A funny thing happened the other day on Instagram. I posted an old, rotted miniature dollhouse and asked,
“Alright, fellow miniature gardeners, please help me decide! This is from an old display from a big garden show a few years ago. Should I just trash this dollhouse that’s already deteriorated – or make it into a Halloween House project??”
But I already knew what my friends, fellow Miniature Gardeners and followers would say despite the house being very rotted, missing a lot of pieces and fragile to the touch. It took 92 comments and one, “Why is this even a question?” and it was decided: make it into a Halloween house. (Just for the record there was only one, “Let it go and move on.” which I was partial to, I might add!)
Enjoy the results! Here is a photo essay on what happened to this old dollhouse….
The original dollhouse in 2008. We found it at the Fremont Sunday Market for a song. Really, it does look much better in the photo – the overall condition was poor and didn’t warrant spending the time and money on it. A win for me, I instantly knew I wanted to use it outside. (It’s the Willowcrest Dollhouse Kit that sells for around $180.)
The Origins
I found the house at the Fremont Sunday Market here in Seattle, many moons ago when I was vending every Sunday and spreading the joy of the new hobby of gardening in miniature. The dollhouse was made from a plywood kit but the owner literally gave up the ghost and aborted all intentions with it and thus – it came into my hands for a mere $20.
The outside of the dollhouse wasn’t bad at all. The inside? I should have taken a photo! It was beyond repair with so many of the pieces missing – it was perfect for a miniature garden scene!
See our Very Scary Miniature Halloween Accessories here.
The First Reincarnation
Several years ago I did get a chance to use it in a display for the big Sorticulture Garden Festival for a fairy garden theme. I painted it the blue, white and orange colors to go with the whimsical fairies and mixed in a bunch fairy gardens to go with it.
It looks so nice! Lol! This is makin’ me want a real dollhouse now. Here is the house at a garden show in 2009. We had to set up the display in a garden bed so I tried to take-up as much room as possible. If I had to do this again, I’m pretty sure I would do it differently. The paths going everywhere don’t quite look right now. I used our Sedum Cuttings from our TwoGreenThumbs.com online store to grow the miniature green roof.
The Second Reincarnation
After the show, I tucked into a back garden bed and let it age naturally, not knowing what to do with it as the inside was still in bad shape and would be a challenge to get it up to par. So there it sat for 10 years, waiting for its redux.
However, as a Halloween House, I do believe we have brought it back from the dead!
I swear if I blew on it, it would crumble in pieces. But Instagram won and out came the whisk and the broom! I did have to re-home several spiders…She held up nicely, I dare say! By leaving it out in the weather to age naturally, I do believe it worked-out better than if I had tried to age it myself.
Our renovation-in-progress in our in-ground miniature garden was the perfect spot to set it up. That’s a Japanese Andromeda on the left and a Graham Blandy Boxwood on the right. New Zealand Brass Buttons is planted on either side of the impromptu pathway. See an update version of this in-ground miniature garden here.
Bring Your Broken, Your Damaged, Your Weathered Accessories…
Here it is in the rain. Lol! Doh! But the refections of the lights in the water made spookier!Halloween is the perfect theme for your broken miniatures and weathered furniture. You can really squeeze the life out of your miniatures with this great hobby – see what I did there? Heh, heh, heh… :o)
Often-times, Less is More
I had to stop myself from going “full-tilt-boogey” on this room. I wanted to release my inner miniature interior designer and fix it up with wallpaper, flooring & drapes but it still wasn’t worth it – it’s now a permanent Halloween House.Confession: I put this photo through a photo filter on my iPhone to make this photo even creepier. Scared YET??
Collect the Weird and Wonderful Throughout the Year…
The brass chair is from set I found at a miniature show. The leg and hand are from a skeleton garlands and the shrunken heads are from Steve’s collection – they only add to the weirdness.Whenever you see a good miniature tombstone, grab it, you can never have enough for a good miniature cemetery!
Tips on Shooting Your Miniature Scenes at Night
Shooting miniatures at night is a bit of a challenge. The low-light isn’t conducive to capturing the details. I think I took a hundred shots and maybe 10 are useful. I found the best time is just at dusk, when the light starts to fade. Then, you only have a few minutes to capture it. If you wait until it’s really dark, the contrast between the lights and the darkness doesn’t help illuminate the details.Okay you must be scared by now. Just a little?? :o)
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I really enjoyed your transformation of this house. I like studying some of the areas of miniature garden displays. You made it easy for me to enjoy by addressing some of your details. Thank you.
Your Halloween House project is absolutely amazing!!! I have looked at it several times and each time I find something new that I hadn’t noticed before. What a perfect house to start with…..in all its falling apart glory. Nothing else would have worked as well. Congrats on a fantastic project!
Thank you Donna! Leaving it outdoors was the easiest way to age it naturally. Lol! I could claim that I did it with paint and sandpaper – but Ma Nature had a way forward that was more effective. Lol! TY for your kind note! – J.
This house & its environs were wonderful…and wonderfully spooky. I wish I had your talent (and your stash of miniatures) for my mini-garden. I didn’t get to miss out on the storm here in the Greenlake area- my miniature garden was washed out but nothing was irreparably harmed (at least so far) and the wind over the last couple of days knocked over anything that was still standing. Oh well, I’ll just start over in the spring. Thanks for the ongoing inspiration and education.
Hi Laura, TY for your kind note. You should see some of my first miniature work when I started 25 years ago. My journey of teaching miniature gardening started with Beth, a neighbor that taught me how to “see” in miniature. I always remind people that no one learned how to cook without burning a cookie or two – hobbies are the same way. Keep playing! You can only get better and better… :o) – J.
Oh wow Janit, this is amazing! The colors on the house are perfect coupled with the lights and all the Halloween decor, absolutely awesome! I also have a large outdoor fairy garden but with the continuous rain here and then Hurricane Ivan just came through and flooded us in I have to keep bringing it all in, never fun. Do you have to do the same with your house? Not sure what the weather is like there. Thanks for sharing, love it!
Thank you Jill, I’m glad your safe from the Hurricane! I can’t imagine the flooding – our hearts go out to all our miniature garden friends down in FL!
The last time I used this house, in 2018, I furnished the rooms with some of my personal collection of miniatures so I didn’t leave it out for long – I think just a couple of days to get some photographs. This year, I’ve taken out my beloved miniatures so they won’t get lost. (“If you can’t afford to lose them, don’t use them” as all things large and mini weather outside.) I’m just going to decorate the window displays and the outside of it. But this house isn’t really dear to me so I might leave it out to weather some more.
My other miniatures I take inside for the winter and put some older/worn out miniatures in so there is something to look at. It’s fun when the snow falls – makes great Kodak moments! – J.
This is awesome! Thanks for taking us along on the journey of this transformation. You always give me ideas but I have no idea where I would put a busted up dollhouse!
Thank you Pat! I found that furniture set a a miniature show. I forget where I found those Nightmare Before Christmas dolls though – maybe it was at Disney during one of my book tours – maybe? Simply too cute! Lol! – J.
Janit, Well, you’ve done it again! This spooky Halloween house is so absolutely awesome! I’ve been following you for about 10 years, and I’m always so impressed by your creativity, whimsy, and quirky sensibilities. I took a particular liking to your interior design skills, especially those little dolls! Your miniature collection is amazing, and I’m often so jealous of what you’ve collected over the years. Congratulations on a spooktacular project !!!
Hi Maki! It was a very fun project albeit a little spooky… heh, heh, heh. :o) I think it’s the thrill of the hunt that makes collecting miniatures so fun to do – along with playing with them that is. Everyone loves miniatures and you can find them in the strangest places sometimes! Thank you for your kind note and all your support. <3 Have a fun Halloweeeeen Maki! - J.
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I really enjoyed your transformation of this house. I like studying some of the areas of miniature garden displays. You made it easy for me to enjoy by addressing some of your details. Thank you.
Thank you, Donna! I really appreciate the feedback! <3
Your Halloween House project is absolutely amazing!!! I have looked at it several times and each time I find something new that I hadn’t noticed before. What a perfect house to start with…..in all its falling apart glory. Nothing else would have worked as well. Congrats on a fantastic project!
Thank you Donna! Leaving it outdoors was the easiest way to age it naturally. Lol! I could claim that I did it with paint and sandpaper – but Ma Nature had a way forward that was more effective. Lol! TY for your kind note! – J.
This house & its environs were wonderful…and wonderfully spooky. I wish I had your talent (and your stash of miniatures) for my mini-garden. I didn’t get to miss out on the storm here in the Greenlake area- my miniature garden was washed out but nothing was irreparably harmed (at least so far) and the wind over the last couple of days knocked over anything that was still standing. Oh well, I’ll just start over in the spring. Thanks for the ongoing inspiration and education.
Hi Laura, TY for your kind note. You should see some of my first miniature work when I started 25 years ago. My journey of teaching miniature gardening started with Beth, a neighbor that taught me how to “see” in miniature. I always remind people that no one learned how to cook without burning a cookie or two – hobbies are the same way. Keep playing! You can only get better and better… :o) – J.
Oh wow Janit, this is amazing! The colors on the house are perfect coupled with the lights and all the Halloween decor, absolutely awesome! I also have a large outdoor fairy garden but with the continuous rain here and then Hurricane Ivan just came through and flooded us in I have to keep bringing it all in, never fun. Do you have to do the same with your house? Not sure what the weather is like there. Thanks for sharing, love it!
Thank you Jill, I’m glad your safe from the Hurricane! I can’t imagine the flooding – our hearts go out to all our miniature garden friends down in FL!
The last time I used this house, in 2018, I furnished the rooms with some of my personal collection of miniatures so I didn’t leave it out for long – I think just a couple of days to get some photographs. This year, I’ve taken out my beloved miniatures so they won’t get lost. (“If you can’t afford to lose them, don’t use them” as all things large and mini weather outside.) I’m just going to decorate the window displays and the outside of it. But this house isn’t really dear to me so I might leave it out to weather some more.
My other miniatures I take inside for the winter and put some older/worn out miniatures in so there is something to look at. It’s fun when the snow falls – makes great Kodak moments! – J.
This is awesome! Thanks for taking us along on the journey of this transformation. You always give me ideas but I have no idea where I would put a busted up dollhouse!
Thanks Laura! This was a fun project to do. Having a blog like this is a good excuse to do things like this. Lol! – Good to hear from you! – J.
I love the chair& Sally! Great job!
Thank you Pat! I found that furniture set a a miniature show. I forget where I found those Nightmare Before Christmas dolls though – maybe it was at Disney during one of my book tours – maybe? Simply too cute! Lol! – J.
Janit, Well, you’ve done it again! This spooky Halloween house is so absolutely awesome! I’ve been following you for about 10 years, and I’m always so impressed by your creativity, whimsy, and quirky sensibilities. I took a particular liking to your interior design skills, especially those little dolls! Your miniature collection is amazing, and I’m often so jealous of what you’ve collected over the years. Congratulations on a spooktacular project !!!
Hi Maki! It was a very fun project albeit a little spooky… heh, heh, heh. :o) I think it’s the thrill of the hunt that makes collecting miniatures so fun to do – along with playing with them that is. Everyone loves miniatures and you can find them in the strangest places sometimes! Thank you for your kind note and all your support. <3 Have a fun Halloweeeeen Maki! - J.