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My first dollhouse is built!


wormwoodz

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This weekend I have finally completed my first dollhouse build!

I'm quite happy with the way it turned out, some newbie mistakes along the way, a lot of hesitation and slow pace work but it was done. Took me around 9-10 months with a few long breaks in between, I had bought most of the building materials and the electrical components before starting. After a quick progress on the shell and interior I was a bit optimistic thinking I could maybe finish it before the end of 2016, but the exterior took a lot longer than I expected. I've learned a lot in the process, and hopefully this experience will help in my future builds :)

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I have built the 1:24 Fairfield with some modifications, nothing very drastic I think. I found plenty of helpful inspirational ideas from other members here, I'm very grateful to everyone who shared their tips and pictures of this house, it helped A LOT! Overal I think this is a great kit for a first build, my only serious struggle with the kit was the tower roof sub-assembly... the instructions were a bit confusing and the wood just didn't want to cooperate, but thanks to advice from others who had the same issue I was able to glue it together. 

With my modifications this house has a total of 12 interior rooms, porch and balcony. It's fully electrified with a roundwire 12v system, running through groves under the floor templates, the chimney sub assembly and under the stairs. To keep these areas accessible for repairs later I have modified the shelves from the kit (livingroom mid section and "pantry") to be removable, so they "slide" into the house structure to hide the electrical sections. Most of the ceillings and floors are templates, all floors are made of wood (tiles also), the embossed ceilings are a combination of foam, papper, gesso and paint.

It's fun to look back on old sketches from when I was still planning this house and compare to the final result, you can tell I was being "very optimistic" about the size of these rooms, haha. Just random clumsy scribbles without even getting the kit out of the box and taking proper measurements, some of the ideas ended up materializing while others not so much. 

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It was a really fun build, a bit sad it's over but hopefully I can start preparing for the next one! I will try to stick to "only 1 build at a time", plan as much as I can in advance and get the materials before I start building... I don't expect to start anytime soon, but here's a little teaser... and it's another Greenleaf kit :p 

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I still feel a bit intimidated by the size of the box alone, I'm under no illusions this will take me under 1 year to build... more like 2 or 3 perhaps xD (hope not!) It's funny because this was going to be my first pick for a build, but after a bit of research I felt a bit discouraged and thought it would probably be best to play it safe... and stick to a size I'd be more confortable with. I don't regret my choice, I love the smaller scales but I think it's time to try the 1:12 league! 

Now off to plan the new house! ~ :bigwink:

 

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23 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Ashley, you did a masterful job on your Fairfield!

Thank you!! I was a bit conservative with the colors this time, next I want to try something a bit more bold and colorful :)

 

20 minutes ago, rodentraiser said:

I just love the Fairfield and I'm still waiting for Greenleaf to make a 1:12 version. But Ashley, yours is exquisite!

It was love at first sight for me, and seeing pictures from diferent builders finally sealed the deal for me! It's 'big', beautiful, compact and so versatile, really wonderful house. 

I had a similar feeling about the Beacon Hill at some point, "oh I wish they made this in 1:24 scale"... mostly because of its size. I don't have a lot of space to keep a 1:12 house, in any case I've decided to try to build it... worst case scenario I'll have to give it away by the end :(

Out of curiosity, is there any particular reason that is keeping you from trying the half scale? I've always enjoyed collecting miniatures in larger scales, there was very little I could use from my previous collection in this house. But now I'm really in love with 1:24 minis, specially the furniture it's just so adorable with their tiny little legs :shy:

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2 hours ago, Sable said:

To anyone reading this, I recommend  pouring yourself a cup of tea and going to wormwoodz's gallery of this house and read all of the photo descriptions. A magnificent house!

Great advice Sable.. and a great way to spend an hour or so of relaxation/inspiration time.

Congratulations Ashley!:clap: Such a beautiful detailed house. And your first one! Amazing! You should be so proud of this build. I don't think 9 or 10 months is a long time at all for a build of this quality. Looking forward to seeing that Beacon Hill unfold. :D
 

 

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Ashley you should be very proud - your house is like hmmm:cloud9:

I like that you showed us your sketches too - they're beautiful - the whole evolution of it all - brilliant! :clap:

 

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Your house is absolutely gorgeous!!!  I love it!  Great job. 

I have the Beacon Hill and started it 3 years ago?  I was on a roll, but then we moved and I have yet to get at it.  I will soon!  You gave me incentive. 

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This is by far, my most Favorite Fairfield I've ever seen built!! Blue is my favorite color and the details you put into every inch of this house is absolutely Splendid! I've enjoyed viewing you work on it too! I'm looking forward to seeing what you create next :) 

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Ah!  So it is the Beacon Hill.  I was looking at the houses, trying to match them to the picture, and I thought that's what it was.  I hope you don't end up having to give it away.  If it's even half as nice as your Fairfield, it will be a true work of art.  Love your sketches.  Love the house as it turned out.  Truly beautiful.

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Thank you all very much! I will always hold it dear for introducing me to this wonderful hobby and all the talented people in it. 

 

12 hours ago, Sable said:

To anyone reading this, I recommend  pouring yourself a cup of tea and going to wormwoodz's gallery of this house and read all of the photo descriptions. A magnificent house!

Thank you! And I have you to thank for all the wise advice that I'm using everyday now, learned a lot from you :blush:

2 hours ago, Bluehighways said:

Your house is absolutely gorgeous!!!  I love it!  Great job. 

I have the Beacon Hill and started it 3 years ago?  I was on a roll, but then we moved and I have yet to get at it.  I will soon!  You gave me incentive. 

I have been going through the member's gallery and trying to read all the posts about the Beacon Hill, I love this house it's so beautiful! I'm very happy to hear that, I would love to see yours and share ideas with others who are also building it at the moment :bigwink:

I dunno if I should feel a bit worried that there are many unfinished ones, seams it's a really long process that takes time (2-3 years at least?). I guess that's good because it's the kind of work I was looking for at the moment, 9 rooms means less areas to decorate but I can dedicate more time to each one of them.

19 minutes ago, Minis On The Edge said:

This is by far, my most Favorite Fairfield I've ever seen built!! Blue is my favorite color and the details you put into every inch of this house is absolutely Splendid! I've enjoyed viewing you work on it too! I'm looking forward to seeing what you create next :) 

Aww thank you! I looooove Kelly's Tudor Fairfield, it's perhaps one of my favorites to this day and completly diferent style from mine! But I really love all of them, it's such a gorgeous house in all her incarnations! :cloud9:

17 minutes ago, Debsrand56 said:

Ah!  So it is the Beacon Hill.  I was looking at the houses, trying to match them to the picture, and I thought that's what it was.  I hope you don't end up having to give it away.  If it's even half as nice as your Fairfield, it will be a true work of art.  Love your sketches.  Love the house as it turned out.  Truly beautiful.

Yes! I found the Beacon Hill on sale like a month ago and couldn't resist... I had been flirting with it for over a year now :x

The other alternatives I was looking into was the Duracraft Heritage and the RGT Lincoln Springfield, they were a bit smaller but not by much. I hope we will manage to accomodate it, I plan to start by making a base with wheels so it will be easier to move it around.  

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  • 5 weeks later...

Congratulations Ashley. Your house is stunning! You must be so please : - ) So much attention to detail! I love your little trims on your roof and between your porch railings!

I've chosen the Fairfield for my first dollhouse build also. What I love about it is the charming nature that is seems like a real 3 dimenional house. However, the 1:24 scale has already posed many challenges in regards to materials and resources. ;-p 

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On 08/04/2017, 06:35:26, aussieguy84 said:

Congratulations Ashley. Your house is stunning! You must be so please : - ) So much attention to detail! I love your little trims on your roof and between your porch railings!

I've chosen the Fairfield for my first dollhouse build also. What I love about it is the charming nature that is seems like a real 3 dimenional house. However, the 1:24 scale has already posed many challenges in regards to materials and resources. ;-p 

Thank you for the kind words! It's a good choice for a first build, lots of rooms to decorate and a really lovelly house overal. The smaller scale makes it easier to save costs on building supplies :) 

Regarding construction materials, I found that a lot of options for 1:12 work in this scale as well, they just don't always come labelled as such. Always check the dimensions, most trims from 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch wide can work, and you can cut and modify the components to suit your purpose. The hardest part for me was finding light fixtures in this scale, the options were a bit more limited.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...

The sketches look so professional. If I could draw like that....wow!

I just don't have anything in 1/2" scale and I really can't afford to start collecting all over again in a smaller scale. If I could though, I'd be on the Fairfield so fast.I keep looking at other houses trying to figure out what makes the Fairfield so special and I think it's the steeply pitched roof that adds so much to it's personality. But I still like the rest of the house, too.

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