It’s not often a home comes complete with a dollhouse.
Even more uncommon is when a home includes a dollhouse that’s actually big enough for a human being to live or to work in.
But such is the case at 621 Colonial Ave. in Norfolk, which features a small structure in the back that is a mini Victorian cottage that is affectionately known as “The Dollhouse.”
The main house and the dollhouse belong to John and Gretchen Brayman. The main house is a Romanesque Revival that may have been built in 1897 (according to something John found at the Slover Library), or in 1905 (which is the date on a deed he has access to).
Regardless of when the home — known as the Fentress House — was built, it’s big and beautiful and filled with amazing woodwork, while the dollhouse is used by John as a workshop.
“(The house itself) has been a bakery, a frat house, a salon and apartments,” said John. “And the names that I know of for 621 Colonial Ave. are for the hair salon – Anthony and Company.”
The dollhouse also has a diverse past.
“It’s been a restaurant, a jewelry shop, and a little old lady lived there,” John said. “The actual address for the dollhouse is 509 Boissevain Ave., and the names that I found for that were Connie Hanna Jewels, and very briefly a restaurant called Path Vegan Restaurant. It was also a Garden Shop.”
The Braymans bought the home in August 2014 and moved in almost a year later.
“I’ve really poured my heart into this house,” said John. “It’s a great house.”
The work he’s done to the home includes a rebuilt and enlarged back porch; refurbished doors and trim (including repurposing some of the old trim to build storage bench in family room); custom built laundry room cabinets; the removal of old structural walls and the installation of support beams to open up the floor plan; the removal of the old metal fire escapes on the rear of the home; and the repair of the original pocket doors on the first floor.
The five-bedroom, 4.5-bath home also features at least a half-dozen beautiful fireplace mantels and a couple of stained glass windows, one of which John believes might be Tiffany.
More information about 621 Colonial Ave. can be found at Howard Hanna Real Estate Services online.
An open house will be held Sunday, Nov. 5 from 1-3 p.m.
