Inside Auntie’s Dollhouse

Her legacy lives large through her love of miniatures.

The miniature menfolk getting ready to serenade their family during mealtime. Photo by author

My Auntie Norma had a big imagination for the smallest details.

She was an original. She played a Hawaiian steel guitar and drove around in her stick-shift Volkswagen Beetle. She also became an expert at making miniatures.

In fact, I remember her dollhouse workshop quite clearly.

The room was equipped with Dremel tools, sanders, and wood lacquer. There was usually a thin layer of sawdust on her work table and the smell of it in the air.

A scale bedroom, complete with an ornate bed quilt. Photo by author

Auntie would painstakingly carve scale furniture for her little houses. The biggest one now stands proudly in my parents’ house following her sudden passing in 2022.

The house stands about six feet tall, with six distinct levels, each with its own unique aesthetic:

My aunt’s dollhouse is six storeys high, but has many more stories to tell. Photo by author

Over the years, she added more to the dollhouse, occasionally rearranging pieces inside. It was complete, but also a work in…