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For what seemed like an entire year, but probably amounted to a couple nights a week for a few months, my dad worked on a project while we'd watch TV as a family at night. We'd all sit down to watch the latest Law and Order, Star Trek, or Murder She Wrote (my favorite at the time), and my dad would lean from the couch to work over a TV tray covered in newspaper, often with a hot glue gun or paint.
He was building my dream house. It might be the most memorable, and un-broken, Christmas present I'd ever received. The San Franciscan. I loved doll houses as a little girl. I collected not just one house, but an entire village, complete with school and church, neighbors, a store, it was a nice friendly town. I was less interested in the activities of a single family within the house, and while I needed basic furniture, I was more focused on the creation of the village as a whole, and especially enjoyed finding new wares for the store.
Cheerios made lovely donuts, especially marketable to the Bear Family. My favorite "people" to reside in the doll houses, were the Sylvanian Family. These little plastic bears and rabbits with movable heads arms and legs, flocked with short "fur". They came in standing positions, and were human like in every way, well, except the fur and animal heads, but they came with clothes if you wanted, and apparently even had a popular TV show, though I had never seen it. I could hear their friendly voices and they just seemed nice, I preferred them to the cold plastic people.
Most of my houses were plastic, too (I had the one here with the red roof), with little detail except an open-able front door. But, this, The San Franciscan, this I had wanted for some time. And, somehow, my dad had been kind enough to take the project on.
The San Franciscan was a four story Victorian style house that looked just like one of the houses in the beginning credits of Full House. It was all wood. The interior walls had to be layered on the outside with individual pieces of siding. The roof was made up completely of individual shingles. And the porches had railing where each individual spindle had to be glued in-between the bottom rail and the top handrail before being glued on. The details were endless. The one I'd seen made in the toy store was pink with white details. Of course, I wanted mine to be pink. Somehow, my Dad convinced me that I would like it more if it was a nice bright sailor blue with cream details. I still don't think that's the color combination I'd pick, but I agree (retrospectively) that the blue color is a more lasting style and improves it's chances for resale, if it were an actual house. In the case of a doll house, any self respecting 7 year old would prefer pink. Girl color preference aside, I think my dad just couldn't bare the thought of toiling over tiny slats of pink siding for weeks. Maybe this way it felt just as though he were building a model ship, instead of a doll house.
Cheerios made lovely donuts, especially marketable to the Bear Family. My favorite "people" to reside in the doll houses, were the Sylvanian Family. These little plastic bears and rabbits with movable heads arms and legs, flocked with short "fur". They came in standing positions, and were human like in every way, well, except the fur and animal heads, but they came with clothes if you wanted, and apparently even had a popular TV show, though I had never seen it. I could hear their friendly voices and they just seemed nice, I preferred them to the cold plastic people.
Most of my houses were plastic, too (I had the one here with the red roof), with little detail except an open-able front door. But, this, The San Franciscan, this I had wanted for some time. And, somehow, my dad had been kind enough to take the project on.The San Franciscan was a four story Victorian style house that looked just like one of the houses in the beginning credits of Full House. It was all wood. The interior walls had to be layered on the outside with individual pieces of siding. The roof was made up completely of individual shingles. And the porches had railing where each individual spindle had to be glued in-between the bottom rail and the top handrail before being glued on. The details were endless. The one I'd seen made in the toy store was pink with white details. Of course, I wanted mine to be pink. Somehow, my Dad convinced me that I would like it more if it was a nice bright sailor blue with cream details. I still don't think that's the color combination I'd pick, but I agree (retrospectively) that the blue color is a more lasting style and improves it's chances for resale, if it were an actual house. In the case of a doll house, any self respecting 7 year old would prefer pink. Girl color preference aside, I think my dad just couldn't bare the thought of toiling over tiny slats of pink siding for weeks. Maybe this way it felt just as though he were building a model ship, instead of a doll house.
I didn't see the completed version until Christmas morning, and it was amazing. It stood over 3 feet tall, with every little shingle and filigree 
detail, windows with real shiny plastic, stairway and opening door intact. I was even given a new children's table for four, just so the house had something to sit on. My village welcomed this new addition high on the hill (aka table), though the Bear people certainly didn't fit in the Victorian environment as they had in their one-room, wood-looking plastic house. I never really had much of a family that belonged in the San Franciscan, doll-house people (figurines?? - more like action figures!) are usually produced in a size to fit a line of houses sold with them, kind of like Barbies fit in Barbie Mansions (but, for the record, Barbies actually don't fit that well). Anyway, despite the lack of appropriately sized action figures, I did have some amazing furnishings, including a porcelain bathroom set (toilet, tub and pedestal sink) that didn't fit at all in the Sylvanian family's home, or the plastic schoolhouse (with working bell tower!). So the village hummed along. The only unfortunate part, is that I was 9 when the house was completed, and within the year thereafter my interest in such childlike things waned. I remember the sad day, when felt I had to decide, with a definitive announcement, I was too old to play with doll houses. The SanFranciscan, now missing a few shake shingles, went into storage. And I grew up.
A year ago this month, I bought a real house. It wasn't until just now that I realized the connection between my childhood love of dollhouses and my adult interest in all things home, visions of changes that could be made to the house or ways the furniture could be rearranged, and even the fact that I installed a pedestal sink shortly after purchasing. I guess I didn't really grow up, I just re-channeled, and now I have a giant dollhouse all my own!! It's true that it's complete with roommates and not necessarily filled with, or maybe fitting for, a "family", but I do have a vacant room! Now all I have to do is find a Bear-like, friendly person to move in!
detail, windows with real shiny plastic, stairway and opening door intact. I was even given a new children's table for four, just so the house had something to sit on. My village welcomed this new addition high on the hill (aka table), though the Bear people certainly didn't fit in the Victorian environment as they had in their one-room, wood-looking plastic house. I never really had much of a family that belonged in the San Franciscan, doll-house people (figurines?? - more like action figures!) are usually produced in a size to fit a line of houses sold with them, kind of like Barbies fit in Barbie Mansions (but, for the record, Barbies actually don't fit that well). Anyway, despite the lack of appropriately sized action figures, I did have some amazing furnishings, including a porcelain bathroom set (toilet, tub and pedestal sink) that didn't fit at all in the Sylvanian family's home, or the plastic schoolhouse (with working bell tower!). So the village hummed along. The only unfortunate part, is that I was 9 when the house was completed, and within the year thereafter my interest in such childlike things waned. I remember the sad day, when felt I had to decide, with a definitive announcement, I was too old to play with doll houses. The SanFranciscan, now missing a few shake shingles, went into storage. And I grew up.A year ago this month, I bought a real house. It wasn't until just now that I realized the connection between my childhood love of dollhouses and my adult interest in all things home, visions of changes that could be made to the house or ways the furniture could be rearranged, and even the fact that I installed a pedestal sink shortly after purchasing. I guess I didn't really grow up, I just re-channeled, and now I have a giant dollhouse all my own!! It's true that it's complete with roommates and not necessarily filled with, or maybe fitting for, a "family", but I do have a vacant room! Now all I have to do is find a Bear-like, friendly person to move in!
posted by emily @ 5:31 PM
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