So The Hunt Is On

You may remember that I left you with that very philosophical question of WHAT is it we are hunting for in the pursuit of our tiny imaginary worlds. Well, thankfully, it is not a question that requires an immediate answer! I will suppose that for everyone it is a little different something. And I will admit that I am still hunting for the answer to my own question. And I will also admit that the MUCH more important HUNT is for the next tiny piece of the puzzle that happens to be whatever we are building at the moment! I almost think that the pleasure of the hunt is a huge part of the building of our tiny dreams. As I become more and more involved in the re-building of my Lovely Old Dollhouse, I am increasingly aware that I don't even know exactly how I want the house to look when I am "done"! The fantasies that I entertained as a child are long gone and no longer what I want. Even the ideas I began with as a teen (making it a very "Colonial" historical period piece) no longer appeal to me. The steps I have already taken on the project dictate that it is going to be more "modern" than that - even though I have not decided just how modern it will be. It is as though I am "finding out" what I want it to be like as I go.....each step that requires a decision reveals a new aspect of the whole, even though the "whole" remains a misty unclear idea to me. So I guess I am hunting the dream as I go, letting each new challenge bring forth its own piece of clarity, often at great surprise to me! So it is that while visiting that dangerous miniatures shop, I would come across little items that I never would have thought of looking for... but then there they were, just the perfect thing for one room or another.
Thus I acquired quite a few little items and began to place them in the Lovely Old Dollhouse to see if they "fit" the picture that was emerging. I also rummaged through all my boxes and drawers looking for fabric that would be useful and came across a stash of little upholstery fabric sample swatches that make lovely scatter rugs!

You can see one in the hall below

(along with the packages of doorknobs that will go on the doors).

While I was hunting for fabric and other little treasures, the visiting ladies were still in the parlor - I guess they were trying to decide if they had come to the right house in their search for their missing gentlemen friends.......they did seem to be quite at home here!

Certainly the room is well equipped to aid them in their search.....an old Atlas sits on the table along with a newer globe and a very new magnifying glass......but they don't seem to be using them. They seem to be preoccupied with other thoughts.

But whatever it is they are searching for,

they seem very committed to helping each other find it!

Especially now that their sophisticated Cousin is here....she will help them figure it all out!

Meanwhile, in my pursuit of just the right lights for every room in the house, I have made many trips to the VERY dangerous miniatures store. Every trip has me bringing home delightful items I will eventually use as well as the lights I have chosen for the Lovely Old Dollhouse. On one such trip I stumbled across the prefabricated sheets of tiles for bathroom floors and walls that were in a corner of the shop. There was one in glossy black which reminded me of the bathroom in the house my ex-husband owned when I first met him....the walls and floor were tiled in black glass tiles - very Art Deco in style. There was only one sheet of tiles and I thought they would be very sophisticated looking in the Lovely Old Dollhouse! So I brought that home too, and then spent quite a while trying to figure out how to cut it up to make the right size pieces cover the right amount of walls and floor! Luckily the room is very small and I used every bit except one tiny strip! Of course, with black setting the tone of the bathroom, I wanted to find a black light fixture to go with it. Brass just didn't seem right. So another trip to the dangerous shop was in order!

You can imagine my surprise (and disappointment) when I discovered that the shop did NOT have a light fixture in black that would work! You must realize, dear readers, that this blogger was still in the DARK AGES and had not yet visited the internet in search of dollhouse items! Having the shop so nearby, along with the very helpful proprietor who could explain HOW to do so many things - like wiring and tile installation - had fulfilled all my dreams so far. It had not occurred to me to go shopping on-line! But NOW it did! I wanted a black sconce-style light for my black tiled bathroom!

So I went on-line, and OH MY were my eyes ever opened! Fortunately, when I first went on-line in search of dollhouse items, I was at work and could not spend very many minutes shopping. The shock to my system was enough in those few minutes! I now knew that the dollhouse "World" was out there..........and it wasn't too long before I found and ordered my black sconce-style light for the bathroom.

Here is a view of the bathroom with the light installed and the floor tiles in place.

So while I was disappointed that my dangerous miniatures store had no black sconces, which led me to the vast and fertile "hunting grounds" of the internet, I still had not stopped visiting the shop in search of treasures. Almost any excuse would find me making an expedition to the store! The little old gentleman who owns it has been there for more than thirty years and while the shop is small, it is stuffed with furnishings and houses, supplies and kits and he is always "getting something new in" to look at and drool over. Every time I go I see something I didn't see the time before. So it was that one beautiful fall day I came across some wall paper (had I even wanted wall-paper at all?) that made my heart leap! It was a beautiful, to scale mural scene of hunting - red jacketed riders and hounds racing through a beautiful countryside! I WANTED it! It was PERFECT for the master bedroom. I had not been able to decide what I wanted the master bedroom to look like at all, but when I saw that paper I just knew it was perfect! Silly me, I only bought two sheets at first, which wasn't enough to complete the room with the pattern repeats fitting right. I suffered anxiously for a whole week before I could return to buy the third sheet and so complete my room.

Here is the room with the paper and some scraps for carpeting.........

And a slightly better lit view of the side wall - I just love the moodiness of the stormy gray skies!

And again with the sconce lights installed!

Isn't it just PERFECT?

May your hunting bring you what you are searching for -

whether you know what you seek or not!

The Hunt Is On