The Dalton: A Georgian Era Doll House Kit

I’ve had a lot of fun with this doll house kit and think you might as well! It’s a seven-room, three-story Georgian period model from Welsh manufacturer Dolls House Direct. What I especially like about it is the front closing and nice exterior detail.

In this and upcoming posts, I’ll highlight my experiences with the The Dalton House. I hesitated for a long time before ordering the kit due to high international shipping costs and the scarcity of customer reviews. Through this blog, I’ll share what will hopefully be useful information for anyone who might have seen the house online but hesitated to order it as I did. As a starting point, let’s look at the major features of this doll house kit and its architectural origins.

  • Dalton House Front with panels closed
  • Dalton House Interior View

Georgian Houses

The Dalton is an example of Georgian architecture which was popular from 1710 to 1830. Georgian buildings are recognized by their architectural symmetry, reflected in a front door at the center and rows of windows mirroring one another on each side of the door. Even today, you’ll find many living examples in the UK and Ireland. For historic and literary movie buffs, think film narrations of Pride and Prejudice or Emma. Yep, Jane Austen and her fictional character Elizabeth Bennett lived and moved in homes of this period.

Why I Chose It

I confess, I have an obsession. I like Jane Austen’s works way too much. I like Austen fan fiction way, way too much. When I saw it online, it immediately reminded me of the setting and characters in these fictional works.

I’m drawn to architectural design of this period, and on several trips to the British Isles have made a point of visiting and studying Georgian era houses as sources of dollhouse inspiration. Some choices I made in constructing Dalton House are a reflection of this inspiration, as I’ll point out in ongoing discussion of my construction progress.

Some Examples of Georgian Houses

  • Georgian Era House: Oxfordshire England
  • Grange Manor B & B: County Kilkenny Ireland

What to Love or Not: Dalton House Pro’s and Con’s

There’s a lot to like about this doll house kit including:

  • High quality construction and solid material. When assembling, the parts fit together seamlessly and without any hitches.
  • The front is designed to resemble the exterior of a Georgian era house with a hinged front that allows you to open and close it.
  • The exterior detail gives house appearance of a stately piece of furniture when closed. The dollhouse is something you’ll be proud to display.
  • Fits on a living room console table or cabinet without overwhelming the room size-wise (3ft/900mm wide, 15”/381mm deep)

Some negatives:

  • While assembly is intuitive, directions are minimal.  Kit isn’t well suited to dollhouse newbies.
  • Heavy and harder to move than average dollhouse. Suggestion: Get 2nd person to help when attaching/gluing upper back of house.
  • Instructions on installing first floor steps are inaccurate. I wasted a lot of time trying to make them work before throwing in the towel and doing it my way. I’ve called this to manufacturer’s attention so they may have made subsequent corrections.

Overall

So, that’s the basic rundown on this doll house kit. As I work on completing the house, I’ll keep you posted, so stay tuned!