Amazingly, this mysterious and intriguing old house, is Kitten Von Mew’s first ever dolls house project. Quite rightly, she is proud of her efforts. Kitten who lives in Stratford-upon-Avon with her young daughter, has loved tiny things from a very early age. As a child she enjoyed Sylvanian Families rather than Barbie dolls. At college she wanted to be an animation prop maker. “That never happened in real life,” said Kitten, “but I enjoyed the dream.”

A couple of years ago, she made a suitcase dolls house for her little daughter. Then realised this was more because she still wanted a dolls house for herself. So last summer, when lockdown was eased for a while, she went to a car boot sale. There she spotted a Sue Ryder 1:12 Georgian dolls house with an attic and four rooms. She bought it for £15.

“It wasn’t glamorous by any means, but I decided to make it my own personal project. It had broken bits and missing internal doors. It seemed huge to me back then, but it is actually very modest and not large at all in the grand scale of things! Two up, two down with an attic room. I’ve created two internal walls so that it has a hallway leading upstairs. The only struggle I’ve found is that the house seems to have a very specific size of doors. They aren’t 1:12, they aren’t 1:16 either. I have struggled for months, trying to find two internal doors for the new wall. I’m now resigned to keeping my eye out for a clapped-out version of the same dolls house to use for spares.

Kitten then set about creating a strange, vintage world with odd clues to the owner. “My vision is that there are hints to the owner’s life and past dotted around the place. Where has he gone? What happened? Who was he? This was also partly as an excuse as I’ve never found dolls house figures to be realistic enough. I do have some good quality ones myself, but they are taller than the doors and things like top hats are glued on! You would never wear such things inside a house, it was very bad manners. I didn’t want the half giant figures to ruin the illusion of scale within the house. It is not yet finished, but I’m hoping it will tell a story once it is done.

Mystery and intrigue

As you look around the house, you find that it gives away some of its secrets, such as the music and the record sleeves. Old books and scrapbooks – individually made by Kitten; circus-type posters featuring curiosities, paintings and framed old photographs on the walls. Look very closely and you may even spot a vintage photo of Kitten in her steampunk outfit. There’s an octopus breaking out of its tank; a large mermaid relaxing in the bath. Weird, wonderful and very atmospheric.

Each room reveals a lived-in look, a leather chair has horse-hair stuffing poking through; there’s a damp patch on the ceiling causing mould on a wall which needs fixing. This old house oozes mystery. There’s no sign of the owner. It looks like he disappeared only moments before – perhaps he’ll be back soon. Or perhaps he will never come back…

“I have a rather active imagination and often pin personalities and histories onto inanimate objects, so this house is full of the same. I will keep adding and making changes, making it seem that the owner was an avid collector of oddities and books. I look at these rooms as almost an artistic interpretation of the inside of my head; way too many thoughts, lists, daydreams and eccentric quirkiness for a small space!”

Kitten is keeping most of the story to herself until she is completely finished, as some details chop, change and redevelop. More recently she has purchased a large basement piece that the house currently sits on. Her plan is to fit large bay windows displaying shops – the sort that sell tarot cards or offer fortune telling. “The shop will twin with the house’s story. I’m sure people will have spotted the various nods to sideshow and circus performers – and a visitor in the bathroom…

“As with all things of this nature, I don’t believe it will ever be finished. I’ll always be adding, upgrading or changing. I still need to complete the attic (storage and art studio), make curtains and extra bits and bobs to the rooms. After that I have a basement to convert!

Kitten shares some ‘weathering’ tips.

“It has been a joy to create a miniature world to escape to and learn new techniques. I have always enjoyed making things look weathered and aged, so this has been a great excuse! I love adapting dolls house furniture to give it a personal feel. I scour car boot sales and second-hand sellers online. I would rather repurpose and reuse as opposed to going to a specialist shop. But some things you need to purchase new – such as dado rails, cornicing and special pieces. I have made a mermaid shelf for the study using a cocktail glass decoration and part of a grandfather clock. I have made all the books in the house and a lot of the paper ephemera that give the house personality.

“Weathering items can be so effective for a derelict or ‘lived in’ feel,” said Kitten. “I’ve always enjoyed doing these techniques. The most important thing is – do some research! Even if it is just looking at a handful of online photos of ‘old Victorian dresser’. Searching for images of furniture restoration can be a great source of ideas. The before images usually show knocks on corners, distressed paintwork and varnish etc.

“Think about the age of the piece. Have they just bought it new? Has it been in the house for 100 years? Is it carefully looked after or over-used and much loved? Another thing to ponder is where the item would be rubbed and knocked the most. Corners and edges are obvious. What about cupboard doors? Has a cat been sharpening its claws? Has a mouse eaten away something? Has candle smoke left black marks? What about damp?

“Create a story in your head about how the owner acquired the piece and about its history. This may all sound very deep and drastic, but it’s the little things like this that bring a miniature room to life. I am far from finished, but every so often I will take a piece of furniture out and do the above.

I use an emery board for most of my sanding as it is such small areas and only needs a fine grain. I have nothing fancy; just acrylic paints, tea or coffee for staining and a range of tiny paint brushes used for nail art.”

A therapeutic project

Kitten continued, “This project has been my therapy through Covid. It’s helped greatly with my depression of which I’ve suffered from a young age. I am a vintage singer in my spare time. I miss it very much, not to mention the atmosphere of the events I attended. Care homes were a big part of my performing life and it is a wrench to the heart knowing that they are not getting live entertainment at this time. From WW2 shows to Steampunk madness, you don’t realise what an important part of your life something is until you are forced not to do it.”

Not having my singing events and the obvious stress that comes from uncertainty, drastic change and cabin fever all trigger my mental health struggles and I use crafts as art therapy. This form of aid has been used for over 100 years; helping First World War veterans get over PTSD through basket weaving, knitting and more.

A learning curve

“Patience is a huge thing I’ve had to learn during this project. Usually my attitude to crafts is: ‘if I can’t do it in an hour, I won’t do it at all!’ Can you imagine doing that to miniature projects? I think with everyone in love with creating these, the whole process is a learning curve. I’m far from being an expert, my style isn’t to everyone’s taste and some can probably do it far better, but I am proud of my efforts and everything I have learned along the way. This dolls house is 100% mine, 100% a work in progress and 100% loved.”