Casa Maria
After I lost my original dollhouse to a house fire, I knew I wanted for my father (Ronald R. Guy) to build me another dollhouse. I also knew that I wouldn’t want to be reminded of the loss of the original house, so I decided to come up with my own plans . . .something in diametric opposition of what was lost.
I decided to go with a Mexican hacienda, as I have been a life-long fan of Mexican folkart. It is just so colorful, cheerful, and unique . . . At any rate, I started creating and collecting items for this house long before my poor, unsuspecting father knew what I had up my sleeve. I cornered him one weekend, at his home, and informed him that I “REALLY NEEDED” a Mexican hacienda dollhouse., and I shamelessly showed him the array of items I had been accumulating for said house. We sat down at his drafting table and drew up the plans from my verbal descriptions. We had a good number of heartfelt laughs as we added design elements. My Dad dryly commented that he didn’t know this was “ a drug runner’s house” – he said “how else could they afford this kind of a house?” I assured him that the sole owner (Maria) was a very ethical person – she makes her money from weaving beautiful Mexican textiles (but, shhh . . . she also owns and operates Cantina El Toro!). After drawing up the plans, my Dad set off to work on completing the shell, and I could not have been more pleased with it. He realized my original dream, and added many unique elements of his own that greatly enhanced the design.
Once I got the shell from him, I started my part . . . the wiring, interior design, and landscaping. Believe it or not, it took me two years to complete. It was worth it, however, as it is one of my favorite pieces. It has real stucco interior & exterior, real tiles floors, real Mexican accessories and a lot of fun little extras, such as the two pet burros and their under-stair corral.
Be sure to look at all the pictures. There is a lot of detail in this one! The picture (below) shows the just-built house with my Dad, who spent months building this one-of-a-kind piece.
After I spent two years doing the finish work, this is the final result . . .
The two pet burros are housed comfortably in their own little “under the stairs” corral. With the help of my cats (who seem enamored of these two), they do manage to escape once in a while, and I have to go on a search for them.
If you look closely in the picture below, you will notice that Maria also collects miniatures! She has several roomboxes on her shelves, as well as dolls she has collected. Notice, too, the Mexican artwork – to the far right: an original Mexican folk-art “bark painting” by my talented sister, Maxine Guy-Davis (Johnstown, PA) and to the left: 2 genuine Mexican straw art pictures.
In the living room (photo, below), special custom-made mission-style pieces of furniture were built by my father (Ronald Guy).
I searched, far and wide, for the many pieces of colorful Mexican pottery that adorn these shelves. Most of it is authentic, much of it is vintage.
There is a weaving room, and the exquisite loom in that room was made by my Dad. I plan to thread it when I have time to do it properly.
The balcony, shown below, is set up for entertaining, and I was exultant to be able to obtain custom-made Patio furniture for it from the well-known (and unbelievably talented) Jude McQuay, who sells under the name “Dusty Acres” on ebay (California). I was doubly blessed to become good friends with this amazing artisan.
Last modified on: September 30th 2012.