Renovating A Forgotten Wolverine Town & Country Metal Toy House

Have you ever considered refurbishing a vintage dollhouse?

Accidentally, I got consumed by the charm of dollhouses. Neither collecting toys or dolls or dollhouses was on my radar, but the instance I came across a shabby discarded metal dollhouse by the roadside, I had to take action! I decided to bring it home, dove into online research, and discovered that it was a 1960s Wolverine Town & Country dollhouse. As for its pricing, it was originally bought for about $5 during the ’60s, and if preserved well, today it would hold a value of around $65.

Unfortunately, my newly-discovered miniature house was far from excellent condition. It initially appeared as though someone had assembled it haphazardly, with the end walls swapped places, the restroom was folded incorrectly, and affixed skew. Worse yet, it seemed to bear the scar of a naive act, where a child used it as a stepping stool, scribbled the roof with yep, nail polish, and much to my displeasure, the kitchen floor had succumbed to rust.

Despite these flaws, the house stunningly still preserved all of its primary plastic window frames (though devoid of a door and a chimney). It retained a decent portion of its original charm, and given my own experience of dwelling in a house under renovation, I was certain about its latent potential for being mended back to glory.

The frontal side of the house appeared pretty decent, surprisingly still housing all its window frames, but no door. To capitalize on the house’s existing charm, I realized that incorporating a front door would be an immediate visual improvement. I conveniently stumbled upon a well-priced, vibrant red wooden door ideal for my little project online, and without a second thought, placed an order.

The house had a significant dent and enticingly showed a split in the metal where, it seemed, a child, in his imaginative world, stood upon it. Honestly, I was anxious about causing even more damage to the dollhouse trying to rectify the bent walls, but thanks to some useful insights I found in a video, I learned it wasn’t that perilous!

I gently pounded on the main wall of the dollhouse using a rubber mallet, after placing it on a carpeted surface. This intervention significantly helped in straightening the grave dent on the side and aligned the portions of the tin that had separated along the edge.

For the split in the metal, I mended it by applying a small piece of duct tape, then adding some flowered stickers, and finally sealing it with a layer of Mod Podge on top. For the damaged corner where someone apparently used the house as a foothold, I managed to flatten the bend and fixed the gap along the edge to the best of my ability.

The outcome might not be perfect, but every imperfection tells a story, creates a memory, and adds character. Embracing these imperfections can often turn discarded objects into cherished pieces. And remember, renovation is an art of patience, experimentation and above all, imagination. By embarking on this dollhouse renovation journey, we not only created a piece of childhood joy, but we also wrote a tale of dedication and creativity.