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Planning/research


jdforsten21

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I seem to be getting lost in the details of planning the theme of my first dollhouse. There is so much information available to research. I find myself spending loads of time researching ideas but still not making alot of progress in the planning phase. Any tips and advice to help narrow down a plan/theme?

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I have this same problem when I build while watching home remodeling shows! Drives me batty! The ideas in my mind clustered with all of the fantastic things they're doing put a halt on any and all progress!

You just have to quit... and let the feel of the house determine what the house should be!

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I decieded to change the type of door I was going to use after watching fixer upper. Of course this will require me to make the door openings bigger! I did finally make myself buy one item for the house that I loved so I have have at least some direction. This little sink sadly still does not have a kitchen to call home. image.thumb.jpg.d634a0aecf590876052e26dc

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I start with colors and go from there. I tend to decorate the by the way of memories and by the way i might like my real life house to be decorated but cant afford. My next dollhouse will be decorated in mid century modern...1950's era

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If I had that gorgeous sink, I would start out by decorating a kitchen for it to go into, and collecting other pieces to compliment it. Then I would let the beautiful kitchen dictate how I decorate the rest of the house!

You can always build another house later in another style!!! :-D

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Wallpapers are so important to me in deciding  where the house is going design wise. Your paint colors, flooring and furnishings are all dependent on the wall coverings you can find and really fall in love with.  This takes time. I try to coordinate the entire house so that no room clashes with its adjacent rooms. Too many times I've started with just one room and then couldn't find coordinating papers to go with it.  I don't like starting over. 

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Yes. Find a wonderful piece (maybe even for each room) and go from there. I tend to decorate mini rooms like I do a real house. What is the room used for? By whom? What year is it? What sorts of architectural details to you have to work around? What is the focal point of each room? What needs to be minimized or hidden? What is the lighting like? You can start with one wonderful piece, like that sink. You could use shades of blue for the walls, accessories, or trims, or pick a contrasting color like yellow. the sink looks like something you'd find in an old European farmhouse....farmhouse, turn of the century, Europe....all sorts of things start to emerge.  

For dollhouses, will there be a general theme? A holiday or a hobby or an era, or a certain color? Plain or fancy? Where will the house be displayed, and how is that room decorated? What is your budget?  

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My Pierce kinda told me what it wanted - but it helped that I knew who the occupants were and what they were like personality-wise.  I really have built the house around them!  My next house is going to be a stone cottage and will be a place I would want to live in when retired if on my own!

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I'm trying to find or make things that I can remember being in my grandparents' house. They had some really eclectic things and I loved searching through my Grandma's treasures. I want to make some books I used the read there, like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. They also had a red phone booth in the garden which my grandfather used as a greenhouse, and I am recreating that using a money box I found and building some shelves, and I bought some tools.

Not sure how it will all come together, but that's my inspiration.

I intend for the Orchid I have coming to be another grandparent's house. Not mine though - Little Red Riding Hood's!

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2 hours ago, havanaholly said:

When the Building Team built & blogged the Coventry Cottage DH's grandparents' home in Lumpkin, GA, was my inspiration.

That's one of my favorite building blogs on here, Holly. As I read it I was reminded of my own grandparents house, plus your house looked like so many in my neck of the woods.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have kind of the same problem! For me, it was the house & how it looked that made my theme/direction clear, but where to start once it was finished being built has been an issue. I'm overwhelmed with all the possible projects & decor. Even what to do next. It's a halloweeny witchy theme, but with a victorian-like style. I love antique furniture and I really love the same type mini furniture. It's what made sense to me. It's a hobby to enjoy, right? It looks like someone mentioned that themes usually start with an accessory or piece of furniture. If the house/model/room reminds you of a childhood memory, a random picture ,or a place you'd love to vacation etc, start with that maybe? Does the house scream a certain theme already like 70's disco, garden cottage or sleek modern? Check out what others have done here and possibly Pinterest for inspiration? I was told to check Pinterest by a local hobby shop and it's given me a few ideas & a bit of direction. This is all coming from a newbie though. ;) 

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I think sticking to the instructions or just making small changes is best for a first house.

I find that taking the time to selecting a deciding on complimentary color scheme for the whole house early in the build will result in a more appealing end product(and will save time in the long run).

 

 

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I used to try to plan and coordinate a house, but it resulted in barely-started projects. Now I just go where the wind takes me - no longer try to do too much at once. The result is that I'm doing more detail work on already finished houses. 

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6 hours ago, Elsbeth said:

I used to try to plan and coordinate a house, but it resulted in barely-started projects. Now I just go where the wind takes me - no longer try to do too much at once. The result is that I'm doing more detail work on already finished 

 

Other than the color scheme I tend to move from project to project (and from house to house) doing what ever I'm in the mood for. This only becomes a problem when I am avoiding flooring and roofing... wow, I just now decided that I am going to pay my son's girlfriend to roof the three houses I am working on.

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18 hours ago, Elsbeth said:

I used to try to plan and coordinate a house, but it resulted in barely-started projects. Now I just go where the wind takes me - no longer try to do too much at once. The result is that I'm doing more detail work on already finished houses. 

This is my problem! I have started a ton of projects but haven't finished one of them. This has just left me feeling very overwhelmed. So I'm taking a step back and going to work on one thing at a time. 

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