This half scale cottage is modeled after an HO scale Mille August “pull apart” house. It was created by Jackie Kerr Deiber in the late 1980s. I bought the unfinished shell off eBay and finished it in 2014. It’s furnished with resin furniture from Popular Imports and Avon. Read about the Gull Bay Cottage on my blog.
Gull Bay Cottage
A 1:24 scale pull-apart dollhouse designed by Jackie Kerr Deiber. This photo came with the kit.
Gull Bay Cottage
This is the house and supplies I got on eBay. I don't know if they all came with it originally or if the person I bought it from added anything.
Gull Bay Cottage
The house has two pieces that slide together so it's fully enclosed.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
I added the apex and gingerbread trim.
Gull Bay Cottage
I made the hanging plant from an SDK Miniatures kit, and the potted plant next to the cat was a gift from Debora Loughner (dalesq on the Greenleaf forum). The white and blue pot was a gift from a childhood friend who also played with dollhouses, that I've kept all this time. I can't remember where the rest of the plants came from...
Gull Bay Cottage
The house didn't come with stairs. I made these out of scrap wood and brick left over from the chimneys. I also swapped in this door for the solid one that came with it, so it's easier to see inside.
Gull Bay Cottage
I love this corner of the porch. The seagull was a lucky find in a $1 bin at a miniature flea market.
Gull Bay Cottage
I bought the wind chimes at the first Good Sam show I went to, around 2002 and never had a place for them until now.
Gull Bay Cottage
I weathered the brick by dabbing it with the same stain I used on the roof, Minwax Classic Gray.
Gull Bay Cottage
I added dormers to the back roof to provide a better view into the upstairs rooms.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gluing on individual shingles is tedious but I love the color variation that results. I didn't do anything special to these shingles, just stained them with Minwax Classic Gray and they turned out this way.
Gull Bay Cottage
I added apex trim to the sides, but since the house slides apart, it could only be attached to one half of the peak. So far the glue is holding!
Gull Bay Cottage
All of the furniture in this house is resin -- mostly discontinued sets by Avon and Popular Imports.
Gull Bay Cottage
The pieces blocking the view of the room are resin "walls" that have furniture built into the other side. When the house is slid together you only see the furniture side, and not the flat side. It's a great use for these pieces that would be hard to make work in a regular dollhouse.
Gull Bay Cottage
The resin furniture makes the house pretty heavy. I stuck it to the floors and walls with wax so it won't fall over when the house pieces slide together.
Gull Bay Cottage
I love that you can see through the windows and into other rooms -- like a real house.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
The house is furnished with resin Avon and Popular Imports furniture.
Gull Bay Cottage
View into the kitchen. The lady of the house is taking a pie out of the oven.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
I used 1:12 light fixtures in the dining and living rooms -- a little large, but much sturdier than the half scale lights. The rest of the rooms have flourette bulbs positioned so they're hard to see through the windows. Click for more details.
Gull Bay Cottage
View of the bedroom through a dormer window.
Gull Bay Cottage
I used white wallpaper and trim throughout this house on the theory that the furniture would be easier to see through the windows.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
View of the office through the window.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
Electricity's a pain, but seeing the house all lit up is worth it. It's really necessary in a house that's totally enclosed.
Gull Bay Cottage
The photos don't do this justice. It's so cool to peek through the windows and see a fully furnished house with no open walls to spoil the illusion.
Gull Bay Cottage
Gull Bay Cottage
My Gull Bay is half scale, but it's based on a HO scale Mille August pull-apart house.
