Fern Cottage

Work on the Tri-ang DH/7 has stalled awhile as summer has arrived and outdoor jobs and passtimes have taken priority, though I'm sure I'll get back to it soon.

In the meantime, however, I've just become the very happy owner of this little house which I'm calling Fern Cottage.

I know nothing about her other than that she is in completely original condition and came with all of her wonderful original home-made contents.

I would guess that she dates to sometime around the beginning of the last century - 1900-1920 maybe?

The rooms are furnished and decorated in a Victorian style, but whether that was the current style when she was built, or a recreation of a bygone era, I don't know.

However, going by the style of the dolls' house itself, the materials used, the furniture and the patina (or ingrained grime!) I would say that she certainly has some age to her.

This is the parlour containing two very comfy looking armchairs, a piano (with slight damaged sustained in transit but only needing a touch of glue to put it right) and a stand with a pretty display of dried flowers on it. The fireplace and the piano are fixed in place.

I like the way the walls to either side of the central staircase are curved downstairs so that both of the ground floor rooms have access to the hallway - a nice touch!

Everything has been made by hand and I particularly like the fireplace with its large mirror and fringed and beaded green velvet cover. Also the lovely little rag rug, [clippy or proggy mat as they're known here in the North East].

The chairs have been cleverly made and look to be of the inviting squishy variety. The fabrics are a little worn but the neat little trim in contrasting thread makes them still rather smart.

The stand seems to be home-made too, though I think the display of flowers on it may have been added at a later date since the colours are still very vibrant and the plate on which the flowers stand appears to be more modern than the other contents of the house.

We'll call this the dining room, though it doesn't contain a table! I wonder if it might have had one at one time.

There's another lovely fireplace with all manner of hand-made adornments [some requiring a little TLC I think] and another sweet little rag rug.

The fireplaces themselves are very nicely made and look as if they might be made from cast metal - I must to investigate further!

The grates are filled with shredded tissue paper and gold thread to make them twinkle. Each hearth has a cute metal fender too.

I particularly like the large and imposing sideboard which is very typically Victorian, and the knobbly pearlescent vases [fixed] on it intrigue me - what are they made from?

I don't really know why there is a giant cup in a bowl on the sideboard, other than that I didn't know where else to put them!

The two dining chairs are very nicely made and upholstered.

The stairs are located in the centre of the house and the tartan stair carpet is perfect for them. They're quite steep so it's lucky that the thoughtful builder installed a handrail on both sides.

The little piece of velvet used at the foot of the stairs has been well-chosen to look just like a coir mat. 

Incidentally, for the benefit of any dollies entering the house, the floor below the mat has been raised slightly by a piece of wood so that it is level with the [non-opening] front door.

At the top of the stairs, there is a cut-out in the dividing wall between the two bedrooms and neat little L-shaped banisters in each room. Privacy is compromised somewhat but it's nice that access issues have been considered. I'm sensing a very practical builder!

This is the stair access from the other [right-hand] bedroom.

Left-hand bedroom

The bedrooms [above and below] are almost mirror images of each other and each contain a bed, a chair, as chest of drawers and a dressing table.

Right-hand Bedroom

This is a selection of the sweet home-made furniture for the bedrooms.

The handles on the chest of drawers are made from pins - I'm not sure if this photo demonstrates that the furniture was never intended to be played with by children, or just a much more cavalier attitude to child safety in days gone by - judging by some of my own childhood toys, my guess would be the latter!

I'm assuming that these pieces of furniture are dressing tables, though they don't have mirrors. Someone has spent some considerable time making the selection of lovey items which are fixed to the top.

Both dressing tables were originally fixed in place though one is now loose. Again, this one contains a nice selection of hand-made items, including a very elaborate glass object which I assume represents a lamp of some sort? There is also a little hat made of red silk and white lace.

The inhabitants of this house obviously love art and the walls are generously adorned with paintings. They all look to be home-made and, without exception, are absolutely delightful!

And so to the cheery painted red brick exterior where the chimneys are impressively tall, with the flues being 'anatomically' correct for the fireplaces which are only features of the two downstairs rooms.

And the chimneys themselves are very convincing.

It's no surprise that this thoughtful builder electrified the house for the inhabitants too, though the wiring is certainly not in working order these days.

And last but not least are the inhabitants - these three ladies and their little metal dog. They look as if they have a tale or two to tell!

So, that's Fern Cottage and apart from a light clean where practical, I'll be leaving everything just as it is with this little house. I feel that someone enjoyed building her and someone enjoyed furnishing her too, so I'm just going to enjoy the fruits of their labours and creativity.

I hope you've enjoyed looking around this little gem as much as I've enjoyed photographing and writing about it!

Until next time,

Zoe