Khadi

I just checked mine. I have not yet attached the tower top because it is a bash, and I'm not sure if I want the tower top as it is created. However, mine is also a little taller at this same area so there may be a reason for it that will you will discover when you do the dry fit.

I'm with Holly. I can't understand the directions no matter how hard I try. I find the pieces required for a particular section, label them, and then treat them like a puzzle until I get it right. I then tape it together to make sure it is correct before I glue. It's also nice to dry fit the exterior walls, if for no other reason, so that you can see that you are working towards something. It keeps me motivated during those early stages when it seems like no progress is being made.

The picture you see under my name is one of my Garfields. I changed the door to the side and added the portico. I also used paper stone, because I feared that if I used stone siding, it would be too heavy to budge.

Here is the PDF site from Corona Concepts. It opened okay for me. http://www.corona-concepts.com/instructions/Orchid-Doll-House-Instructions.pdf This can be a challenging house, especially, that front gable. I have built two and just left it off on the second one. I replaced the front roof with a sheet of thin craft plywood. It made it less cute, but saved me some choice words that I reserve only for dollhouse building.

I moved mine in personal vehicles (a friend's SUV) rather than have movers move them. I recommend keeping a supply of spare shingles since they seem to take the most beating. I agree with Kathie. Making minor repairs after houses are moved is just part of owning them. A lot of the wood, especially the trim, is fragile and is just going to get broken from time to time.

Welcome! I have built two Garfields- one inverted. It's a little tricky starting out, but I have actually found it to be one of the easier dollhouses to build. It is also a house that can be easily bashed or reconfigured by adding or moving walls. I would advise building it in a room where you can easily move it or where it is going to stay. I would also recommend placing it on a sturdy surface and not putting shingles or siding on until you have located it in it's final location- unless you have someone big and strong to help you. It does get quite heavy and awkward to move when it is finished.

I just took a look at mine. You would need to cut the walls as they also serve as exterior walls in the front. You would also need to leave part the left wall for the staircase back or else build your own stair case back. I think you would probably have to also add beams to prevent sagging in the middle. Another option is a post or two to support the floor. All of these are very doable. It just depend how much cutting and altering you want to do.

I have a MiniTown Shell Kit (#92021) available for sale. This is the kit for the miniatures.com 2021 contest. They are Out of Stock on the website and don't plan to ship anymore, but I have an extra one that I won't be needing. Please PM me if you are interested. Thanks

I agree with what everyone above has said. I also recommend investing in a battery-powered Dremel and several of the rotary sanding heads. Use it to lightly sand the edges of all of the pieces as you punch them out. Not only will it save you time and energy, it will save you a lot of splinters. My Dremel is definitely my favorite dollhouse building tool.

If only we could teach them to attach the trim, etc. in those really hard-to-reach spaces...

Here is the picture of the vinyl tile floor during construction. I usually put a coating of polyurethane on the top to seal it.

Thank you. I had no idea that you could delete attachments. I had pictures going back for years.

I use the vinyl tiles that look like stone that you can get at Home Depot. I bought a vinyl floor cutter and use vinyl tile grout. They look like real stone. (Sorry, no matter how hard I try, I can not get my pictures to be only 10.58 KB.)

Can you heat it with a hair dryer to soften it? I don't know how this works for wax, but it works well with glue.

The rooms on the right side are fairly good-sized. The rooms on the left side are very small. These are quick rough estimates in inches going from left to right on each floor. Rooms are measured length times depth. First Floor Left Room 1: 7 x 11 Center Hall: 7.5 x 13.5 Right Room 3: 11.5 x 15 (I reconfigured the downstairs so that my walls are straight. I think the Center Hall cuts into the room on the right in the original floor plan.) Second Floor Left Room 1: 7x11 Center Hall: 8.75 x 13.5 Right Room 3: 10.75x 15 Third Floor Left Room 1: 5.25 x 9.5 Center Hall: 7.75 x 13.5 Right Room 3: 10.25 x 13 (the back wall cuts in slightly on the left side. Sorry these are not exact, but I hope this is helpful.

I like to use acrylic gloss paint for ceilings or because it reflects the light and makes the rooms brighter. I also use it for trim work.

This is an aside to the dollhouse topic, but this works amazingly well for pet stains on wood floors. I used this to get rid of cat urine stains when I discovered my cat was secretly urinating on the rug under my bed due to a health issue. After two rounds of spraying the hardwood floor with hydrogen peroxide and covering with a hydrogen peroxide soaked towel, both the odor and most of the stain were gone.

I can't speak to siding other than that the MDF is a pain to try and cut. I will say the Greenleaf siding that came with my Beacon Hill makes great rustic wide plank floors.

I measure the wallpaper to fit the walls from floor to ceiling but don't paste it in until after I glue the walls. That way I can make sure the patterns in the wall paper match up between the different pieces. It's important to cut the wallpaper for the side walls a little longer so that you can wrap it around the corner to the back wall. You want the pattern to match up to hide the seam on the back wall. If you don't wrap and stop at the corner, you will have visible seams.

I use polyurethane and have never had a problem with yellowing.

Yes. Those are the ones.

I used this a few years back for a large roof. The roof itself didn't look bad, but I didn't like the overall appearance. Perhaps it was my inexperience with the material or my impatience, but I had a hard time getting the seam between the two pieces I used to look nice.

I've sold and purchased kits on Ebay. You can set it up for local buyers only so that you don't have to deal with shipping.

I have also used Ebay to sell dollhouses. They have a "local pick up only" option so you don't have to deal with shipping. They take a cut of the money, but the person has to pay in advance. This is nice if your dealing in larger amounts of money, and it prevents dealing with buyers who never bother to show up. It also increases your range of people looking. I've had people come from a few hours away to pick things up.