Triang DH/8

‘A Devonshire Cottage with four rooms and staircase.  Very neat interior decorations. Fireplaces in all rooms.  Front opens on hinges.’

Measures: 21 inches high 24 inches wide 14.5 inches deep

Probably dates between 1924 and 1932.

Well look what do we have here a lovely Triang DH/8, this is a big heavy house.   What a shame I don’t have any room for any more house’s and especially one this big. Umm ………. maybe it could squeeze in, or maybe not. [I must try to remember my shed is not the Tardis] I might just put in bid, and see what happens.  Like tossing a coin. if I win then I will find room, if I loose then finding room is taken out of my hands.

Well guess what, I won. My Auction Lot consisted of a DH/8, a strange red building with a lift to transport little plastic gnomes to each floor, a box of little national dressed dolls and  a few little treasures.  It looks as if someone had started to restore this house, the base and the door have been stripped down.  The door has its little letter box, but it is missing the lion head door knocker.  All the white paint is new and the windows have been repainted.  The roof is original, and is made up of individual tiles and, at long last, I have two chimneys, so many of my smaller houses have these missing.  The chimneys are very solid, and quite heavy.

Three of the rooms have original fireplaces and one room has a range.  The house has been repapered, except for the top right room, but it does have a new wallpaper trim.

The side and back of the house have the original brick paper, it is so thin and there are a few pieces missing.  I will probably leave this as it is, just sticking the paper back and perhaps put some sort of sealer on to stop any more paper flacking off.  I am thinking with this house not to over restore it, but try to save as much as I can.

The roof has two replacement tiles.  This is the first time I have had a house with a roof made this way, with individual tiles.

A very worn and rusty Triang Label.

All the windows have been overpainted, and should be brown, all have the glass intact. Just imagine having glass in a childs dollhouse now.  The metal on this window is very distorted, I am not sure how to correct this, as it does seem a bit thin where the metal has bent.  There should be cardboard shutters either side of the windows, so I will be hunting for holes, to see which windows have shutters.

This house will be quite a challenge for me, as I have not restored a house of this style or age and I don’t want to over restore it.