The start of my vintage collection

I wanted to get a lovely little vintage house to display on a shelf to add a little extra to the room. Now anyone that knows me knows I really don't do old houses. They are usually tatty and dirty and just don't appeal to me! I had in mind exactly what I wanted and after trawling Ebay and Gumtree I couldn't find anything I liked. Julie listed a little house I thought might do the job so I messaged to ask if it could be repainted and by the time she replied it was gone! I tried not to be disappointed and told myself there was a reason I didn't get it and something else would come along! Julie mentioned she had another she was selling and would list it later on. I was waiting with baited breath and I was not missing this one lol. As soon as I saw it I knew it was the one!!

It had just the perfect vintage cottage feel I was after and as it has been refurbished it wasn't old or smelly either lol!

I recently joined a lovely little site called  DOLLS HOUSES PAST AND PRESENT They have lots of older houses and very knowledgeable members so its great for anyone with a vintage or new house. I had been posting some pics of my village and they had made some lovely comments and are really friendly. I thought I would pop a couple of pics of Ivy cottage on as I was just excited to share it! One of the members posted it had belonged to someone on the site they had bought it and refurbished it to raise money for a dog charity and gave me the link to the thread about it. It really did make my day finding out about its history and the story behind it and the fact it was for rescue dogs made me even happier I found it! It made me absolutely sure I made the right decision going for it and I am chuffed to bits!

You can read all about its story and transformation here!

IVY COTTAGE

Its a large 1/16 scale house and although I could prob get away with some smaller 1/12th stuff in it after seeing the photos with the furniture in it I have decided to go with the smaller vintage scale. It has 4 lovely big rooms as well as the hallways so lots of scope for filling up with lovely things! I don't think I will change much all except the upstairs right paper (for something darker) and I may remove the flooring paper as its made from lovely wood and it seems a shame to cover it! Otherwise its been beautifully decorated and I wouldn't want to spoil Pattys hard work!

She also added all the little curtains and they will def be staying! I have had a niggling itch about doing a 40's / 50's wartime themed house and I think this would make a lovely little wartime cottage!

I don't have a single thing in 1/16 scale so I have been scouring Ebay for ideas! Things I would never have even looked at are now in my watch list and I am really enjoying looking for something different! I am on a budget though so mustn't get carried away but I did get this yesterday for about £7.50 including the postage and thought it was a nice little lot to start me off. I couldn't have it arrive and not have a single thing to put it in now could I!!!