Newberg Dollhouse build - Phase One

I was initially apprehensive of getting an old dollhouse kit that had been opened, but to my delight every single piece was present and well packed.

So here are the updates over the last week or so with progress up to this morning :-)

Phase one begins with putting the floor and the floor splice together with a brace that goes underneath. High-tech weight systems in place

Next comes the base. Anyone who has built this kit before will recognize that I have the right front bay corner put together incorrectly in this photo. I had to take it apart and fix it.

The next photo shows the inside of the bay window, without foam core. Dura-craft kits are notorious for having large gaps in between the pieces, and though I didn't have to put the individual wall pieces together like is required for some kits (the San Franciscan, for instance), it's still pretty rickety and unstable.

So I cut thin foam core pieces to line the inside walls. 

This not only adds stability, but it gives a smooth surface for wallpapering, and with a little spackling, takes care of the uneven support post joins in the corners that aren't a realistic part of an interior of a house.

                                      


I chose a bright yellow wallpaper for the inside of the bay window, largely because I don't plan to wire this house since I'm giving it to my four-year-old. The yellow should keep the far recessed parts a little more easy to see as the second floor and surrounding walls are added.

The green was chosen just for fun, shown here freshly pasted before I trim the edges and cut around the window.

This one shows the inside walls without the second floor or windows added in yet.

As of the time of writing, the far right side wall is in place, but not completed. There's a window box as part of the kit but I don't like it much so I'm debating how to replace it with something better. 

Doorbell

I realize that I haven't posted here in forever and that is because, in short, everyone in my house has been disastrously, deathly sick and it's been the longest three months of my life. The houses are all exactly as they were when I last wrote, except the Worthington was moved to the basement to make room in the midst of all the chaos.

HBS has recently announced the Creatin' Contest kit for this year and... I hate it. It says two possible things to me and I'm afraid that 90 other people will have very similar ideas. So I'm going to pass unless I get some stroke of genius inspiration. I'm okay with not participating this year because I still have at least three other houses to work on, including last year's competition piece that I never finished. That piece has a forever home though and will be finished at some point. I will write a separate blog post about where that started and where it is now pretty soon.

Anyway, hopefully things will be rolling again soon.

It's alive!!!

After a couple days staring hopelessly at the Worthington, it's started telling me what it wants to be. It isn't whispering - it's shouting so loudly I can hardly think straight.

There is a famous chef married to a well-known author and they have a couple teenage kids. They bought the house for cheap and have spent the last few years restoring and modernizing the interior. A state-of-the-art kitchen with a bay window breakfast nook, an entertainment parlor with old-fashioned marble fireplace, a library with a fireplace and a book nook, a master suite, a guest suite, a rounded southern portico with widow's walk, a solarium, a small attic storage place, and a mud room / laundry room. I am kicking around the idea of a servant's staircase and a dumb waiter.


As for now, this is the color scheme and general idea for the kitchen.