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How many is too many? - When they start taking up living space and imposing on your space - When the cost means sacrificing more enjoyable to you or more important to you things - When you're bored or "over" that house... you could get rid of ones you no longer enjoy/like, and keep the rest. - When you're going into debt for it - When you're spending so much time on it that you're missing out on other things (health? family? friends? relaxing? career?) - When a person becomes a hoarder and it's just too much - When something becomes such an obsession that it detracts from one's quality of life 16 houses is kind of a lot, but probably not a drastic amount for people here. Unless you have 16 houses in one bedroom or your living/walking space is impeded, go for it. I wouldn't feel obligated to keep something that I no longer liked, though I understand sentiment. It sounds like it's a big hobby for you and one you enjoy. Maybe displaying one or two in each room would be good? I don't display my house. Actually, I cut it in half recently so it could fit in a closet. I'm very into not having much out in living areas unless it matches or makes me happy to see often. My sentimental stuff and keepsakes usually end up in the closet. I don't have any photo frames or knick knacks on the living room furniture other than a candle and table runner. I'm rather anti-clutter. I don't even have one bookshelf in the living room... I keep bookshelves and travel souvenirs in the bedroom. I like having more personal stuff in the bedroom, then an open and airy living room. People think I'm too clean or don't have enough furniture, but... my space looks bigger because I don't have furniture everywhere. I probably have 50% of open floor space in my living room and I tone down the wall art that's not too much either. I keep some decorative items on the fireplace mantel. I really prefer to have minimal items in the living room, with each thing-- furniture, wall art, mantel decor-- being a focal point. I suppose I would display houses on corner shelves and spare rooms if I displayed them. Maybe even make a few outdoor houses. Or, make a little city in one room. If you enjoy it and like all the houses and have the space, I don't see a problem with keeping them all.

Thanks. I didn't think LITERAL blood and sweat would be involved. I really do like it's size now. With some paint and crown molding on the back rough edges, I'll be satisfied for now. Wanting more, but content. Hah. I painted and papered the interior walls already. That's more than I've done to it in... er... all the years I've had it. Now, I'm itching for real mini furniture. This could be the start of an expensive hobby.

I can't remember who recommended saving the interior doors in the room dividers at the moment. But, I did save them. Definitely glad I saved them... it looks good. I plan on buying doll house paint and either a texturizer or shingles for the roof. Plus, interior doors and wood to "finish off" the back edge I sawed. I might get exterior window boxes as well. Hopefully, these things will make it look "done" (or "done enough") and keep it very cheap.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look into craft felt for carpet, silk persian, and sales at miniatures.com. I'm trying to finish this house for little to no money, so those tips will help. The real carpet is just old remnants I have--free. I also like the idea of taping the carpet down, or taping the felt to cardboard so it's removable. One day I would like to get the miniature wood flooring or real mini carpet. For now, felt or silk persians or sales sound like a good plan for me.

Posting dollhouse pics now... they should appear here in a minute.

Do you ever? Why or why not? I have some real carpet and plan on using it. It's free since I already have it. I guess it's not to scale, but it is nice carpet in a neutral color. Does doll house furniture not stand up well on real "home" carpet?

I found an old VHS tape of me playing with the dollhouse as a little kid. I got it for Christmas, and the video is of me seeing the dollhouse I got and putting all the little furniture, carpet, wallpaper, shingles, and accessories in it. I no longer have the accessories-- they got lost. Anyway, here is the album of how the dollhouse *used* to be with the furniture inside for the first time... on Christmas morning when I was a kid.

Thanks! How would you do a whole back (frame of house, plus walls and floors) in channel moulding? Just cut into the channel mouding where it intersects at the side of the house and walls?

DONE!!!!!!!!! It took a few hours over a few days, but it's DONE. I'm happy with it's size! It's uneven, and kind of jagged. I didn't take much time to measure or even follow the lines that I did measure. Oops. I've never sawed anything before or worked with wood. I'll probably try to add crown moulding type stuff to the back edges to make it not look so uneven and jagged. But, I love the size of it! It fits on the side of a room easily, and is so much lighter and less bulky. One word to the wise: tools are DANGEROUS. Seriously, saws are VERY sharp. I used a handsaw. They can cut SO fast-- both wood and your finger. I didn't cut myself the entire time, until I was working on a room divider. I cut myself fairly deep and got a good scare. Because tools are sharp and dangerous, I never suggest that anyone but a carpenter ever touch tools for any reason at all, dollhouse or home renovations or otherwise. But, at least have someone nearby (to call for help if you cut yourself and become unconcious), peroxide, first aid kit, safety googles, face protector, maybe gloves, some tool knowledge, etc. Forget the dollhouse, don't chance injuring yourself if you think you can't do it or have any conditions (say, thin blood or heart problems or diabetes or...anything else). With that said, I went slow when cutting the house with the handsaw and was ok. I sped up and was impatient on the room dividers, and that was my mistake. Still, be very, very careful, use protection, and make sure someone is with you! Also, don't press down on the saw. Just push/pull it back and forth, and you'll get a smoother cut. The roof of my house ended up more jagged than the rest of it because I pressed too hard and too fast. Oops. The house itself is uneven, because I didn't measure enough or follow the lines I did measure. And, I've never used a saw before, so getting a straight line is hard. My house is uneven, but... that's ok. Despite the risk to the dollhouse-- and more importantly, to me (saws = SHARP) -- I'm happy with how it turned out. I plan to repaint the entire house, then add some wallpaper and carpet. The rooms are small, but... that's ok. I'll just get smaller furniture, and less of it. I started just sawing into the top of the roof. I sawed like that until I reached the "floor" of the 3rd story. I waited a few days, thinking "should I keep sawing, or just put shingles on the roof and leave the house the big size it is?" A few days later, I got my determination back and said "whatever, I'm going for it." Surprisingly, the house stays up and doesn't tip over. Also, the floors didn't fall apart during all this. I was rough on the house with the saw and hammer, so I was impressed. When I first cut and hammered the roof off, I was like "oh, *#(@, it's SO small." But, once I was done, I ended up liking it. I cut the back off almost in one piece. I cut the house around all outer sides. Then, I cut the "floor" of the 3 stories. Cutting the inner floors was the hardest. Next hardest was the baseboard since it's thicker wood. I goofed on the baseboard and the 2 "finishing" corners that cover the attic. But, that's ok. It was a lot of work (and risk) to cut only 8 inches or so off. But, I'm glad I did. I kind of like that I've added another story to the tale of this dollhouse. And, I really like the size. It's light, easy to put in a small closet, and easy to move around. I took photos of some of the process, so I'll try to post those later. For now, I'm going to go lounge... my arms are worn out.

Oh, why didn't I save that link? Eeck. Let me see if I still have it to post.

I saw a video where the dollhouse had "crown molding" on the edges of the exterior walls. It was like wooden trim on either side of the walls on the back. It looked great. What on earth is that called? Exterior trim? Exterior crown moulding? I can't find it in any online store. Ideally, I'm looking for "crown moulding" to wrap around the back walls, "encasing" the wall to give it a nice smooth edge.

Cutting is still underway. Apparently, I'm not strong enough to saw in one go. I decided to cut 7 inches off, instead of 8. Still, 7 inches smaller will help a lot. It's not perfectly even, but I'll finish the side and roof anyway. So far, I'm glad I went for it. It's just taking FOREVER to cut it.

In progress... I've got to figure out how to embed more photos here. I already used my quota here with just 2 pics. Hm...

I could change a DH easier than my dh. My dh is hard, and big, and wide, and long, and heavy. More than I could say about a DH...