The remodel of a mid-century modern Gottschalk dollhouse

I found this wonderful mid-century modern dollhouse

 on German Ebay several years ago. 

The company that produced this dollhouse wasn't known to the seller. 

Later, I saw this dollhouse on German ebay 

and decided that the company that made my dollhouse

 also made the same design in a single story house. 

I wanted to be able to name the company that produced  this dollhouse before posting about it, so I contacted Astrid at her diepuppenstubensammlerin  blog. As gracious as always with answering questions about German production dollhouses and furniture, she told me that my dollhouse was the original single story Gottschalk dollhouse shown above that had been remodeled by adding the second story. Astrid thought the remodel had been done very nicely because of what it entailed...first lifting the roof with terrace railing, adding the self-made second floor with the self-made window and fake balcony door, then replacing the original roof on top. 

Astrid said that the red brick paper on the balcony and  the ground floor on my dollhouse is not Gottschalk paper and would have been added during the remodel. The bottom floor of my house has the original floor and wallpaper, however, wallpaper in the bedroom is of West German origin and often used in Kibri houses.  The bedroom floor paper is a textured-surface wallpaper, and the "tile" floor in the bathroom is a sheet of wallpaper that came with the house.  

Comparing the houses, you can see that the remodel

 added lovely climbing vines to the trellis. 

I added the flower box before finding out there was not an original. 

The remodel continued the curved corner of the house....

with the curved balcony following the line 

of the curved "glass" window of the lower floor.

The left side of the window on the lower floor slides open while the smaller side remains stationary. Real glass was used for windows in this dollhouse.

The window on the upper floor is also glass, but is non-opening. 

The porch features a side-opening front door and flower boxes 

under the window and at the edge of the porch. 

The mailbox was added to cover up holes 

left by a switch box that had been installed previously. 

Here you can see how the construction of the upper floor

 is not  finished as professionally as the original lower floor.  

Also, the lower floor has a stucco finish, while the upper floor does not.

Finn and Hannah Weber are here to show us their remodeled home!
(Finn and Hannah are Ermey dolls standing 6" tall.)

This is the  interior of this mid-century modern 
Gottschalk dollhouse...now with 2 floors.

The kitchen has the sliding glass window that fronts onto the porch.

The left side of the kitchen holds  a fridge, 

a cabinet with work space and a broom closet.

The right side of the kitchen holds the sink underneath the window,  
a cabinet of drawers, and a stove....with the table centered 

in the room under a bright yellow shade. 

 To the right of the kitchen is the living room, with plenty of light 
for growing plastic plants in front of the large window. 

Finn and Hannah have a TV/stereo combo facing the sofa. 
They also find enjoyment watching the large fish tank. 

Yes, they lead an exciting life.

 A good reading lamp is found beside the sofa.

 An original watercolor by California artist Kathy Smith hangs over the sofa. 
(Sorry, Kathy, I had to hang it sideways to get the effect I wanted.) 

Located above the kitchen, the large bedroom holds 
a very large wardrobe, a king-sized bed and a vanity and stool. 

Matching bedside tables are on either side of the bed.

And still room for Hannah's (or Finn's) vanity and stool.

The bathroom is large enough for the 3 fixtures set it holds. 
I like the choice of the aqua wall tile the remodel added.

The over-the-sink mirror came with the house, 
which explains why it is positioned so low. 

The towel rack was also attached and not movable. 

The builder installed a privacy window in the bathroom during the remodel.

The six piece bedroom set is a product of Germany....

and a perfect fit for this large dollhouse. 

If I scrolled thru diepuppenstubensammlerin's website, 
I am sure I would discover which company made it! 

Astrid, of diepuppenstubensammlerin website has just shared
 that the bedroom furniture was produced by EMS in 1955!
EMS is the logo for VEB Erzgebirgische Möbel- und Spielwarenfabriken 
in Niedersaida (Erzgebirge).
VEB stands for Volkseigener Betrieb = Nationalized firm, 
meaning "owned by the people of East Germany" 

Astrid has also identified the makers of several other 
pieces of furniture displayed in this house. See below.

The bathroom fixtures were made by Bodo Hennig.

The chair and sofa were also made by Bodo Hennig.
The standing lamp was produced by Beco,
 and the living room table is a product of Wichtelmarke.

More German productions.

I was very happy to add this aquarium to my collection. 
It was made by Rudolf Süß.

 

This TV / stereo combination is a product of Edmund Müller.

Bodo Hennig produced all of the kitchen pieces, 
all with functioning doors and drawers! 

"Guten tag" from Hannah and Finn!

A sweet thought from Astrid:  "I think it is possible to rebuild the original Gottschalk house if you want to....or you keep it as a reminder of creative fathers who react to their daughter's wish for more rooms in their dollhouses. :)"

This dollhouse will stay the way the creative father remodeled it!

A big thank you to Astrid for identifying so many of the 
wonderful German-produced pieces used in my dollhouse!

Rory Hill Moves Out

Rory Hill is 37.  Recently his mom told him that he was certainly old enough to be living on his own. After taking a couple of days to think that over, he started looking for  the right place for a successful young accountant to live---a batchelor pad for Mr. Rory Hill!

He looked in The Heights, in Montrose, the Midtown area, and finally found the perfect place near Rice Village , north of the university. He felt very lucky when he found this mid-century modern bungalow built by Albin Schonherr...and at just the right price. The walls needed new paper, but Rory was too excited to wait for his landlord to install wallpaper or paint.  He wanted to move in right away.  What a great idea his mother had!  Aren't mothers always right about these things?

Rory went straight to Alabama Furniture , a store specializing in quality consignment furniture, and selected some great Bodo Hennig items from the 60s era for his living room. He asked if they could be delivered the same day. When mom "puts a bug in his ear", he acts on it as quickly as possible!

The bungalow has a great kitchen. Hmmn, he certainly will miss his mom's great cooking...but with a nice large kitchen, maybe he will learn to cook.  Yes, cooking lessons will definitely be in order....he must check with Chara Gifford at urbanCHEF to see what classes are available.

Mom was kind enough to stock his pantry and also pick up some deli from Central Market for his first meal in his new home....now to squeeze it all in this small fridge!

Looking for just the right art work to compliment his "new" furniture, Rory visited a couple of his favorite galleries, Nau-Haus and  John Cleary.  Finally, in a small gallery in his new neighborhood, he discovered several prints he thought would be perfect for his new space. The prints were listed by Australian photographer Rebecca Green, but no titles were given.

For now he decided to refer to them as Table Tops and Stacked Tables; maybe later he will google Ms. Green's name and discover if she  titled these delightful pieces.

A favorite place for Rory in his new home is the patio and steps leading up to his front door. Even with this city's "hot and humid" reputation, he finds this outdoor area to be pleasant and cool...and the perfect place for an after-dinner drink.


"Yoo-hoo!  Hey hunny-bun!"  Is that a neighbor calling him from across the street......?

[Albin Schonherr house was found on German eBay last winter; it seems to be a fairly popular model as it comes up for auction quite often.  All the furniture was found on US eBay during the last several years.]

A new home for the Ainsleys.........

And the house they chose is....

HOUSE #3!   The Ainsleys moved into their new home 2 months ago and everyone is settling in nicely.

 Let's take a closer peek and see what everyone is doing....

Well, we sort of knew Nevil would be sitting in front of the TV, didn't we?

If we look closer, we can see that Fiona's favorite spot is on the second step where she can read her book or daydream while gazing out of the window....

Annie's in her favorite place...her nice big kitchen...once more looking for a new recipe to make a surprise treat for her family.

    

                          
Little Sophie likes to play in the new big room she shares with Fiona and Cecil.....

and if we peek into the other bedroom, we will see little Rory napping in his crib....even while Sophie "plays" her piano.

                                 

Nevil has rearranged the washer and dryer so it will be easier to switch loads of clothes from the washer to the dryer when he is doing the laundry.

...and there is Cecil, actually sitting on the floor playing instead of balancing on top of a table.  And of course his favorite place to play is right behind Dad's chair....while Dad is trying to watch TV. The Ainsleys are enjoying their new home!

    

The furniture was made in Germany and sold by the FAO Schwarz Toy Store of NYC. The kitchen furniture was recently identified on Diepuppenstubensammlerin's blogspot as being made by Bodo Henning. The maker of the other furniture is also Bodo Hennig;  it was closely copied from the American Strombecker furniture of the 1930-50s. Rory's crib is a Lisa of Denmark product,  the bunkbed is Bodo Hennig, and the washer and dryer are a salt and pepper set!