Building a Dollhouse, Part 4

Time for another update on the progress of building the Dollhouse. I've been very busy working on the dollhouse, and it is changing every day.

My sweet husband has been working on the shingles whenever he has time. He's not finished yet, but it's getting close. I just bought the 4th bag of 350 shingles. This house has a very big roof.

If you remember, the front porch of the house was stained wood, like the floors inside. I was debating on whether to make that area the front yard or a front porch. A lot of my readers suggested to make it like a courtyard area, and I love that idea. Thank you to everyone who left suggestions!!! I am planning to do a technique using egg cartons to make it look like flagstone. To begin this transformation, I have painted it a dark gray. This will show through as the grout in between the stones. It took about four coats of gray paint to cover the wood stain completely.

Next, I wanted to get all the interior trim done. I used bass wood to make all the molding. I carved lines in the wood to make it look like actual molding. I am amazed at how many little pieces of trim had to be measured, cut, labeled, painted, and glued in place. I worked on molding every day for a week to get it all done. This picture is just a fraction of the pieces being painted. You can see on the bottom rows that I had to go back after the paint dried to paint the end of each piece where I held it to paint it.

These are the tools that I used to cut all of the molding. On the top left is the Midwest Easy Miter Box and Saw. I got this set a Joann Crafts for $9 with a 40% off coupon. This set was great to have to cut angles especially on thicker wood. On the top right is the Midwest Easy Cutter Ultimate, which I got at Hobby Lobby for $16.79 with a 40% off coupon. The Easy Cutter Ultimate is my favorite tool.  It has a guide rail that you turn to the pre-marked degree for the angle of cut that you want. Then you just squeeze the handles to make the cut. The Easy Cutter is quick and easy to use, and was definitely worth every penny. I also used a Stanley Utility Knife (from Wal-Mart) and a metal straight edge ruler (from Hobby Lobby) to make all of the straight cuts that couldn't be made with the other tools.  The utility knife and metal straight edge ruler are both a must have if you are doing any work with wood. Just above the ruler is the Ball Stylus that I used to carve the lines in the wood to make it look like molding. I've had this ball stylus for a long time, and I've used it in the past for embossing paper and for sculpting polymer clay.

Here's a better picture of the Easy Cutter Ultimate tool, so you can see the degree markings and the guide rail. My husband also enjoyed using this handy tool to cut the angles on the shingles. It was so much quicker and easier than cutting them with a utility knife.

I installed baseboards, crown molding, door facings, and window trim and sills. Here is the kitchen and dining area.

I'm so glad that I took the time to figure out how to add window sills to the windows. I looked at my own windows to figure out how to make the sills. I can just see little potted plants and things sitting on the window sills. The windows came with the house, but no window sills or any other trim or molding was included.

I went with a bigger, bolder molding around the front door than the other door frames. I carved away on a piece of wood until I got the look I wanted. You can see how I made it different from the door frame next to it that goes into the dining room. I wanted it to stand out to really showcase the front entry.

I got some unfinished wood finials from Hobby Lobby to use as newel post caps. I painted them Island Blue and glued them to the top of the newel posts. I really like the way the off-white baseboards sets the wallpaper apart from the wood floors.

Upstairs, more newel posts and more trim. This wallpaper looks a lot darker in the pictures than it actually is.

Here's the bedroom next door. I am so ready to start working on some furniture for this empty house! In the mean time, there are a few things in here to look at. The rug is from Ebay. I found the metal rocking chair at a flea market for $1. It was gold, but I spray painted it white. The potted plant in a basket is from Michael's. I found the little dog at Goodwill for .59¢.

The bathroom is a work in progress. I have added wainscoting, trim, and some fixtures. I still need to decide on the arrangement of the furniture and fixtures, then hang the mirror, make curtains, and add some more details to finish up this room.

On the third floor, I added molding and repainted the knee walls off-white to match the molding.  

The little doggie from Goodwill ran upstairs for his closeup.  

Coming Soon...

The big kitchen reveal. I have searched everywhere for the style of kitchen I wanted, but I just couldn't find quite what I was looking for (maybe it only existed in my mind). I tried the little black stove, but it just didn't work. I thought about buying a set and altering it to what I wanted, but miniature kitchens are very expensive to buy one just to remodel. So, I decided to build my own from scratch - cabinets, stove, refrigerator, and even the kitchen sink. 

Have a wonderful, blessed week!!!