Frederieke collects vintage dollhouses: ‘My dollhouses bring me a feeling of happiness.’

As a teenager, Frederieke van Olffen (60) buys her first dollhouse. It is the beginning of a lifetime of collecting dollhouses from the 1950s to the 1970s. “I now have 20 and I work on my collection every day.”

It is 1980 when Frederieke, as a 17-year-old and just moving into a room, buys her very first dollhouse. “I almost had a heart attack with joy when I saw it fifties dollhouse in the De Arm thrift store in Utrecht,” she looks back more than forty years later with a smile. Frederieke immediately wants to decorate the coveted dollhouse. “I still love home furnishings and design, which I apply in a small dollhouse. I also experiment with colors and styles. I don’t like living in an orange interior, but my favorite dollhouse is mainly orange.”

Treasures for next to nothing

Frederieke bought this first dollhouse for twelve guilders (currently about 5.40 euros). “In the 80s, many things from the 50s and 60s could still be bought for next to nothing.” For example, Frederieke can take a box full of dollhouse furniture for a guilder. “People thought it was old junk and took it to flea markets. Most parts of my collection date from that time.”

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Flashback to the past

Frederieke’s passion for collecting started in the 1980s, but her fascination with dollhouses started earlier. “My mother told me about her own dollhouse when I was young. She had had to exchange that for food during the hunger winter. She described in detail what all the furniture and rooms looked like.” Frederieke hangs on her every word. In 1965, Frederieke’s older sister received a dollhouse. “By the grace of God I was allowed to play with it occasionally.”

I have a soft spot for crazy dollhouses

Dollhouse in the spotlight

Now this cherished dollhouse shines on Frederieke’s windowsill. It is furnished down to the last detail with the original furniture. From hanging lamps that really provide light to chairs and kitchen utensils. “My husband restored it and reinstalled the lighting.”

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From 45 to 20 dollhouses

No fewer than twenty dollhouses are displayed in the couple’s living room and bedroom: on the windowsill and dresser, in the built-in cupboard, on top of the wardrobe and even on the floor. In their previous house in Hoorn, Frederieke owned 45. “We moved to a smaller home two years ago, so I had to say goodbye to most of it. We don’t have room for it anymore. Furnishing the dollhouses was quite a job after the move. I do one room a day.”

Glimpse of the past

Not all types of dollhouses find their way into the couple’s home. Frederieke: “I have a soft spot for slightly crazy houses, like those with a staggered roof. The dollhouses I collect are mainly British, American and German made. They come from the 1950s to the 1970s. Those pieces of furniture are real copies of furniture from that period.”

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Source of happiness

Frederieke becomes happy when she looks at her dollhouses or decorates them. “I have osteoarthritis, another form of rheumatism and a neuromuscular disorder. As a result, I had to resign from my job as a magazine editor. Without those dollhouses I would be a bit more unhappy. Another collector and I sometimes say: ‘We don’t play with it, but we do know who lives there.’”

On the hunt for the holy grail

Frederieke searches Instagram, eBay and Marktplaats every day for new treasures for her collection. At the beginning of March she found a rare item on Marktplaats that she had been looking for for years. She laughs: “It was my ‘holy grail’: a rare one fifties stroller with baby doll. There was already an offer of 30 euros that I had to bid against.” Frederieke wrote to the seller how long she had been looking for it. That convinced the seller: Frederieke was allowed to take it over for 30 euros. Jokingly: “When I had it in my hands, I thought: now I can die peacefully.”

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