Harrison Dollhouse Renovation PART 2

PART 2

Work is progressing on the dollhouse starting with the boring but extremely important stuff like the foundation.  As previously mentioned the hot glued on the base supports quit holding when we moved the house out of the closet.  I kept playing with exterior finishes on it while it sat there all lopsided.  Finally it had to be fixed before moving forward so I tipped it onto its back.  The rest of the old pieces fell off easily and I found imprinted on the base of the house 

"COPYRIGHT 1979

GREENLEAF RULE DIE COMPANY"

This was really cool cause its not printed on the newer kits.  (I know because I checked the newer model I have set aside for the next build.)

I began cutting strips of MDF to replace the thin plywood strips that originally came with the kit.  Each strip was smothered in wood glue and clamped into place until dry.  I really don't want this house to fall apart after all the work that will be going into it AGAIN. 

New foundation...installed around the copyright imprint

WINDOWS

The narrow side windows for the bay windows were delivered and just were not quite right.  I knew they were not quite long enough but thought they could be made to work with spacing panels.  No matter how I set them in place they just didn't match up to the installed front windows so I returned them.  The manufacturer of the front windows (Timberbrook) is out of business and they did made matching bay side windows...should've bought them back in the day, oh well.

I found some really cool ones from England that I might try or I can custom make them with a couple old "House of Miniature" window kits I have...haven't decided. 

 I'm very excited to be changing up the tower completely, the windows receiving a major upgrade.  The second floor windows came from a Russian artisan (Doshe Laser Cut Store) who does intricate laser work. Excited to install the arched top windows with the ornate cut insets since I've decided to make the upstairs tower into a master bathroom.  They will add bling and privacy to the space. 

 I will be cobbling together two single tudor doors into a double french door for the third floor balcony.  And the third floor will be getting two dormers installed in the roof.  There's a lot of roof and can it could use something to break it up, and the inside space could use the light and architectural detail.  I am a little hesitant to cut into my stunning shingle job but, hey, what's a remodel without some demo?

PAINT COLORS

Oh my gosh...paint colors.  I now have quite the collection of test pots from the hardware store.  I thought dusty greens at first and that went into grays.  I like the finish on the herringbone brick sheets so the challenge is to find colors to coordinate and make it pop.  I have repainted the tudor trim 7 times??

I finally picked one of the colors and started painting over the original golden tan beige which was throwing off the project.  One of the first things I did to help the color decision was put a gray wash on the bright natural shingles.  Huge help.  Hoping eliminating the old tan and the red brick will bring things together.  The tower will be encased in rock veneer so I need the house colors to figure out the stone work.

So that's it so far.  I've been occasionally finding unique tudor style furniture pieces at reasonable prices so been squirreling them away.  I'll probably end up having a "fire sale" after this project is finished of anything unused...I'll let you know when the auction is!  

Next update should be completed exterior?