Universe in miniature....miniature houses, interior design, art and whimsey : May 2012

I am a dollhouse collector, all mid-century modern, or later. I have given many dollhouses away, to family, friends, schools, and other worthy causes. Dollhouses find their way to me, and over the past few years, my garage has become a "hospital" for dollhouses in need of vast amounts help. Yes, I know that vintage dollhouses lose value when restored, and I try not to do too much, but if the house is covered in mold or two inch thick puddles of professional carpet glue, it is better restored than left ruined or in a trash can. Some of the houses in my garage are:
One old huge masonite dollhouse from the 1960s that was being used to display shoes at a local thrift shop (I had no idea that a dollhouse could hold so many men's sneakers, and the shop was so happy to get rid of it-"you really want that thing?").
A beautiful, old, hand-made, but uncompleted dollhouse that was given to me by a friend who bought it off Craig's List for $20 (I have wonderful friends who enable my addiction).
A Rich dollhouse that had been slathered with carpet glue, full size shag carpeting, huge flowered contact paper, and an added side porch (the donor informed me that it had been won at a raffle many years ago, carpet glue and all).
A Keystone Put-Away (with two folding rooms) found by a friend, that was on its way to the garbage heap. Unfortunately, the house had been "pulled away" (instead of "put-away"), and was covered with adhesive shelf lining-everywhere.
And then there was the 1950s FAO Schwarz dollhouse which had been left to literally rot as mildew and insects ruined its beautiful Eames-era wallpaper--there were only scraps left to remind me of its former glory. We had to remove the wallpaper, the mold was too intense. This house needed to be brought back to its original mid-century modern beauty, but, although I searched diligently I could not find wallpaper that could match the beautiful scraps salvaged from the house. Then I found Linda at AsiaFile, an Etsy Shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/AsiaFile). I informed Linda of my Eames-less plight, and I sent her a picture of similar wallpaper on the same type of house (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fnbettge/3485051894/) (thank you Florine!). Linda, a digital artist, thought about it and produced the most amazing line of Eames-era-inspired dollhouse wallpaper digital art. With her permission, here is some of her fabulous work: