It's taken me a long time to post this, I guess I'm still getting things back to order after the holidays, and trying to nest and get ready for the baby (due in 3 weeks).
I was worried it might not happen, but did end up getting the doll house itself finished in time for Christmas morning!!
Previous doll house posts:
I wish I could say it was a magical moment when Ellie saw it and she flipped out.
But her Christmas morning was spent lounging in the princess chair her dad got her and eating candy.
She was so excited about her own pack of tick-tacs, she wouldn't put them down, so trying to open gifts one-handed turned into her brother opening most of her presents.
.
She did take a look at the doll house, put her tic-tacs in a bed, then picked them up and went back to her little couch. So this may be something she plays with more as she grows up, (hopefully) which I kind of expected.
Maybe our next daughter will love it.
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So the details!
The intricate stuff on the exterior was mentioned here, where my mom saved the day.
My favorite element on the exterior is probably the rounded front door.
A total pain to design around, as both sides had to meet up to make the arched doorway, and in the end it's not that functional.
But it just so cute to me, and has proved useful to throw lost little pieces in the house when I'm too lazy to open the drawer!
But it just so cute to me, and has proved useful to throw lost little pieces in the house when I'm too lazy to open the drawer!
There's a chest latch near the top to close the doors and keep them shut which makes it nice when moving it.
It was gold, so I spray painted it with gray Rustoleum Hammered.
You can also see the dentil molding I added to the front, as the space between the shingles and the tops of the windows seemed too bare.
My mom cut extra windows and window sills which I just glued to the sides of the house for extra detail, along with the rounded little windows at the back.
The gray wood for the front half of the roof, front door, and drawer front were upcycled from my neighbor's fence they tore down last summer. The back roof of the house was just the same 1x8 pine boards used for the rest of the build.
I was pretty excited when I discovered a new stain by Minwax:
Minwax Classic Gray stain
It was only available in the quart size and only at Home Depot in my area.
It's a really opaque stain when you apply it, half way between paint and stain in my opinion.
But I really liked the results. I was planning on painting all the wood, but was so glad to find real stain because paint can chip off, but stain becomes part of the wood and is more permanent.
It also allows the natural wood grain to show through rather than covering it up.
More info on the door if you care:
I cut fence boards into the thin strips, then glued and clamped them to a 1/8" hardboard scrap. Once dry, I used my table saw to trim off the vertical sides, then just hacked away the top in pieces to get a curved shape with the miter saw. Any jagged corners along the curve were sanded smooth.
The tiny hinges are from Lowes, and the door knob is from a cheap pack of Ikea baby knobs I had in my stash.
I used a magnetic cupboard catch to help it stay closed, but to allowing it open easily if the kids forget to open the door before they unlatch the big doors.
Probably the smartest two elements in the design were the casters on the bottom which make the house mobile. It gets shut and placed against a wall when not in use, then pulled out and opened to play. Having the front half open so wide kind of made it necessary to roll it around easily.
The casters have locks to secure the house to make it safe, as Ellie has used it more for a ladder to climb than a house to play with lately.
Then the drawer is so nice for all the accessories, furniture, and dolls.
It's just one big drawer, but I added the dado cut in the drawer front to mimic a double drawer since it was so wide. The hardware are the original handles I removed from my birthday dresser I refinished in 2010 spray painted gray then a light coat of white to contrast the gray wood a little.
The back of the house is just a large piece of 1/8" thick hardboard, stapled into the frame.
I was going to focus more on the interior of the house with the final post in the series about the furniture and decor, but you can see here how the design has the little seat or ledge in the front, also stained in the minwax gray.
The walls of the inside are a mixture of fabric or scrapbook paper mod-podged to the wood. A few walls were painted.
The top attic floor was stained to look like hard wood floor.
Then I used two squares of vinyl tile ($0.89 each) for the small side rooms (light gray) and the kitchen with the dot walls has vinyl as well.
The remaining floors were all painted.
This was a long project.
I started planning it in October, then would set it aside for a few weeks, then get going a little here and there.
I did need help from my mom who cut all the windows, basically anything impressive was my mom!
Then my husband did help me make a few cuts on a big, heavy, sheet of 3/4" plywood I couldn't do myself, and he helped me hang the doors. My first try by myself ended up with the doors not lining up in the center and one couldn't even close all the way.
The cold weather and getting fatter being pregnant dragged it out, but now it's done I'm really proud of it. I just hope it lasts! I'd like to have it around for years and years, and we'll just see how it holds up. So far it's not getting too much use, but hopefully Ellie will get more interested as her attention span hopefully grows.
One afternoon RJ did set up all the furniture and people in it and closed the doors, telling me it was a surprise for Ellie. She woke up from her nap and he carefully opened the doors for her-- she grabbed the little pots and walked off in search of her sippy cup.
One afternoon RJ did set up all the furniture and people in it and closed the doors, telling me it was a surprise for Ellie. She woke up from her nap and he carefully opened the doors for her-- she grabbed the little pots and walked off in search of her sippy cup.
I think we both felt let down little Ellie stinker!
So I guess we'll keep trying and for now some neighbor girls have been able to play with it!
