DeLay Dollhouse

This dollhouse was constructed beginning when my mother Renee Swindell was 8 years old by her father, Richard DeLay. This dollhouse was modeled after a dollhouse featured in the May/June 1977 edition of Architectural Digest that was constructed by Mrs. Doris Krusz. My grandmother saw this issue and after collecting dolls for nearly 20 years and having taken up miniatures about 8 years prior, enlisted her husband’s help to construct and decorate the house. Pictured is the magazine article from 1979 in which my grandparents were featured in the Arkansas Democrat Newspaper as well as the exterior of the house itself. From the miniature bricks in the floor to the shingles on the roof, every piece was hand laid and each room was decorated meticulously by my grandmother. They even wired the Christmas tree inside to light up and it remains functional to this day. My grandparent’s reconstruction stands today at about 7 ft long and 3.5 ft tall in our home, hidden away from our curious cats.

Contributed by: Ally Swindell
Created by: Billie-Jean & Richard DeLay
Origin: Handmade by my grandparents Billie-Jean & Richard DeLay beginning in 1977 in Little Rock, Arkansas.