Most builders, when asked to construct a doll’s house, begin from the ground up. But when the clients already own a beloved doll’s house they want enlarged without altering its origins, builder Kelly Kuenert took a different approach and ventured below ground.
When Kelly first met her clients, Linda and Emma LaPage, they had already commissioned the entire cast of the Addams Family from talented doll maker Lillian Bass. It was soon obvious to them the existing doll’s house was never going to be large enough to accommodate this enormous family. Since Linda and Emma loved the original facade of their Real Good Toys’ Alison Jr. model Victorian, Kelly proposed adding some wings and a basement. Brilliant!
Much of the additions were made of 1/4” MDF and birch wood, but she didn’t stop there. Unlike most structure artists who stop once the building is complete, Kelly went on to create much of the furniture, lighting, and accessories. With the exception of the dining room furniture, a few beds, an electric chair and the bird cage in Morticia’s conservatory, the rest was Kelly’s own work, including the rolling island it sits on. In fact 85 per cent of the house and contents were her own creations using kits or items handmade.
As with any complex project, things morphed over time as artist and owners tweaked the design. “The original idea was perhaps a small rolling cart with five basement rooms and two custom additions on the sides of the main house,” Kelly explains. “The finished product turned out to be over 6 feet long by 6 1/2 feet tall, with a rolling island with this monstrous doll’s house on top of and inside of it! There are a total of 10 single, removable room boxes in the basement levels, plus the main house and two additions.”
So how does one go from being a doll’s house lover to doll’s house contractor capable of creating finished houses, room boxes, and furniture?