house residents.

Dol-Toi Goblets and Tray

These cheerful red glasses are my favourites.

Dol-Toi Letter Rack and Letters

Moving away from the kitchen and drinks cabinet to the other rooms in the dolls' house, what mid-20th century home was complete without a letter rack?

Dol-Toi Letter Rack and Letters

They were even supplied complete with Dol-Toi stationery!

Dol-Toi Alarm Clock

This little alarm clock would be a cute little detail in any vintage dolls' house bedroom.

Dol-Toi Standard Lamp

(Also Dol-Toi Alarm Clock and Book)

I'm not sure if the shade on my lamp is original or not as the others I've seen are made of paper, but it looks right to me and is a huge part of the appeal of the piece.

Dol-Toi Bear Rug and Leopard Rug

I like to think these odd little Dol-Toi rugs were based on the imitation fur rugs many households of the 60s and 70s sported and not real animal skins. What were we all thinking back then? I'm so glad we live in generally more enlightened times now.

Dol-Toi 'Continental' Flower Trough

Dol-Toi delightfulness can also be added to the garden with a little flower trough!

Dol-Toi Radio

And this lovely little radio is perfect for the hair salon.

So, that's my tour of my favourite Dol-Toi accessories compete.

Having said at the start that Dol-Toi furniture is generally too small for my houses, I do have a handful of pieces which I treasure and I'll end this post with a photo of my absolute favourite Dol-Toi set:

Dol-Toi 'Modern Kitchen' (1957-67)

This cheerful vintage green colour with the stained wood and formica tops is so appealing to me. The fact that the whole kitchen fits neatly into the bay window of my Tri-ang Ultra Modern is an added bonus.

Before I finish, I must mention that everything I know about the Dol-Toi items in my collection comes from the meticulous research of Marion Osborne, published in The Book of Dol-Toi - Dolls House Furniture and Accessories 1941-1975, 2012 - a highly recommended book which comes with a CD containing hundreds of colour photographs (and no, I'm not on commission!)

Until next time,

Zoe

[All photos copyright Zoe Handy, May 2021.]