College Street House
. . .The one that started it all!
This house has a very special place in my heart, as it is the one that turned me into a life-long dollhouse & miniatures enthusiast. Built by my father, Ronald Reid Guy, in 1968, it turned my 8-year old eyes positively starry despite the fact it was actually built for my elder sister, Maxine Guy-Davis. When it began its existence, its exterior was deep blue, and its interior was completed in authentic Victorian décor.
It did not come into my possession until decades later, when I lost the one later built for me to a house fire. I was absolutely devastated by that loss, and this one, having left behind by its owner long ago, was offered to me. I was glad that the style of this one was so different than that of my original house (which was a 50-60’s style house) because I as worked on its renovation, it was not a constant reminder of what was forever gone.
When I set out to make this one mine, I decided to renovate it as if it had, in fact, been renovated into a modern home. As such, I incorporated many personal elements . . . my own fondness for “old fashioned stuff”, my own interests, and of course . . . pet cats. No home of mine, either full-size or miniature, would ever be complete without my furry companions! Also, no one that knows me would label me a “domestic goddess” , ergo the barely functioning kitchen . . . (notice the apartment-size refrigerator with real-life brands of “convenience food” that I actually buy, such as Tony’s Pizza, etc. . .). I also incorporated a bead work and polymer clay studio on the top floor, and there are actual copies of some of my published pieces on the wall, including a miniaturized version of a biography sheet about me which was featured in one of the galleries in which I have sold my work. If you look closely, you’ll see a tiny copy of a couple of my favorite music albums: a John Denver album, and a copy of the Sound of Music. I always like to listen to music when I work on a project. Throughout the house, I have real-life family photos of my parents, grandmothers, myself, and siblings. I even have a tiny bowl that was in my own mother’s dollhouse when she was a girl, a beautiful china-painted soup tureen by my grandmother, Grace Middleton, and a lovely custom-built pie safe built by my father, Ronald Reid Guy.
So, what do you say? Are you ready for a photo tour?
