| BUILDING MY DOLLHOUSE |
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| To begin, the first thing we had to figure out is a place to set up. It was obvious that it was going to require a lot of space. The garage was the only logical place and so Steve set up half of our 2-car garage like Santa's workshop with a long work table that extended from front to back. First the walls with the three floors were glued together. Next, the gable section was assembled. This is the section that juts out the front of the house and is attaching by hinges that allow it to swing open. The roof was added along with the dormer after the roof sections were marked for the shingles. |
| In addition to using carpenter's glue to hold the structure together, everything was nailed using a brad nailer. After all of the nail holes were filled with wood filler, the house body was painted with three coats of thinned Benjamin Moore latex. (The paint was thinned to reduce brush strokes). Next the railings were assembled, stick-by-stick, and the gingerbread was attached after each piece was painted (the point being that it would be too difficult to paint some of these things after they were attached) |
| Next, the foundation had to be assembled. This had to be done on a different area of the assembly table. The following day, the house was turned on its back and the foundation was attached, again with glue and brads. The house was returned to its upright position and set aside for the conservatory to be built. The process was the same and the conservatory was attached to the main house. |
| The front porch was the next big assembly project with more railings. More sticks, more glue, more tape and more brads and there it was - a porch that says "welcome". Steve inscribed lines into the floor to simulate decking. To add realism, Steve added copper flashing to the roof valleys and edges. He cut thin strips from real copper that was thin enough to do the job. The shingles had to be the next project in order to keep the roof from leaking (kidding). To give the finished roof an even more realistic look, he took a hand-full of miniature shingles at a time and dipped them into varying shades of stain. More than fifteen hundred shingles were applied one by one, until the roof was covered. To finish off the ridges he used copper and formed strips into decorative caps. The conservatory windows had to be assembled. After they were put together all of the windows were painted with three coats and added to the house. Next came the addition of electric for lighting. |
| Here's a picture of the living room with the circular staircase in place. It won't actually be secured in place until it's painted and stained and the rest of the room is completed. |
| This is another view of the house underway. It's going to painted inside before we install the electric. We thought it would be best to paint it so the electric tape and wallpaper would adhere better. |
To the left is a view of the front
before finishing off the steps and
foundation with brick and stone. The
conservatory roof still needs to be
finished and the trim still has to be
added.
before finishing off the steps and
foundation with brick and stone. The
conservatory roof still needs to be
finished and the trim still has to be
added.
| ADDING ELECTRIC |
| We installed tape wiring throughout the house so that I could add lamps and ceiling lights to each room at any time after decorating. Steve drew up a plan with dimensions and took pictures of the tape wire as each area was completed. This way the wiring could be located to attach a fixture or wall receptacle. |
| Take a look at the plan below and a couple of the photos showing the progress. |
| Note the unpainted areas where walls should be in the photo on the right. The walls were installed in place temporarily, painted and removed. This was done to make the wiring installation easier because it would be too difficult to install the tape wire with these walls in place. |
| DECORATING |
Now the fun part of decorating began for me. I couldn't wait to get started and so I began to shop for miniature
furniture and accessories. The first thing was to pick out the flooring. We decided to add wood floors
throughout the house and a tile floor for the bathroom. The conservatory has a slate floor which flows to the
outside front steps. The wallpaper was the next thing to decide which has been an ongoing project of one
room at a time. After the wallpaper was hung in every room, Steve would finish off each room with ceiling and
floor molding. He then made the curtains for all the rooms in the house out of large cream lace to add a
Victorian touch. They were hung with small dowels and knobs from a craft store which were sprayed gold.
furniture and accessories. The first thing was to pick out the flooring. We decided to add wood floors
throughout the house and a tile floor for the bathroom. The conservatory has a slate floor which flows to the
outside front steps. The wallpaper was the next thing to decide which has been an ongoing project of one
room at a time. After the wallpaper was hung in every room, Steve would finish off each room with ceiling and
floor molding. He then made the curtains for all the rooms in the house out of large cream lace to add a
Victorian touch. They were hung with small dowels and knobs from a craft store which were sprayed gold.
| LANDSCAPING |
In the picture on left you'll
see how it all started.
The beds and pathway
were drawn on the foam
board. Next, we used old
coffee grounds for the
beds. We spread Elmer's
glue where the beds were
drawn and sprinkled the
coffee grounds over the
glue. After the glue dried
and set, he brushed away
the excess. The path is
made of sheets of square
brick pavers.
see how it all started.
The beds and pathway
were drawn on the foam
board. Next, we used old
coffee grounds for the
beds. We spread Elmer's
glue where the beds were
drawn and sprinkled the
coffee grounds over the
glue. After the glue dried
and set, he brushed away
the excess. The path is
made of sheets of square
brick pavers.
