THE THORNHILL

I know that one is supposed to enter information on a blog on a daily basis and I am way behind in writing. However, Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping and my office have taken up all of my time and that explains my delay in posting. I have decided to write about the Thornhill dollhouse next because a number of people have this house and like to see what others have done with it. I acquired my Thornhill for free as it was what I selected to have using some prize winnings. I ordered the basic house and then ordered the windows. For some reason I wasn't thrilled with the windows that Real Good Toys used on the house. They were two different windows, one style on the first floor and another on the second floor. Even though I know it was authentic to use the different windows on a house of the Federal period, I preferred to have all of the same windows. I also was not happy with the ceiling height in the house because the height was 10" and for me, an elegant house would have had higher ceilings, particularly on the first floor. A very dear friend of mine was visiting at the time and I managed to get the basic house put together before her arrival so that she and I could discuss the house with its good and bad points. Shortly after her arrival, we went to a Tom Bishop show in Ft. Lauderdale and while there we saw a gorgeous roombox by Ray Whitledge. My husband, Tom, had heard Debbe and me discussing the Thornhill and ceiling height in particular so he asked Ray W. what the height was on the lovely roombox that he was showing. He said that the height was 13" and the following day, with no prompting from me or Debbe, Tom cut around the entire house and added 3" to the height of the first floor. It is quite nice to have a husband who enjoys the mini hobby and doesn't hesitate to do things that make the projects more interesting. Tom used extra pieces of wood to combine the two parts of the house and as soon as he had finished his woodworking, I was all set to begin my work on the house. We also changed the floor plan a lot making a nice entryway in the center of the house, a living room to the right of the entry, a dining room and kitchen on the other side of the entry. Behind the kitchen (at the back of the entry) is a laundry/pantry room. Before I get to the second floor let me add a few pictures to show you the first floor. I have to believe that you will see what we saw....that the first floor ceiling height at 13" makes for a far more elegant style room.

A few notes on the first floor rooms of the Thornhill: The stairs in the entry have two spindles on each step, a feature that I wanted, but without Tom's abilities, would have been unable to have. The spindles were purchased and all available ones that I have seen are the same length. Tom used his lathe to make additional, longer spindles so that I could have the two per stair that I so wanted. The chandelier in the entry was made at that same Tom Bishop show that I mentioned earlier. It was made by my friend Debbe in a class and when she had finished, Debbe presented the completed chandelier to me as a gift. Naturally, it needed to be put in the house entry. In the living room, there is a statue by Neil Carter on the mantle (another of his works will show up in the library when I get to the second floor pictures.) There are two Hummel figurines, miniature of course, in the living room; pieces that I adore. One was a gift and the other was purchased on ebay. In the dining room, the wallpaper is by Therese Bahl, copies of her original art work. She is one of my favorite artisans!! On the buffet there is a piece from the Joseph Addotta collection. It is silver and crystal. I saw it at Ron's in Orlando and just HAD to have it. One comment about the kitchen, on the floor in front of the sink is a rug made by Debbe Bloom who makes the nicest bunka rugs that I have ever seen. I was delighted to have the rug because it just 'belongs' on that kitchen floor.