Spooky House Project

I bet you-all thought I had forgotten my spooky house. Nope. I’ve spent the last few months collecting odds and ends and stuff. Studying other spooky miniature artists on the web for ideas and drooooling over their pictures of finished products and dollhouses. And researching out what kind of lighting to use.

I found this neat place in Lebanon New Jersey called The Dollhouse Factory. I’ve been there twice already. Totally cool stuff. But the greatest is he bags old broken furniture and fixtures and sells them really cheap, like for a couple of bucks. Last month I bought him out. The stuff is broken, ruined, stained…perfect.

Today I went back and even though he had nothing in his bargain bin, he went to the back of the store and after 10 or 15 minutes brought out a big box of miniature junk. There was a lot of potential in that stuff so I bought the entire box.

So, lets look at what I have so far.

This is only half of it. I have other stuff of my own from the days of dollhouse glory.

So you know, like, what do you do now. I repacked the stuff examining every piece for its potential.

Assorted accessories.

Some miniature books and flowers. The flowers I can paint black or brown and have them droop in a vase - like dead flowers.

A candelabra with some kitchen buckets and fireplace accessories.

Fabrics I found at Walmart or the Dollar Store. Tea stained to look aged.

This was a doily I found at The Dollar Store. I ripped it, stained it, and set it in the sun for a few days. I will use it as a rug in the living room.

A spooky house is not complete without critters. Some are fantasy figures that might blend in nicely. The rubber ducky is for Sonya. No house, no matter what it is, haunted or whatever, should go without a rubber duck.

A howling wolf I painted black for one of the rooms.

Some of the bargain furniture I got from The Doll House Factory.

This piano is so cool.

Some of the stuff I had already. I will break it a little and distress it.

Got a real good idea for the grandfather clock.

Some of these things were in the big box of miniature discards. I see potential.

They can be re-dressed and repainted as ghosts in the house, lurking in some dark corner. The elf’s face I could repaint scary like Insane Clown Posse.

Now these I bought new. I don’t have the originals I owned anymore and there were no discards at the dollhouse store. But they will work. I will stain and age them. Probably use a chisel to chip the porcelain.

But…

…check out these holes in the tub and sink. They are open to the bottom. So…if any of you know me well, you will figure out what I plan to do with it.

This is cool. I found this filial in an antique store in Somerville, NJ. The base is open all the way up to the marble. I plan to snake a led light up the base to the marble and hopefully it will glow.

I hope to clean and repaint the house this holiday weekend. Nothing special, just a coat of black and gray paint.

I have ideas for wallpaper and I know how I am doing the lights. I plan on using led lights for model railroads. Check out this site. Hobby LEDs for Model Trains. His gallery features some dollhouses that have used these lights.

So next is paint.
Then lighting.
Then wallpapering.
Then…decorating.

It’s still way too cold outside and the weather uncertain for me to lug this dollhouse outside for a cleaning and repainting. So I am starting on preparing some furnishings. First, here is the box of old furniture I will be using. Not doing anything with it yet. I will show each piece transformation at a time when I am ready for them.

Here are a few things I’ve been buying from craft shops.

I am going to rust the above cages and birdhouse. The cages will be used to hold the *deceased*, while the creatures run amok.

Now this was a cool find at Michael’s. It’s a dinosaur skeleton in an egg. I think I will place it in the kitchen with a light illuminating it from behind.

I found these at Michael’s too. I will make one into a spooky toy box for the child’s room, and one as a spooky treasure chest to go elsewhere.

Started this today. I have cheesecloth and old linen soaking in tea water - to give it that stained, aged look. I plan to use it for draping on furniture and hanging it off the windows inside.

I got other stuff too, but, I’ll leave those for another day.

When I was a child my father designed and made me a dollhouse. I took this dollhouse along with me wherever I moved. It even survived a flood when I used to live along the Delaware River. It was submerged in the basement with the oil tank sitting on top of it (the tank was ripped from its spot by the swift flood waters). When we pulled the dollhouse from the wreckage, nothing was broken. My dad could make them.

I’ve muddled around for years over renovating it. It has been stored in closets, garages and basements. Very little furniture is left. In fact, I found one box of dollhouse furniture - broken and stained.

Since I am a real Halloween freak I’ve decided to renovate it into a Haunted House. I’ve found a lot of miniature artists out there that create spooky miniatures and Haunted Dollhouses. And the broken and stained leftover furniture will fit right in.

Here are pictures of the dollhouse I just took. You can see how worn it is, but it is still sturdy. I already have some good ideas for the rooms. Most of the furnishings I will make. Some I will buy from other miniature artists from their Etsy shops. Feel free to comment with ideas.

Front View

First floor Dining Room

First Floor Living Room with a view of the stairs.

Front 2nd floor bedroom 1.

Front 2nd floor bedroom 2.

Second floor hallway.

Rear view.

Rear 2nd floor bedroom 3.

Rear 2nd floor bedroom 4.

Second floor bathroom in rear.

Rear view of the 1st floor living room.

First floor kitchen in the rear.

We had a lot of fun with this dollhouse during my childhood years. This project will probably take many months into a year or so, but, I think it will be great fun.