From Plastic to Palladian: The exterior Restoration of Le Manoir de l’Aube (Part 1)

Enzie Shahmiri
2022-10-16T12:03:32-07:00

The Fisher Price 2005 Mattel Loving Family Grand Mansion Twin Time Dollhouse House is a large 8 room dollhouse made out of plastic. When open the house measures about 30x30in it is spacious looking. When I first saw this yellow, pink and purple house I was turned off by the colors, but then I thought this would be a fun project for a renovation. The house has nice floors and pretty doors and windows and has lots of potential.

Mere

There is a profound creative challenge in seeing past the neon-plastic glare of a mass-produced object to find the architectural soul hidden beneath. When I first encountered this 2005 Grand Mansion, its original palette of vibrant pinks and purples obscured its fine lines and stately proportions. I saw not a toy, but a canvas—an 8-room estate waiting for a more sophisticated life.

The Great Erasure

The restoration began with a deliberate silencing of the original colors. It took three patient layers of white chalk paint to neutralize the house. As the loud colors faded, a surprising grandeur emerged. The white base didn't just cover; it revealed the intricate moldings and window details that had previously been lost to the eye.

A Palette of Pewter and Porcelain

To ground the mansion in a sense of history, I moved toward a curated, cool-toned palette:

The Facade: Finished in a soft, matte "Porcelain" chalk paint.

The Roof: A deep, metallic bluish-pewter that catches the light like weathered slate.

The Accents: Warm golden tones on the doors to provide a welcoming, human element to the grand exterior.

Sculpting with Pigment

The most transformative stage involved the stone masonry. To move away from the flat look of molded plastic, I treated the "rock" surfaces as a multi-dimensional painting:

1. Veining: Using graphite pencils and dry chalks, I hand-drew delicate veins in varying greys and earth-toned browns.

2. Depth: I layered darker pigments into the recesses of the "mortar" to create a sense of weight and shadow.

3. The Final Glow: A wash of metallic blue and a hint of varnish were applied to mimic the natural sheen of mineral-rich stone.

This exterior is a work in progress, a slow labor of love balanced between my portrait and miniature commissions. While the front nears completion, the evolution of this estate has only just begun.

Le Manoir de l'Aube (Manor of Dawn) – Suggests a fresh start for an old piece.

This is the 1st post in the series - Click here to view more