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The Orchid - off to a decent start!!


PepperJoAz

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I was able to put the walls together....and (sort of) know how the dormer go on... so not a bad start, I think!!!

I'm thinking of changes already (are you allowed to bash your first house??????) but not 100% sure.

Just wanted to share - I'm excited to have gotten even this far!!!

post-63680-0-19089000-1419876699_thumb.j

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I'm thinking of changes already (are you allowed to bash your first house??????) but not 100% sure.

Of course you are! It's your dollhouse and you can build it any way you like. In fact, we'll hang out and cheer you on! The Orchid is a great house and it has lots of potential to be anything you want it to be. KathieB even put a faux wall in the upstairs window seat to make it appear like there's another room back there. If you haven't found the Team Building Blogs yet, check here: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=blog There are two sections of Orchid blogs with lots of pictures and inspiration. And of course we're right here if you have any questions or need enabling encouragement.

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...I'm thinking of changes already (are you allowed to bash your first house??????) but not 100% sure...

If your first build tells you it wants bashing, bash away. There are no mini police and no hard and fast rules (other than to have fun, don't be afraid to experiment or to do over).

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Let me echo the others and say "bash away!" I love to modify the kits; it's one of the wonderful things about Greeleaf's houses IMO. I was afraid to bash anything in the beginning, but have since realized almost any "mistake" can be corrected or covered or disguised, and the way to get a real one-of-a-kind is to do what the house tells you.

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Welcome to the fun,Joanne! Once you've given a thorough look through the Forum's galleries and building blogs,where you'll find some fantastically creative versions of the Orchid,be sure to also check out Pinterest's many Orchid boards,where you'll see even more versions of this wonderful dollhouse by builder's who haven't managed to join up here,for whatever reason. I have see so many amazing versions of the Orchid all over the internet. The possibilities seem to be endless with what you can do with it! :) Have fun and know you are in the best place for advice and encouragement right here!~Kat

Edited by kat57
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Ooooooooooh, a Canterbury and Ashley bash! That looks very, very promising. Teresa (minimadwoman) did a Canterbury and Buttercup bash that came out really cool. I was never sure if it was a Butterbury or a Cantercup but it sure did make an awesome tea house!

Joanne, you might have noticed that we get all excited when we hear the word "bash". And when someone new wants to bash their first kit..............well, we get all twitterpated. :fireworks:

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I love the Dura-Craft Ashley,so seeing this photo sure got me twitterpated! I can't wait to see the finish of this hybrid couple! (Is it to be The Ashbury or The Canterley?LOL) The colors are so pretty!

Teresa's bash:

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=292

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Thanks, everyone!! I've ordered a Primrose to add to the side of the Orchid. I know (think???) that the room dividers will be over pretty close to the side, kind of enclosing the stairs, and the Primrose will connect to make a bathroom upstairs and a kitchen downstairs... and I'm thinking of how to add a chimney and fireplace in the kitchen.

I definitely married into the right family for this - my father in law has alllll the tools I could ever want or need, and once built a doll house from scratch!!! I've already had a consultation with him, before I decided to buy the Primrose.

Now I just have to WAIT (a true "4-letter word" if there ever was one!!!) for the Primrose to ship.

Thanks for all the encouragement!!!

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I added a Prim on the side of an Orchid. They line up nicely. You just shuck the roofline of the Prim over and its perfect. I cut a doorway between the two and found that the Houseworks door filled in the gap perfectly with the two houses together - no extra padding needed as we usually need on a GL build.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, the bashing is in full swing...thanks to a helpful father-in-law, or as I call him "the man with all the fun tools!"

The Primrose will be added on the left (when viewed from the open back) of the Orchid. (There is a picture in my album for those interested!)

There will only be one wall, so we're modifying the slots to hold the tabs from both the Orchid floors AND the Primrose floors. Ron is a little worried about support.... any brilliant ideas from the experienced folks would be appreciated!!

I want to have french doors going between the the dining room and the kitchen. How hard are french doors to make?? Any tutorials / tips / tricks out there??

I FINALLY got to actually start making something on the house...I put wall paper in a dormer tonight - wooo!! Any progress is good at this point.... I'm so anxious to get the paint and all going.

At the same time, I haven't picked up interior colors... I really need to get on that. I'm thinking of doing a combination of paint and wall paper in most rooms, as much because I don't have a whole lot of the papers I like, and partly because I like the look. Probably really 'dated' in my decorating choices....but it's my house, right??????

Thanks for reading!! I am taking the suggestion of updating this thread as I make progress, as well as my gallery album, in order to track progress!!

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My wife and I were working on the same house, also our first. We had to set it aside for the time being as we're in the throws of selling our house and downsizing to a townhouse or condo. Can't wait to get back to it. Looks like you got a got start. Have fun!

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I left both walls in-between my Orchid and Prim. I used a piece of trim on the front to cover the line where they met and a piece of channel molding slipped over the back two walls to hold it firm. Personally I love the channel molding for finishing the edges of the floors and walls all the way around the back. It also helps firm things up on the horizontal levels, especially if you are not using a supporting wall in the downstairs of the Orchid. You might want to consider a support post of some sort to keep the second floor from bowing over time. Again, the channel molding helps that some too.

I had cut doorway on each of the walls to line up and then trimmed it out with a Houseworks door. I used a regular size door but you could certainly use double doors to create your French door look. The Houseworks doors fit perfectly over the two 1/8 inch walls.

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..The Primrose will be added on the left (when viewed from the open back) of the Orchid. (There is a picture in my album for those interested!)

There will only be one wall, so we're modifying the slots to hold the tabs from both the Orchid floors AND the Primrose floors. Ron is a little worried about support.... any brilliant ideas from the experienced folks would be appreciated!!

I want to have french doors going between the the dining room and the kitchen. How hard are french doors to make?? Any tutorials / tips / tricks out there??

...I'm thinking of doing a combination of paint and wall paper in most rooms, as much because I don't have a whole lot of the papers I like, and partly because I like the look. Probably really 'dated' in my decorating choices....but it's my house, right??????

Thanks for reading!! I am taking the suggestion of updating this thread as I make progress, as well as my gallery album, in order to track progress!!

If you're concerned about supporting the floor, why not run 1/4" square stripwood around the top of the ceiling for trim as well as to support the floors? If you start at the joining wall between the two kits (where the Orchid's bay used to be) you can decide whether you want to use the Orchid's interior dividing walls before you add the strips to the back walls.

Assuming you're making the French doors for an opening where the bay used to be, you could trace round the new opening onto a piece of paper and use thin 1/8" or 3/16" stripwood to make a frame to fit the new opening, lay that within your tracing and trace round the inside of that, fold the tracing in half and you have a basic pattern for your French door, and you can paint or stain your doorframe. You can cut pieces of acetate to fit the tracing and frame the pieces of acetate with pieces of the same stripwood used to make the door frame, I would paint or stain them before gluing them up or gluing them to the acetate pieces. Fit the finished doors into the frame and set each side firmly in a bench vise so you can drill starter holes with a pin vise to gently hammer pins in through the corners of the frames into the top and bottom of each door to hinge it; cut the tops off the pins and tap them flush and your French door assembly is ready to glue into its opening.

I also like the look of paint and wallpaper, and used that look in Washington's parlor. As you noticed, it is YOUR house and properly ought to reflect YOUR tastes.

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Finished a dormer!! Fairly excited.

Now I have a problem.... running out of wall paper. Thinking of using coordinating paper... dormers would have the same, gable would have different.

Thoughts?? I have attached a picture of the papers.

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.... Now I have a problem.... running out of wall paper. Thinking of using coordinating paper... dormers would have the same, gable would have different. ..... Thoughts?? I have attached a picture of the papers.

In real life, I love to mix and match things like this. I'm not one to have everything the exact same wood or shade of something. I like a little variety. But that's just me. Others prefer things pristine and perfectly matched and that's perfect for them. You'll have to think about what style you truly prefer.

One way of extending your wallpaper is to use a chair rail mid wall and use one thing under and another on the upper wall. Some folks use popsicle sticks to make a wainscoting on the bottom half and the wallpaper on the top. You can just as easily use two wallpapers to accomplish that as well. From the picture, it looks like they blend very well together.

Go with what your heart is telling you and then you'll still love it later on. If you do it way to please someone else, you will always be irritated with that area.

Good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

More updates!!  

 

Most of the bashing is finished - all that is left is cutting a few slots, cutting a new location for the bay window, and adding a new door and window to the end wall.  

 

I have some trim to create my own doors, and an idea of how to do it... crossing fingers it works!!  

 

I have chosen wall paper for the living room, and MAYBE for the dining room.  I'm considering a textured paper for the ceiling in the dining room with a chandelier (even though I'm not electrifying this time).  If I do the textured ceiling, I want to keep the walls a little more subdued.  

 

I have decided to add a fire place, but haven't decided on chimney yet... stone or brick, what to do, what to do... 

 

I'm considering making bathroom pieces out of cold porcelain.  Maybe a form underneath with the cold porcelain over it... again, considering, thinking out loud....

 

So.... any advice on any of the above is certainly welcome!!!  I'll post some pictures soon, I think we'll be ready to dry fit all the bashed pieces on Monday.  

 

OH! My father in law gave me some tools, too =)   He used to build trains and is sharing all of his knowledge and toys =)  

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I have made bathroom fixtures from white polymer clay and from seashells.  I'm presently insufferably full o myself at having successfully made pinhinged doors from scratch.  I pretty much describe the process in some of my entries here:  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=35567&page=2

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The grid paper sounds like such a great idea - I may have to steal that one =)

I don't know if I'm up for pin hinges - this is my first house, first bash, first everything!!! I am going to attempt the fabric hinges I've read about.

I may make some porcelain tomorrow to play with a bit. Thanks for the link, Holly!

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