In the beginning....

...was an old dollhouse. This particular old dollhouse was made around 1890 for the FAO Schwarz Company. The actual maker of these houses is unknown, thus the name "Mystery House." The Mystery Houses are known for their distinctive "tramp art" trim and painted parquet floors. For a better idea of what this house should eventually look like, take a look at this one. It's smaller than my house, but the details are very much the same.

Here is my house. The front facade of the house is missing one of the doors (which, sadly, contained the original front door) and several windows. It's also been painted yellow, with the trim painted dark gray. Still, lots of the original trim remains. The original wallpaper is mostly gone, but the floors (except for the top one on the lefthand side) are intact. Unfortunately, part of the floor of the second floor room on the left side is missing -- it's currently covered by spectacular pink shag carpeting. Alas, the carpeting will have to go. So sad...

This is one of the rooms. The original wallpaper is mostly gone, and I'll be removing the "new" wallpaper as soon as I determine the best method. On the right you can also see the original door with its original trim. This house has both of its interior doors, definitely a plus. From what I can tell, the original front door (on the missing side of the house's front) is also the same pattern, so at least I have a template to work from.

Here you can see a better view of the parquet  flooring and painted details around the base of the house. It really needs a good cleaning, but I'm holding off on the household products until I can figure out the best way to do it that won't damage any of the original details. You can also see that most of the original baseboards are also still there, along with some of the original interior window trim, and the original front step.

While the front of the house has been repainted, the sides and back are still covered in the original paint. It's kind of sad how happy this makes me! I absolutely love the original color, and I'm thrilled that so much of the window and tramp art trim is still there. I'll need to get some replacements, but the fact that I have originals to work from will make that a bit easier.

The back of the house is very plain, but as you can see, the paint is also original. Unlike the front, the roof in the back has not been repainted.

Here's a closeup of the back roof. You can still see the original painted shingles. 

And look -- I already have a tenant. And he seems to love the pink shag carpeting!