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Storybook & Coventry Cottage as one house?


Sister Kyoya

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The little occupant I started building the Storybook Cottage for loves it but has consistently expressed that he needs more space for his things. After much searching I think the Coventry Cottage would be the perfect 'addition' if built on the reverse. The only thing is being so new to actually building dollhouses I don't know if they would fit together even after modification. (I'm totally not afraid of altering the kits if it gets me what I hope for.) Both houses are stated to be the same height so I don't know if that right there would cause issues or how to work around them once they arise. I'm simply looking for advice if this would work, or if by chance someone might have both of those houses to give me an idea if this might work. Ideally I'd like to attach the Coventry to the side of the Storybook without the bay window, so the bay window of the Coventry is on the 'front' of the house with the little porch in the middle. (I hope this makes sense.)

I know I could just add an Adam's kit to the side of the Storybook to get the basic kitchen that is needed, but I'd really love the personality that the other two could create. The solution could just be as simple as just raising up the Storybook on a platform to make it high enough that I wouldn't have to worry about mismatched roof edges.

I also wonder if anyone has altered/removed the interior wall on the main floor of the Coventry to open up that really small room. I'd be happy to add a column support back in if it is really needed. That space just seems really quite small.

Thank you in advance.

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Looking at the two kits I think you could run into issues with them being so similar but not quite the same -- the ceiling heights might not match, the roof pitch might be slightly different. It's going to be hard to tell unless you have both kits in front of you. Ceiling height is not easy to change in a die cut house because the ceilings typically have the tabs and slots in them, and provide structural stability.

Have you considered building a second Storybook Cottage "inside out" (so it's a mirror image), with the two walls where the bay windows are supposed to be butting up against each other? Then you wouldn't have to worry about things matching up, because you'll be using the same parts. You could add dormer windows to the roof to give the roofline more visual interest.

What you suggested with the Coventry Cottage can probably be done somehow. But it seems like it would look very similar, and be easier to do, if you did it with a second Storybook.

 

 

 

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The second floors of both the Coventry Cottage and the Storybook Cottage are MUCH shorter than the first floors, and neither one has stairs.  I screened in the porch of the Coventry Cottage I built:

come on in.jpg

Dry fit, dry fit, and dry fit some more to get the two to match the way you want.  Are you aware that the Coventry Cottage is open on TWO sides, the back and the left (as you face the front), so you would only have one wall of the Storybook to cut adjoining doors in.  The second floors of both kits are flush with the bottoms of those windows, since their tabs form the windowsills.  I would dry fit them side by side and fiddle with the foundations until they are both the same height, measure the halfway point on the walls and after the dividing walls went in I'd plan on cutting those "sill" tabs off of the second floors and running cornice boards at that halfway point to hang the floors from.

 

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1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

The second floors of both the Coventry Cottage and the Storybook Cottage are MUCH shorter than the first floors, and neither one has stairs.  I screened in the porch of the Coventry Cottage I built:

come on in.jpg

Dry fit, dry fit, and dry fit some more to get the two to match the way you want.  Are you aware that the Coventry Cottage is open on TWO sides, the back and the left (as you face the front), so you would only have one wall of the Storybook to cut adjoining doors in.  The second floors of both kits are flush with the bottoms of those windows, since their tabs form the windowsills.  I would dry fit them side by side and fiddle with the foundations until they are both the same height, measure the halfway point on the walls and after the dividing walls went in I'd plan on cutting those "sill" tabs off of the second floors and running cornice boards at that halfway point to hang the floors from.

 

Ahh I really like the screened in porch another Idea to store for the future. Love the teal color too.

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1 minute ago, NellBell said:

Ahh I really like the screened in porch another Idea to store for the future. Love the teal color too.

Pieces of old panty hose for the screen.  That's actually glossy hunter green.

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Fov: I'm no too worried about the two kits perfectly matching. It is for a little pixie who needed more room than the Storybook could provide once I saw the layout with furniture added. Having it being a bit wonky like the upper floors being at different levels would just add to the charm and uniqueness in the end. I had thought of doing another Storybook built on the reverse but I wasn't too keen on having the house mirror itself. Plus I was looking forward to the various layouts between the two floor plans. And then there is the fact that I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. :D

Havanaholly: I think the tiny upper room in the Storybook is one of the reasons why Po wanted a larger house. There is a bed that came with the kit that fits him perfectly, but no real logical place to put it in the house. -___- My childhood dollhouse (looks like a handmade version of the Haunted House) also has the tiny upper floor and no stairs so I'm used to that problem. In contrast, I dry fitted the main walls of the Washington yesterday and was trying to decide how to deal with what almost feels like 'too many stairs.' I like the upper ones, but those lower ones just eat into the room's floor space and block the bay window. So I decided to pull them out of the house and make them freestanding to put across the back of the house when they are needed to be shown. I might even think about making the entire (removable) back wall, but I'm not sure I care that much. 

I was actually looking forward to the Coventry having two sides open and hoping that it might make it easier to add to the Storybook, but also aware that it could make it more challenging. I appreciate the advice about the cornice board, I wouldn't have thought of that. More than once I've been tempted to cut the sill tabs off (to re-glue later) but I know it would affect the structural integrity quite a lot. They are just so hard to fit. >.< I had the other idea that I could make a small hallway between the two houses to compensate for not altering the roofs and those sills. It would be easy to hide the gap between the houses with siding too. I know in the end I'd just have to get the Coventry and just figure it out from there. I'm still thinking through some ideas on how to make matching custom trim for both to have the design a bit more cohesive. But to do that accurately I need the Coventry anyway.And my thought on opening up the small room in the Coventry was just to alter the wall but not remove it if it would affect the structural integrity. There is a support arch in the Storybook (attachment below) that I had considered mimicking if I didn't just decide to turn that room into a small pantry. Poor Po looks a bit startled of me bursting in his house and snapping pics all of the sudden. :blush: Still need to make his hair too.

40575762102_ce393133c7_z.jpg

By the way I love the screening idea. Its the second time I've heard of that in the last month or so and I think it's just brilliant.

Edited by Sister Kyoya
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I don't fear it, I just don't like the disappointment that still comes when it has to be pulled apart. I know that's when the real work begins. The dry fit goes together so fast that I feel like I'm accomplishing something with my limited energy. Pulling it apart feels like it erases that. I also understand that this is just part of the learning process as well.

I get a bit envious at times when it feels like everyone else knows precisely what they want to do before they start a kit (I know that isn't necessarily true) but I'm still boggled by much of it. I know that it is easier getting wallpapering/painting/ceilings/flooring done as much as possible before assembly, but trying to think that much ahead is just too much for my brain right now. But the dry fit I at least understand. :clap: I also had the sense yesterday to take pics of all of the rooms in the Washington before taking it back apart. It will give me a chance to think about how to do the base of the rooms while I'm sanding it all down.

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2 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Everything you want to do is doable, but do NOT fear the dry fit.

Boy do I agree with you and have learned form hearing you say many times DRY FIT .  Dry fitting will save you many a headache . 

 

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Jonathan, in time the houses will tell you what they want and how to do it and then you'll be very glad you got into the dry fit habit.  I find that dry fitting gets the house to start talking to me and now it's a first step, right up there with sanding and shaving tabs to fit slots.

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So far the Storybook has been pretty easy to dry fit, the lone exception being those dang 2nd floor window sill tabs. I read an old post yesterday where someone said that those will cause you to invent new swear words. I totally agree! LOL! The Washington had some slots that were horridly uneven, needing to be shaved with an exacto knife and extensive sanding before it was close to the same width as the far end of the same slot. That alone showed me that dry fitting is not optional. These kits are wonderful but the stamped plywood is a completely different thing than the laser cut kits. My OCD loved doing the one 1/2 scale laser cut furniture kit I did and how everything fit together nearly perfectly (the tabletop was a bit warped, but those pieces are so thin I'm not surprised.) But the stamped kits have their own charm in the work just by what is needed to be done you spend more time with and working through the kit, having the time to think through how all the bits and pieces of furniture, paint, trim, flooring, and everything else fits together to tell the intricate story of the house. Its not the perfection that gives the houses character, but all the quirks and happy mistakes. I've even seen this to be true with the 'simple' trailer kit. One glaring irreversible mistake ended up figuring out the interior wall covering and suddenly the whole thing is being built on the reverse. LOL!

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10 hours ago, Sister Kyoya said:

...the stamped kits...by what is needed to be done you spend more time with and working through the kit...

And eventually you will hear them talking to you, and this is perfectly normal.

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I'm working on a post about my two Washingtons. One I have figured out how it should be and I'm super pleased with how things are going so far. The second, I thought I had it figured out and had gathered an idea board for it. But with one look at one of the images in the directions threw me totally for a loop. It feels a bit odd having a house fight and buck like an untrained horse. I have enough sense not to force it to be something it's not (from my years of experience collecting adopting dolls the Kiddos) but I'm still trying to work out precisely the design it is trying to be. This is certainly a first for me.

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Would you say you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced builder? I would never advise a beginner to marry two houses together which don’t share the same roof or floor lines. I’ve seen it attempted but sadly never finished and the builder gives up never to be seen here again. Get a few builds completed before attempting to merge unmatched floors or rooflines, is my advice. 

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