Phil Taylor, Dollhouse/Hall Table (RECYCLED & RESCUED 2023)

Photos:

Phil Taylor

Country:

New Zealand

Video tour:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwPNkm4IDdK/?hl=en

In early 2022 my daughter asked if I would build her a dollhouse, I agreed on the condition that she would help design and build it with me. First, we needed to find a space in our small cottage for it, the solution was to replace a hallway table that had unused space below it. Next was functionality, combining the new dollhouse with the existing handiness of having a hallway table, and being able to easily play and tidy away after, without restricting the use of the hall too much. With these considerations and the sizes of the dolls in mind, a three-story dollhouse with bifold doors and a tabletop was our starting point. During the following months I started on the build, using Rimu from renovations in our own 115yo cottage, old Totara fence posts and Kahikatea from old window joinery. Many evening dinners were spent sharing photo updates and discussing floor layout and what sort of rooms would be needed, with occasional after school “site visits” to check on progress and go over various details. During the school holidays we worked on furniture, made using scrap offcuts of Purpleheart, Rimu, Kauri, Rewarewa, Oak, Spalted English Plane, Maple, Red Cedar, salvaged antique mouldings, copper rivets, stainless steel washers, ebony keys from a piano, copper flashing offcuts, and brass nuts and bolts for a pot and the shower head. At the beginning of December 2022 an epic build, and a truly bonding project, was done and dusted. Played with nearly every day since, and what started as a simple request turned out to be what we both hope is a future family heirloom.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.