About This Scene:
by Phyllis M.
Phyllis had dreamed of having a real dollhouse since she was 7 years old! She spent her life loving dollhouses, reading everything there was to read about them and going to see any and all that she could (including Queen Mary’s dollhouse in Windsor, England). In the late 1980’s, her dream started to come true—her late husband had a dollhouse sided and shingled, as well as doors and windows put in. Tragically, he passed away in 1990 and Phyllis thought that was it for her dollhouse.
Phyllis remarried in 1998, and 11 years later she found herself telling Nick, her husband, of her dream. He told her that now was the time, and with that they began searching for a dollhouse kit that was right for the project. Phyllis’ idea was to replicate a merged version of her childhood home and her grandparents’ home. They chose Victoria’s Farmhouse as the base for their project, and it’s now known as 520 Church St. (the address where she grew up).
It was important to Phyllis to be accurate with her dollhouse. She researched for months to find as many of the same things for her dollhouse as she had in her real house. Even the wallpaper in the dining room and living room is identical to what she had in her home! Almost everything in the Small’s house means something to her and her two sisters, who have also become swept up in the project, although from afar; one lives in Baltimore and one lives in Indiana.
Phyllis and Nick began the dollhouse in October 2008 and finished it in May 2009. Although Nick had never attempted anything like this before, he even decided to electrify the house. They tweaked the original kit a bit, eliminating the staircases as they took up too much room, using real asphalt shingles, and making some changes to the trim. Nick made the fencing for the front yard totally by hand. He used scraps leftover from the staircases they removed. He used flagstones and mortar to make a beautiful walkway. They did so many great things to personalize their house!
Each person in the 520 Church St. house represents someone in Phyllis’ family; there is Father Small, Mother Small, Grandmother Small, Papa Small, Phyllis Small (her), Baby Becky Small and Debbie Small, as well as a few maids, which would have tickled her mother.