Iconic and quirky ‘Leslieville dollhouse’ up for sale

The iconic and quirky life-sized dollhouse in the heart of Leslieville has charmed and grabbed the attention of Torontonians and tourists from around the world for decades and now it’s looking for a new owner.

Located at 37 Bertmount Avenue, near Queen Street East and Jones Avenue, the eye-catching residence went on the market Thursday afternoon with an asking price of just under $1 million.

Tom Sumaisar, the son of the home’s owner Shriley Sumaisar, tells CityNews his mother has lived in the home for 50 years but due to declining health, she is no longer able to maintain it. He says his mother was initially passionate about gardening and would plant several flower beds in the front lawn before she switched to decorating it with dolls, toys and other unique items with the sole purpose of bringing joy and love to the world.

From there, Sumaisar says, it captured the attention of the neighbourhood with many of the area residents donating toys themselves to the ever-growing collection.

“The majority of the people that come here really like it, and it just makes them smile,” Sumaisar explained.

“She’s that type of person that likes to make everyone happy. She’ll call me up and say so and so was here, you should have seen the kids this morning. She’ll just talk to me about who was here watching or somebody just knocked on the door and said ‘I really love it.’ It just makes her happy.”

The semi-detached two-storey home is currently listed for $999,000 and agent Nadine Comeau says they will begin receiving offers starting next Wednesday.