An Oriental Touch by Ruth Nock

This beautifully lighted Asian diorama, An Oriental Touch by Ruth Nock, sold for over $150 on eBay last month. This room-box was designed in 1982. I simply adore the intricate working chandelier!

Christmas in Poland

My Oriental Resthouse is off to Poland right now! It is going to the home of Joanna and her darling daughter Julia as a Christmas surprise. Please pray for the house that it reaches them safe and sound in time for Christmas!

My Lafayette House Makeover

Remember the Lafayette Dollhouse I got at the beginning of the month? It was featured as My Lafayette Dollhouse. I had promised you photos once I am done with the makeover. So, here it is, my Oriental Lafayette!


As beautiful as it was to begin with, I decided to have some fun decoring the house. I began by painting the outside in lovely buttercream and dark chocolate. I used gold paint to accent some of the trims. I finished the outside with terra cotta roof tiles.


The inside took a little longer to complete. I usually finish the wallpaper before assembling the house. Since this house came already assembled, I had to be really careful about trimming the wallpaper around the intricate window frames. Since the floor was stained in places, I decided varnish would draw attention to the flaws. So I covered the floor in burgandy carpet.


Then came the most fun part -- making the dollhouse a custom SMehreen piece! I added stones all around the foundation, and filled the gaps with moss. There is grass all around the border above the foundation. Don't you just love the basement windows peeking through the stones?


Like all of my dollhouses, my Lafayette had to have flowers and plants! Since one side already has the gorgeous bay window, I covered the other wall with tall blooming greenery. To give the house its Oriental flare, the trims, windows and door are detailed in ruby rhinestones and hand embellished faux stonework details. Now tell me, how do you like the transformation?

Butterfly Lights in the Nepalese Resthouse

I can't help myself! Whenever I feel like the Nepalese Dollhouse could not be any more perfect, I find something more exquisite to do with it! I am losing sleep over the new butterfly light fixture that I put in last week. I had to take photos and post them on my blog so that I could show it off! By the way, the Nepalese Dollhouse is on auction now on ebay.

My Country Kitchen Set

If you haven't noticed already -- I love dollhouse furniture! What I love even more is to set them up inside my dollhouse and to take pictures of them to share with you!

I bought this sage & oak country kitchen set today. I adore the tiny spice compartments in the cabinet, and the ample storage space. It is not as big as my other kitchen sets, which makes it perfect for smaller dollhouse kitchens. The color and the design give a cozy feel to my country kitchen. It is a welcoming space where the children can come in for their lemonade, after playing all evening in the sunny backyard!

My Lafayette Dollhouse

It was love at first sight! I fell in love with this Lafayette dollhouse as soon as I had set my eyes upon it. It was fully assembled, and although unadorned, the sheer details of the moldings and the trims caught my fancy.

So, the house arrived on my doorstep about two weeks ago ... a perfect confection nestled in newspaper and bubble wrap! But what was even more precious was the story that came with the dollhouse ...



The house belonged to the seller's mother who had passed away. According to Melissa, her mother was a very special person who always smiled and always had a positive attitude in the face of all adversity. Her mother had always wanted a dollhouse, and later in life, a special friend had presented her this dollhouse.

I wish I had known Melissa's mother. Right now I am busy painting the house. I have bought cream colored carpet and the "English Rose" wallpaper for this house. I have also bought lights and trees to decorate the house. I have promised Melissa to send her photos of the house once I am done decorating it ... so I am really trying to do justice to this special little house, that was once a gift from one dear friend to another!

Oriental Bedroom

So, here is my new dollhouse bedroom set inside the Nepalese Rest House. I added a dark cherry rocking chair to my bedroom furniture. This table lamp is one of my favorites; it has a cut glass base that creates an airy dreamy ambience for a restful night's sleep.

The Fun Is In The Details!

I think the most fun part in building a dollhouse is putting the final details! That's what transforms an ordinary dollhouse into a true collectible piece of art.

This dollhouse was inspired by a tiny trinket box that was given to my mother by a Nepalese princess. It was inlaid with turquoise ... I wonder what has happened to it now! Well, you have already seen the faux stone inlaid borders I used inside the house. I have continued the oriental flare on the outside window panels by adding faux ruby and the same faux stone finish! The staircase also has delicate golden stud details. All exposed wooden surfaces were stained in dark cherry and mahogany for a rich and luxurious effect. By the way, don't you just love the doorknob? I think it's just precious!



What I was most excited about was the mosaic on the porch! I used glass tiles and white mosaic grout. It was the first time ever that I have actually tried to mosaic anything, and I was stunned by the end result! I was so happy that I actually added stones to the entire foundation all around the house!


Adding the flowers is always the most fun part! I love flowers ... they always make me happy! Since there are no windows on the sides, I have put creepers on both the side walls; they are in bloom with pale pink blossoms. There is moss growing between the stones, and a few fallen flowers here and there ...

What do you like the most about my Oriental Inspired Victorian Cottage?

Lights Lights Lights !!!

This is the first dollhouse that I have put lights in! Until now, I have always used the 3 volt battery boxes to connect lights to. But I used a 12 volt lighting system in the new house! And there is a switch that turns the lights on and off, without having to unplug the transformer everytime.

Not only does the house have a magical glow when it is lit at night, the light fixtures look beautiful even when they are not lit. And did I mention, there are glow in the dark beads on the floor and ceiling moldings?

My Victorian Cottage Is Complete!

I took about a hundred and twenty photos of my dollhouse today! This dollhouse of mine took the longest to build. Not that it was more difficult to assemble than the others, but it's just that I shopped around for the most perfect things to add to it. I finally finished adding the plants and flowers last night! So, here are the photos ...

Which Set Looks Better In My New House?

I bought these two kitchen sets for my new dollhouse, but I can't choose one over the other. Both sets are so adorable! I think the mahogany and cream kitchen goes well with the rest of the furniture, but the light oak kitchen has a vintage look about it.

What do you think? Please help me decide!

My Mahogany Dining Room Set

As I professed before, I love mahogany furniture! This is my dining room set inside my new dollhouse. My most treasured piece is the grand china cabinet with its latticed oriental doors and intricate woodwork! My collection of dollhouse furniture is growing very slowly, but then again, only the best will do for me!

My New Dollhouse

Shah and I have started working on our fourth dollhouse. It started out as a Victorian Cottage Jr. Kit by Real Good Toys. We finished the floor with a Dark Cherry gel stain. For the walls, we used English Rose patterned wallpaper and used glaze to give it a rich and satin finish. But when it came to borders, I just could not find the right one to go with the gorgeous wallpaper. So, I decided to create my own.


I printed out strips of black and white border, fitted them to the top and bottom of the walls, and glazed them for the glass-like finish. Then I created a faux stone-work finish inspired by a Nepalese trinket box my mother used to have. The most fun part, which unfortunately I could not catch with my digital camera, is that the stones glow in the dark! This was achieved by overlaying the pattern with glow-in-the-dark paint. Tell me, do you like my Nepalese inspired borders?