fov Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 For many, many years I have wanted to bash two Victoriannas together to make one big house, inspired by this picture out of an old Nutshell News issue. (I don't know which issue or who built it, but I'll update this post if I find out!) I was finally lucky enough to acquire two Victorianna kits and have started planning it. Here's the dry fit. The kit on the left is a "select" Victorianna that Greenleaf did as a prototype a while back, made from nicer wood than the usual die cut houses. (This was before the introduction of the laser cut houses.) So that's why it's a different color than the normal kit on the right. One of these kits is built "right side out" and the other is a mirror image. I plan to do them as one big house with just one front door and the porch running all the way across. Ideas for the interior layout: I still have some thinking to do before I start cutting and assembling. I don't like how symmetrical the front is and am thinking of ways to alter one of the towers so they're different heights, and/or add dormers to the front roof to give it more visual interest. Any ideas you guys have are welcome! Some additional photos and ideas are on my blog here. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 That nice flat back will simplify joining them together. The rooflines as well as access issues forced me to build the Fairfields separately and to keep them that way. I push them together for display and turn one at a right angle for play. Are you going to remove one of those back walls when you join the houses? It will make adding interior doors a whole lot easier. You don't need the stairs in the second house, so you can open up that room and I expect you'll doctor on the stairwell to make a landing and possibly a second flight of stairs to the third floor/ attic. Will you change the roofline to open up the attic? Tracy did that with her McKinley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I was wondering about building them so the open sides are inside and decorating the flat sides as the outside of the house. You could add windows and siding and such to the flat back sides to treat them as you would any house. The house could be hinged to open or left to slide together as Holly did. You would have to reverse the roof trim if you are using that. One of my grands did that with one of the puzzle houses. She manipulated her base to slide apart in the open position as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyannmo Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 This is gonna be amazing Emily... I can't wait to see this progress... this house is such a fun house... combining two into one is a cool idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Just finished reading your blog. These are great ideas and I'm looking forward to seeing how you handle the challenges! Go, go, go Emily! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 YAY!!!! You are finally doing it! I'm so excited about this because I know how long this has been an idea growing in your mind! I know it feels so good to see it about to come alive Im going over to read your blog now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I Love that Dormer window idea! It'll add that extra element of beauty to the roofline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Haha, yes the idea has been percolating for a very long time! I was looking at some old Victorianna and McKinley threads and saw *old* posts where I talked about it. It's been in my head since at least 2005/2006. I do plan to join them permanently, and I'm going to keep both back walls so each side of the house has the appropriate slots to pop into. For the passthrough holes between the sides, I'll cut one piece and then lay it on top of the other to trace the hole, so I'm sure to get them in the right place. I don't think it will be difficult to line them up, and up on the third floor I plan to put some Houseworks doors between the rooms rather than open doorways, so I think the double thickness of the two backs will actually work in my favor -- no need for shims on the door trim. I am planning to add a stairway from the second to third stories. I think I'm going to use Houseworks stairs instead of building the ones from the kit. They're a perfect fit from the 1st --> 2nd floor, and look like they will work on the 2nd --> 3rd floor if I remove two steps (lower ceiling height). On the second floor the room with the stairs will be open, another communal living space / family room area. On the third floor they'll lead right into the master bedroom. I also plan to modify the roofline like Tracy and others have done. Since the flat part will be "double wide" I'm thinking there will be plenty of space for some lounge chairs and a hot tub up there. Yesterday I was thinking how easy it would be to electrify, running the wires down between the two houses before they're permanently joined and wiring in to tapewire or a power strip underneath the house. I keep saying I'll never electrify another dollhouse, but... Selkie - building them with the flat sides on the outside and hinging the houses is an interesting idea. One reason I like having the two open sides is that it will be easier to display in a spot where you don't have to have a lot of room to manipulate the house (vs. something with panels that swing open and need clearance, like my Queen Anne Rowhouse). But it's a great idea if someone has the space to display it. I'll take a picture of the two shells in that configuration, just to show what it would look like. Maybe someone else will be brave enough to try it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I can hear your excitement for this project! :yes: What a great feeling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 I started cutting today and it's harder than I remember! (Especially the select version, that birch plywood is strong...) Having a tough time with the craft knife so I might have to find the circular blade for the Dremel (I know it's around somewhere!) and try that instead. I did get the opening cut into the first floor and cut off the built-in railing and posts that were separating the two porches. I feel like the Victorianna's proportions are different than the McKinley. For one thing the rooms are about 7.5" deep and the Greenleaf website says the McKinley is only 9" deep... is that possible? I guess if the Victorianna is really almost as deep as the McKinley (but shorter, obviously) that would explain why the house seemed *so wide* when I got the two kits back to back, compared to how I'd imagined they would look... Can anyone with a McKinley lying around confirm -- it's really only 9" deep? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklepuppies Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Yep, about 9 1/4". Glad you mentioned that. I always thought something looked different about the Victorianna. Like you said, short and fat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 You're going to have a lot more room to work with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madtex1967 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Yay! You started! I will be watching closely how you work out this project. I am enjoying working on my Victoriana rehab, (which I need to get busy on). I have two McKinleys I want to do this with - I also remember the Nutshell News article. You are going to give me lots of ideas!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minigrandma10 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Emily, have fun with this project. I, like everyone else is living through you.....lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Matt, did you finally get to a stopping place with your Garfield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madtex1967 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Matt, did you finally get to a stopping place with your Garfield? Holly, I let regular life get me off track on the Garfield. Every time I wanted to start back on it, I got overwhelmed again. I bought the Victoriana already built, but nothing had been done to it. It got me energized back into miniatures. I need to update my gallery and work more on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 I've been cutting holes in the Victorianna pieces but it's slow going with the craft knife. After doing three (on each piece, so six total) I decided to save the rest for Geoff to help with the power tools. I'm also trying to figure out how to handle the roof. I don't want to start gluing and then realize that I need to cut a piece I already glued, since cutting the flat pieces is so much easier than cutting on a house in progress. I was playing around with the bathroom layout and realized that because the house is deeper than the McKinley, it's a pretty huge bathroom! So, I decided to include in a washer and dryer at the back of the bathroom, behind louvered doors. I was looking at 1:12 shutters for the doors and they're all too big, but I got the idea to use a half scale french door and cut a set of 1:12 shutters down to fit where the plexiglass is. I think it'll work. Of course, I can't do any of this until I get the house put together, and I can't put the house together until I get the rest of those holes cut... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Great ideas, Emily. This house will be a real gem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Great idea for the doors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 This is getting exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 The louvered door experiment was successful! More info on my blog: http://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?p=7963 Here's the basic bathroom layout (but I'll be using different furniture). The closet doesn't need to go all the way across, but I needed a corner to put the tub/shower in and didn't want to have the tub tucked in next to the side of the closet. Initially that bugged me because there would be a little section of closet that you couldn't see or get to. Even in a house that will have plenty of space, I hated the thought of wasting some... Then I realized, because the house is "double deep", I can cut out the back wall behind that area and make it part of the bedroom that's a mirror image of this room. So that bedroom will have a small alcove that's nestled next to the closet that holds the washer and dryer, only visible from the other side of the house. This afternoon Geoff helped me cut a bunch of the holes I needed to get done before I can start assembling the house. I glued the two back pieces together, and he made me a piece to fill in the area between the two peaked roofs to make a flat roof. That's being glued in right now, and then I'll post some more pictures. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 You'd never guess that those louvered doors began life as shutters, and what a cool way to lay out the bathroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Thanks! I was dying to put a washer and dryer in somewhere, and I feel better about the house being so deep now that I figured out how a way to take advantage of it. ;) Selkie had asked about putting the houses together with the rooms on the inside and hinging them. Here's (sort of) how that would look. You'd have to cut the overhang off the roof pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Great closet, laundry enclosure solution! I love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 ....... Selkie had asked about putting the houses together with the rooms on the inside and hinging them. Here's (sort of) how that would look. You'd have to cut the overhang off the roof pieces. Thanks so much for remembering to show me that view before you glued it up. I'm studying it a bit now. There are so many incredibly cool ways to build. I never get tired of awake day~dreaming them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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