Fxguy1

Yeah, my daughter insisted on opening the dolls last night and promptly removed all the clothes... lol. She also insisted on Pink and Purple colors for the exterior. Thankfully Sherwin Williams Color Snap app was able to match an example we found. The main purple is Kismet and the pink accent is Dragon Passion Fruit (I think?) I have the color number if your curious. I was expecting that many pieces, however I was expecting the pieces (or at least a majority of the pieces) to be labeled instead of having to sticky note everything. Also how much should we paint ahead of time vs gluing together and then painting? We're painting all the clapboard exterior and we are going with just a plain white for the interior until she can decide what she wants to do with each room.

As requested, here is a link to the build gallery: Fxguy's Painted Lady Build

Is there a particular Brand or type of paint to use for our dollhouse? The instructions call for high quality semi-gloss latex enamel paints but not sure exactly what that is? I'm familiar with enamel paints (like Testors brand) and with Latex / Acrylic paints but not sure in this case what is correct. Is it simply an interior wall paint like Sherwin Williams? Curious what others use.

Is there a particular place here to start an album? Not sure how to go about doing that.

Good advice, thanks! I was thinking the same thing about the trim.

All very good suggestions! After some discussion with my wife and showing my daughter some pictures we are settling on the RGT Victorian Painted Lady from Hobby Lobby. Sturdy enough to handle a few bumps, 34 pages of assembly instructions to keep dad busy enough, and with the 40% off coupon leaves room in the budget for supplies, additional dolls / furniture / accessories. Anyone have experience with building this one? About how long did it take to assemble? I’m thinking of getting it now as a Christmas gift because it will probably take me that long to get it together for her, lol. I’ll probably completely finish the exterior ( save for the glass in the windows) and maybe one interior room? Being completely new to the hobby I’m not sure how finishing and then renovating goes as opposed to simply waiting to finish the other rooms. Thank you everyone for the advice so far!

Shes pretty gentle, that’s not exactly something I would worry about.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Especially after seeing Real Good Toys website and the room additions and add ons that are available. So how do we go about picking a particular model? Thinking the bigger the better (just more options and more things to do down the road) . I’m particularly fond of Victorian architecture, is there anything that’s like a fairytale castle (Aside from the Disney themed Kidcrafts)?

So reading, it looks like 1:6 scale is for playing vs 1:12 scale for collecting, is it possible to “play” with a 1:12 scale? She doesn’t really have many dolls so we will likely purchase additional dolls in whatever scale we decide upon. We already assumed the initial investment would be around $300. Aside from scale, what are some other differences between Kidcraft, Greenleaf, and Real Good Toys? Good idea on the 40% off! Hadn’t thought about that, but did think about Hobby Lobby and if the dollhouses they sell were quality or not.

Yes I agree. A route may be to buy her something that works and have another "side" project for myself if I want to get into the hobby. But even then still need suggestions.

Hello everyone. New to the forums and the world of dollhouses so please be kind. My daughter is turning 4 next week and we would like to get her a first dollhouse. Not knowing where to begin I started researching google and cam across this forum. It seems greenleaf makes great dollhouses and kidcraft seems to be another popular brand. I'd like some suggestions on which particular dollhouse would be a good started house for us. She is a typical 4 yr old girl and loves playing pretend with her kitchen and dolls. Loves Frozen and Trolls. I'm a craftsperson at heart and love anything wood, building, lighting, etc... To me I would LOVE the project of a Beacon Hill but seems more for me than for her. I'd love something we can start off with and build / grow as she grows. Something between a ready to build, already decorated house with furniture and the Beacon Hill with lighting kit would be great. So please help this father who is out of his element a wee bit. Thanks! Tim