A Vintage Lundby Dollhouse – An Old And Vintage Classic Style

Did you ever hear about a vintage Lundby Dollhouse? If not, then you should read all about it in my new article, because they really are super cute!

Admitted: they are not for crafting, neither are they some kind of miniatures kits, but I wanted to write about these.

Because, this time, they are meant to play with by kids ànd can at the same time be a nice, nostalgic, and vintage collection for adults.

Of course, you could also change the look of the furniture (upcycle them), so I guess you can still ‘craft’ them anyway 😉

By the way: Lundby is a town situated in the region Stockholms Lan in Sweden. But apparently, 25 other towns in Sweden have the same name!

Updated June 2023

As an Amazon and Etsy associate, I earn a small commission from your purchase, with no extra charges for you.

What Is A Vintage Lundby Dollhouse?

Lundby is one of the oldest and most successful dollhouse manufacturers in the world. The range consists of beautiful dollhouses with fun, contemporary, and detailed furniture and accessories.

The scale of a Lundby dollhouse or furniture is 1:16, aka Hanse Lisa and Barton Lundby.

They are nice little dollhouses with a typical Scandinavian look, with ‘hip’ furniture from the 70s and 80s. Most of the time, they have been going around from family to family: secondhanded, third, and fourth-handed for years.

And thus, a Lundby dollhouse for children often turned into a collector’s item for adults and it has become vintage.

For sure, there are more modern-looking dollhouses and furniture in today’s market, but the interior of those dollhouses mostly look the same.

What I like about vintage miniature furniture, is that they are not only different from mass production but that you or someone specialized in this, can ‘pimp’ them up, with very good-looking results.

A Little History On The Vintage Lundby Dollhouse.

 

Lundby of Sweden was established after World War II by Axel and Grete Thomsen in the northern part of Gothenburg. Grete was very clever at designing dollhouse furniture for her niece, so her husband, Axel, decided to try and sell the furniture.

• The department store, Ferdinand Lundquist (later NK), in Gothenburg, was the first to place an order of 350 SEK.

• The demand for Lundby dollhouse furniture increased, and in 1948 the Thomsens moved their fledgling company from their basement in the village of Lundby further north to Lerum for expansion.

• The first Lundby dollhouse was made in 1950. It had a rectangular basic shape with a bright red pitched roof, a blue painted frame, and paper masonry on the outside.

There were 5 rooms (3 on the first floor and 2 on the ground floor).

It had a wooden spiral staircase leading from the main room to the central room on the first floor. They were the first to install electric lighting in the dolls’ rooms!

• During the years the trends and fads in the field of style and design were closely monitored. This way, the Lundby dollhouses and -rooms reflect the times we live in, in the past and now.

• The following series was ‘The ‘Göteborg’ house‘, produced in 1959.
  

The Göteborg dollhouse had funky wallpaper, a white frame, a bright red pitched roof, 2 rooms on the first floor, and 3 rooms on the ground floor.

It became Lundby’s most popular house and gradually their mainstay of dollhouse production.

Lundby’s success with the Göteborg model gave them the chance to experiment with new house designs.

• So they produced the ‘Flat Roof’ or ‘Terrace’ house between 1966-and 67. As its name suggests it had a flat roof, allowing kids to put garden furniture on it.
  

Two different models were produced – one which was a solid two-story house and another which came flat-packed and could be constructed up to three or even four stories high.

• In 1967, they won the ‘Best Toy’ award, given by the Swedish Toy Merchants Association, and Lundby continued to improve the design of the Göteborg dollhouse.
  

• In the late 1960s, windows were fitted with frames molded in white plastic with Perspex imitation glass. To top it off, the houses had less flashy colors and became more neutral.
  

• Later on, Lundby started to manufacture more ‘economic’ dollhouses, that weren’t electrified any longer and became wider available for the market.
  

Too bad (in my opinion), that the funky wallpaper disappeared and also the first floor got three rooms and the ground floor two (so the opposite from before).

Take a look at the cute video below where a family unpacks a vintage Lundby dollhouse, it still has the funky wallpaper 😉

Renovating A Lundby Dollhouse!

There seems to be a lot of fun to be had with renovating Lundby dollhouses, as far as I could see on Facebook groups and on Youtube.

Let’s have a look at a few examples 🙂

• This lady, called Viktoria Begg, I have found on Facebook, where she is talking about her Lundby dollhouse and the basement of it that she renovated in the Mid-century style.
  

• Another lady on a Facebook group made a new Lundby garden room, and it turned out quite lovely!
  
  The chairs are renovated from a very scruffy set that someone probably made with love many years ago, but with time had not been treated kindly.
  
  She has learned a lot about sanding, wood filler, and how to not use the wrong sort of glue in the process.
  
  She has managed to repurpose a 1:12 sewing basket as a log basket, and renovate an old dresser that needed a new base, and she is quite pleased with her little cushions.
  

• ” That scaled life” has a video where she shows you a tour of her renovated Lundby dollhouse. That’s quite a difference, no?
  

• Gav Retro70’s Kid has a quite colorful and cheerful Lundby house and set up some new Lundby furniture, go check it out!
  

• “Lucky Penny shop” has a very cheerful video on how the Lundby dollhouse was furnished and more..
  

FAQs On Lundby Dollhouses.

What voltage lights or transformer can I use with my Lundby house?

Only 4 – 5 volt bulbs or transformers will work with Lundby houses. Any higher voltages are not suitable.

12 Volt bulbs or transformers can cause a fire, so don’t use them!

Can I use a new Lundby transformer on an older house?

Yes you can. It is the same voltage, so a new transformer works on an older house.

Can I use other transformers on a Lundby house?

Yes. You can use Caroline’s Home, Lisa and Hanse transformers as they are the same voltage.

Can my new transformer fit into the back of my older house?

The small plug at the end of the new transformer has a wider gap between the prongs and longer prongs. This means that it will not fit exactly into the sockets at the back of older houses.

You will probably need to change the plug or push the prongs together so they will fit.

Where can I find the light bulbs for my house?

They can be found on Amazon under ‘Lundby Electric Mix 1:18 Scale’. These are modern bulbs.

The set comes with 10 lights which are in pairs of five with two lights running into one plug.

These can be separated and used as individual lights.

Can modern light bulbs be used on older lamps / lights?

That would depend on the type of older lamp/light you wish to repair.

The new bulbs have thicker wires so they will not fit through some of the poles in the older standing lamps, for example.

Otherwise, most new bulbs can be used on older lamps/lights. Do note that the newer bulbs are slightly dimmer than vintage bulbs.

Where can I get the Lundby catalog?

Also, don’t forget to get your Lundby World catalog and magazine down below!

Is Lundby 1/16th or 1/18th scale?

It is both. Lundby is generally known as the 1/16th scale. A few pieces of furniture can vary in size but the majority is 1/16th.

However, modern Lundby is sold as 1/18th by Micki. If you wish to purchase vintage Lundby you will find it sold as 1/16th on auction sites or Facebook.

Should I renovate my Lundby dollhouse?

That depends on the state of the little house, sometimes it has really been used a lot during the years, from generation to generation and then it would be advised to renovate.

On the other hand, if you are lucky enough to have found a vintage Lundby dollhouse still wrapped in plastic and never used, it would be a shame, in my opinion, to start renovating it.

If you would like to see more vintage dollhouses, check out the Dutch cabinet dollhouses!

related article: Dora Kuhn’s vintage dollhouse furniture.

My Final Conclusion

If I am being honest, I would rather buy a vintage Lundby dollhouse,-furniture or dolls from Lundby than from Barbie (for example), to give to kids.

Because, to me, they look more ‘stylish’ and ‘real’ and ‘funky’. And I just love the tradition and design of this brand from Denmark!

Disagree? Then please let me know why in the comments below! You can now join me on my newest Facebook group as well or join me on one of my social media pages below.

I wish you happy crafting/collecting!

Best regards,

Lizzy

PS If you are interested in Lundby Dollhouses/dolls/furniture etc, please bookmark my site, because soon I will review some shops that sell these vintage items or ‘upcycled’ them!

• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• YouTube