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| The "Magnolia" dollhouse is made by Corona. This is the first dollhouse I have made, and like most, it was a learning experience. The one major change I made to the dollhouse was the staircase. The original staircase components would have resulted in a closed appearance and would have provided a cupboard area beneath the stairs. I wanted a more open appearance along with old-fashioned posts. It took about 2 months to get this staircase right, but for a first try, I am pleased with the results. I started the construction of the house in April 1998 and completed it, as seen below, in August 2000. Like most tab and slot houses, the materials are of a less-expensive wood and it is relatively thin. It splinters easily and a lot of careful sanding is required to achieve a good finish. Fortunately, I don't mind sanding so this was a big plus. A good number of miniaturists and dollhouse enthusiasts do tell you to stay away from kits such as these because of the less-expensive materials that are provided in the kit and thereby resulting in much more work. I disagree. Yes, they take a lot of time because of the sanding, but you are learning a lot of necessary techniques (including patience) in the process, so I believe it is worthwhile. The two bay window areas are a good example of additional work...I used thin balsa wood strips along with wood filler to fill in the spaces where the bay window walls join. If I would not have done this, there would have been gaps and it certainly would not have looked good. Also, a lot of the thin strips of trim wood splintered and broke at times, so I just replaced it with either balsa or basswood. I also added more trim than what originally came with the house, and again, I am happy with those results. I did not use the original fireplace components that came with the dollhouse kit, but used a fireplace kit, all in cedar wood, from IBEC and I am much more pleased with the appearance of this one. Although it does not show up as well in the pictures, the fireplace is stained in three colours, cherry, mahogany and oak. It really did come out lovely. Other changes I made was to the chimney and the foundation of the dollhouse. Corona provided a sheet of vinyl brick and this just didn't do anything for me or my dollhouse. I live just up the street from Lake St. Louis in Pointe Claire, Quebec and through the Summer of 1998, I just had the most wonderful time collecting tiny stones from along the shore. I ended up with an enormous variety of shapes and colours to choose from. Of course the chimney ended up weighing a mini-ton, which then resulted in finding a solid method of attaching the chimney to the side of the dollhouse. The DH came in especially handy for this task! As for the foundation, Corona once again provided a faux, vinyl, stone roll of whatever that kind of left me cold. I fortunately came across a product from DecoArt and it's basically an acrylic paint mixed in with sandstones and it's appropriately called "Sandstones." It comes in various shades of brown, ranging from light to dark. One thing that is nice about the product, is that the lightest shade is an ecru colour and you can tint this one with another colour and pretty much get the results you want. And finally you may ask, "Why is it going to be a store and not a dollhouse?" Well, that's because I found it really difficult to get the furniture in there that I hoped I would....like a four-poster bed, a decent looking bathroom, old-fashioned stove and fridge in the kitchen, etc... Slanted roofs in a dollhouse can be a pain...which I have now discovered. If the wall leading up to the slope of the ceiling is high, that's great, but the walls leading to the ceiling in this dollhouse are less than 2", so forget the four-poster bed. And, well, any dollhouse with a lot of windows in a small room results in less wall space to position things, like a fridge and stove. Live an learn! Additional plans for the exterior of the shoppe is to make wind chimes hanging from the porch area, along with an old-fashioned bench also placed on the porch area. Electrified? Are you kidding? No, not the first dollhouse! I figured I had enough to learn without complicating my mini-life even more. And I don't regret not electrifying it either. The next step is to finish the interior. A great variety of items and furniture are going to be required for each shop room, so this should prevent me from getting too bored with it. |
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About the biggest mistake I made with the construction of this dollhouse was understanding how the shingles needed to be cut into order to fit properly within the creases of the roof. So, the result wasn't so great. |
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But at least now, I understand how I made this mistake, so I don't expect this problem with the next house. |
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Another side view....I'm quite proud of the curtains I made. |
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Next time I use a flash when taking pictures of the interior! The Magnolia will be a Ladies Shoppe when completed. The lower-left room will be a goodie shop, the room to its right will be a fabric shop, above to the left will be a perfumery and to the right of the perfumery, will be a lingerie shop. |
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A couple of views on the stairs I worked so hard on. |
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...and a couple of more views! |
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Since this is in 1" scale, I just had to take a picture of it in front of my life-size house...just to see the scale. |
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Forgot to put my construction hat on, but this is me, the builder! |
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© 2001, 2002 - Genesis Fontier Designs | |