Myrna's Rooming House- A Dollhouse Tour

Well, guys, sorry for the quiet blog lately, but May always hits us hard here with obligations, etc.  Add to that a nasty stomach flu that swept through all five of us within the last week, and you've got one busy mama!  But hopefully this post will make up for it with a ton of photos full of vintage dolly eye candy!

 

You may remember this dollhouse that I purchased a few months ago.  It's a larger scale than most, which I love, because I was able to use lots of large-scale doll furniture I'd collected over the years.  And it also is perfect for these little 8" dolls, of which I've got an abundance!

 

So let me introduce you to the inhabitants of this house.  It is a rooming house that's owned by the lovely Myrna.  She is up on the balcony holding her baby, Louise.  Next to them is her other child, Harriet.  Unfortunately, Myrna's husband died while she was pregnant with Harriet, leaving her with a large house and two young children to care for!  So, to make ends meet, she's turned her home into a rooming house for single ladies.

 

Her first tenant is Emmaline, who is standing next to Myrna.  Emmaline holds the title of "Lady Hampshire", and is a bit vain about it.  She insists on wearing her sash everywhere, but the other ladies try to just ignore it.  Second we have Margaret, who is on the left side of the front door.  She is quite shy, and tends to leave her eyes downcast so as not to draw attention to herself.  Third we have Marie, who is in the red top next to the front door.  She loves children, so wears a nursery rhyme skirt every day!  She helps Myrna care for the children quite a bit.  And lastly, we have Gloria, on the far right of the front door.  She is actually Margaret's sister, and the two of them go to nursing school together.

 

And here is their lovely house!

 

Myrna will show you the kitchen first. She does most of the cooking for her boarders, but since they are all nice ladies, they like to help her out as well.

 

She's a very artsy gal, so likes to decorate her furniture with decals and painted flowers, as you can see!

 

She also made her own curtains and hung the pretty plates on the wall for decoration.

 

Looks like the ladies are going to have some yummy ham for dinner tonight!

 

Next is the dining room/foyer.  Although it's pretty crowded with the table and chairs in here, sometimes the ladies like to have guests over, so they need the extra seating.

 

Gloria has come in to check up on things.  I wonder why?

 

Because tonight, Gloria has invited a gentleman to dine with her!  Myrna made a beautiful turkey for the two of them to enjoy.

 

That's a lot of turkey for just two people- I hope they're hungry!

 

Emmaline will show off the parlor.  She's the one who uses this room most often.

 

Why, you ask?  Because this is where the piano is, and Emmaline practices A LOT for future pageants!

 

There's also a little writing desk in here, which the ladies use while the room is a bit more, umm, quiet.

 

But nobody complains too much, since they are all a little bit proud of the fact that they live with someone of such "celebrity"!

 

Now they will come up and show you the landing.

 

There's another writing desk up here, if someone needs a bit more privacy, for maybe a love letter?

 

Isn't the hand-hooked rug made by Myrna beautiful?

 

It's a tight squeeze fitting between the stair rails and the desk, but these ladies are all nice and skinny!

 

The first bedroom is shared by Emmaline and Marie.

 

They chose the pink room because Emmaline felt that it was more flattering to her coloring.

 

As you can see, Myrna put her decal-ing talents to use in here as well!

 

You can't see it, but Emmaline even sleeps in her sash!!

 

And then we have sisters Margaret and Gloria's room.

 

They're very happy with their yellow bedding, since it's their favorite color, as you could probably guess from their clothing!

 

All the ladies have to climb over the beds a bit in order to go from room to room, but they don't mind!

 

Except in the middle of the night- then it can be a little annoying to be walked on!

 

Now Marie will show you the bathroom. 

 

In here, they have a toilet and a dressing table.

 

Unfortunately they do not have a sink or a bath, but they've become quite adept at giving themselves sponge baths in order to keep clean.

 

At least the room is very pretty to make up for the things it's lacking!

 

And up in the attic are Myrna and the babies' quarters.

 

This room is the nursery, so Louise spends most of her time in here.

 

She has everything she needs- a highchair, a cradle, a playpen, a rocker, and a soft rug to play on.  The only thing she's lacking is a window for some nice sunlight, but Myrna makes sure to take her outside for plenty of sun time!

 

And of course, Myrna has added some pretty decals to make things even nicer up here!

 

Myrna and Harriet sleep in the adjoining room.

 

Harriet has a lovely crib with handmade bedding.

 

Sometimes Myrna moves out the crib so that there is more room on the floor for the babies to play.

 

More fun decals and a pretty rug make things nice and cheery up here, despite the lack of windows!

 

 

 

And so, that finishes up the tour of Myrna's Rooming House!  This has been such a fun dollhouse to decorate- I absolutely love this larger scale!

 

To remind you, this is where the dollhouse started out...

 

...and this is where it's finished.

 

The inside, before Myrna had her go at it...

 

...and after!

 

I hope you've enjoyed meeting Myrna and her friends, and seeing their lovely home!  To see more of my dollhouse tours, check over on the right sidebar for a list.

Oh, and send your good luck thoughts to Gloria for her date tonight!!