Front Opening Dollhouses: To avoid the "box" room look, what if you did a false wall a few inches into the room, with the door propped half open. Before you glued in the wall you could set up part of a scene to glimpse through the door way. Maybe a pantry or linen closet type thing? What does everyone think? I haven't tried it but it sounds neat. I bet you could even make the false wall removable incase you ever wanted to redecorate with a minimum of effort.

Linda in GA

Side Opening House: To all who want to see a house with side-openings: Have you ever seen this website? It has a great house with little shops on the ground floor and lovely rooms : it opens on both sides. But also other great projects worth visiting. Is this a member from SS? I don't know where I got this website, but it is GORGEOUS! Worth visiting and drooling!
http://swallace.bizland.com/chessington_plazamainpage.htm

I have a front opening house, mainly because of the cats and the dust. But I am very happy with it. The front also tells something about the house and the period. AND: What is a shop without a front?!

Atie J. from Holland

Houseworks Victorian/Front Opening Dollhouses: I have the Houseworks Victorian and I love it. It was my dream house. Some things haven't gone well but we keep plugging away.

One of my complaints about dolls houses is they have so many windows that it becomes hard to arrange furniture. I opted not to put the windows in the back panel because of this. I have a fireplace on the back wall of the living room and the room above which will be the master bedroom. I also added a staircase from the second to third floors. We split the top floor into three rooms and one is the bathroom. I didn't use the bathroom that they suggest on the second floor. That is one big room.

One of the windows that goes onto the balcony is now a door. I moved the steps to the front of the porch and made the base of the porch shorter so I can have real lattice. I'm sure that doesn't make sense but it works.

I really suggest you get the plan book that comes separate. Some of the directions that came with the house are poor (at least to me). We used piano hinges (very long hinges from Home Depot) instead of the short ones that come with the kit for the roof. It is much sturdier. We've had some problems with the doors, they just don't want to hang right. And at least in my house, there are still dust bunnies even with the doors. It's a great house .

Rita A.

Front Opening Dollhouses: Coming from the UK myself I cannot for the life of me understand why anybody would want the bother of spinning a house around just to look at it from the back. All you have to do is arrange your landscaping to accommodate the opening 'doors'. I don't fully understand your idea about postcards Linda - you don't have to cut a hole in the wall of the house but you can always put a 'false' window on the back wall to make it look as if there is a view beyond. Is this what you mean? My basement did not have access to the main house for some obscure reason so I have 'done away' with the stairs to the main house and will put in a false door with a piccy of stairs beyond it giving the illusion of a staircase and at the same time allowing me to put that space that should be the basement hallway to better use. Does this make sense to you? now that I see it in print it looks confusing but I cannot think how else to explain it!

Dolly Kay

Front Opening Dollhouses/Plexiglas front: My house opens from the front so that the stairs go up from front to back. The outside front of the house is in one piece with windows, clapboard, etc. So that I wouldn't have to remove the front every time someone wanted to see it, I came up very a very satisfactory solution. I used tiny earth magnets (very powerful - available from Lee Valley) and countersunk them into the inside edges of both the house and the front piece making sure they match properly. I have extra magnets and a piece of Plexiglas that fits over the front and is easily held in place with the magnets. Because the magnets are countersunk, the front piece will fit right over the plexi if I don't feel like removing it. I'm really pleased with this and plan to do the same technique on roomboxes. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Housebound in Ontario

Front Opening Dollhouses: When putting in a window that will ultimately face the wall of the real house as in the back wall of a front opening dollhouse, I actually go ahead and cut the window opening. Install a regular component type window. Hang window treatments as usual inside. Then I use some "blue tac" or a similar product to mount a post card or magazine pic on the outside of the window to simulate a view seen out the window. This way you can change the view easily as seasons change or just whatever suits your fancy. I wish I could say I thought this up myself but I know I read it somewhere. I guess I am just lucky to remember the idea and never mind where I found it! LOL

Linda in GA

Front Opening Dollhouses/Sid Cooke: Oh joy! I'm new to the list but thought I'd jump in on this one as I am currently deeply embroiled in an English style kit.

After years of daydreaming about dollhouses, I finally made the move to dive in. Not being overly fond of the majority of American style houses I spent a weekend scouring the UK websites and ran across the Sid Cooke line:
http://www.sidcooke-dollshouses.sageweb.co.uk/

Their prices for shipping to the US were very reasonable I thought (but I expected it to be hefty, so this could be relative), and they ship directly, so do email them for specifics. They are very forthcoming & friendly. You also, as an American, do not have to pay VAT, so the price is a little cheaper than listed.

I prefer the front opening houses because it is the front of the house that I want displayed on a daily basis and I don't like the idea of turning it around for peaking, but I *do* agree with the windowless box issues Molly mentioned ... which is why I liked some of the Cooke houses as several have internal windows & doors. I picked the Bow St. Corner Shop as it was only two rooms that I could decorate easily, and fit in with my dual purpose of having a shop and also a room to play with. It also helped inspire my theme ... which will be a Hogarth inspired house (with a li'l Tom Jones thrown in), the shop will be a quackish apothecary & the second floor a harlots boudoir (loose inspiration from "The Harlots Progress" & "Before & After"). The exterior (so far) is weathered stone & cracked plaster and is currently entitled "Gin Lane" ... hehe

But as to specifics regarding the Sid Cooke House/Shop (at least the one I am working on) ... it is very sturdy MDF sides & back with plywood fronts. Trim, window & doors included. The windows are molded plastic with *no* glazing ... the door is a little simple so I may replace it with the Houseworks "Palladian" but this will take some adjustment of the door opening. All the parts are cut and no need for punching out, tho some sanding is in order. Had I not been decorating & painting as I went, it could have been up in a day easily. Comes with some wood glue, hinges, nails & fine sandpaper. Excellently packed and with a little extra $ arrived in a week! The main weirdness with the corner shops is that the rooms are roughly 12" x 12" ... and a square room is a little awkward to decorate convincingly.

Kallisti

Front Opening Dollhouses: For those of you who have yet to be converted to front opening houses (I have both, but I much prefer the front opening ones as I have an inquisitive cat and two children).

I think these houses are a natural evolution from the cupboard houses which
were the first kind of baby houses.

Go and look at Honeychurch toys' site. All their houses are front opening, but the facades can be extremely elaborate. I love them, especially the corner shop! They're beautifully cut and constructed, too. http://www.honeytoys.co.uk/houses/hdhouses01.html

My big half timbered house opens at the front and the side. It was made by a local joiner, who did what he thought was best. What I love about the openings is that each room has its own opening, so you can have one room open at a time (except for the attics, where the roof is hinged up). all the joins are hidden by the timbers. I love it! When DH gets round to taking some pics for me, I'll put them up on my website, to show you what I mean.

Lynne Connolly

house openings: I think my fav is side-opening houses, ranging from the various bungalows I've seen to the Seaside Villa we've been treated to pics/descriptions of . With these types, you get to see the facade and the inside of the house, with no 'dangly bits' (curtains flapping in the breeze, etc.). Just my .02, of course!

Molly/StormBorn

Side Opening Houses: I have a side-opening house on my Photo Point site, if you want to take a look. It's the Yellow Townhouse.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=742148

Dani, in Bradshaw, MD

Covering rear of dollhouse with Plexiglas: I attach the plexi with Velcro strips. I hide the strips with pieces of molding applied to the exterior. Easy, economical and attractive. Some of mine have been in place more years than I care to admit.

Becky

Wallhung roomboxes: I'm a newbie and don't know if this has been brought up before, but at a small Kansas antique store I saw the neatest roomboxes made of old dresser drawers hung on the wall. Hung drawer-pull-side-up and divided in two horizontally, they give you two floors to work with. The owner of the shop said she looked at auctions for bureaus, dressers, etc. where the drawers were still good but the outer part was not and got them very cheaply. She said her pride and joy at home was a set of three drawers, left, center and right, from a bow-front buffet. Hung parallel on the wall with drawer fronts up, the outline was a cottage roof effect

Ava Betz

Window Latches/Hardware: Miniature House used to make some really cute window latches....a.k.a.: Handley House/Intl Miniatures. They have a huge selection of brass doorknobs, lighting, etc. You might try the Handley House web site - it will also have a store list where you can buy their products.
Here's the link: http://www.intlminiatures.com/

Laura in OKC

Slate Roofs: Carol down under: the problem with slate even in the best of circumstances is that it is very brittle and splinters in full size let alone mini size. It needs to be cut when it is newly "mined" while it is still moist. As it dries out it begins to disintegrate and shear off with the nail holes being the first to let go. Here in Vermont (and I'm sure any place that still has homes with slate roofs), you can go around the base of a house and pick up bits and pieces of slate after a big storm and at Fort Ethan Allen near me ( from the 1800's) whole slates fall off every storm where they crumble in your hand when you pick them up. I have some slate pieces that came off of my apartment house, when they did a roof repair, that I can break up with a hammer to use for garden flagstones, foundations of houses etc. and it looks great. Black is the most brittle with red seeming to be the toughest with gray and green somewhere in between. But to roof a mini house with slate you would need new pieces cut to shape (The New Jersey dh supply shop - can't remember it's name right now - was one of the few places that supplied it) - they are heavy... and brittle... and expensive... and you need to get twice what you need because of the breakage. I saw one house done with them at Fred's Miniatures in Vermont - he used to do custom houses and told me that he would never do another with real slate because of all the problems and headaches and cost of the project. It looked great but I found another solution. Handley House was my supplier for my shop here and I found that they carried (actually were able to order it) a molded slate roofing that could be cut to shape. I haven't had any call for it so I don't know if it is still available but maybe your local shop can look it up ... I seem to remember the name Ross but this is hazy. It looked great -you can't tell it from the real thing!- and none of the headaches!

Ana

Cutting Roof Shingles: Here is the method for cutting them perfectly that I use. I make a pattern. I use a big sheet of white wrapping paper I got from U-Haul...any big sheet of paper will work, even newspaper if you can see the lines you draw. Lay the sheet over the roof where the two areas come together and crease it with a finger. Also make fold marks over the top and bottom roofline. Take the paper off, and draw lines so you can see them on the pattern creases along the top roof line and the crease that is the angle between the two surfaces that you are putting shingles on. I use a Sharpie. The house I built in the instructions it said to draw horizontal lines on the roof before it was assembled. You want to start at the bottom roofline on the pattern, or the top...whatever your directions say...and draw those lines on the pattern up to the crease that represents where the two roofs come together. These lines will come to a point where each side of the two roofs meet when the pattern is laid flat. To use the pattern, lay the shingles out along the line (or just put them on the house) from the outside edge of the roof towards the crease, starting at the bottom. When you get to the crease, part of the lower left side (or the lower right side depending on which side of the roof you started shingling first) of the last shingle will hang over the drawn line that represents where to two roofs meet: cut that part off. You should have a piece of shingle that is wider at the top than at the bottom, and should fit onto the roof and line up with the join in the two roof areas perfectly. It isn't really necessary to make a pattern of the whole roof or to draw lines on it. All you need is a pattern of where the two roof areas meet, and the top and bottom of the two rooflines. Start shingling at the edge of the bottom of one side. When you get to the crack where part of a shingle needs to be trimmed to fit, measure the width at the TOP of the shingle that you need for that last shingle. Lay it on the pattern lines with that much on the correct side of the pattern, and let the rest go over the line. Draw a line that parallels the vertical line on the pattern that is where the two roof panels meet on the shingle, and cut the shingle off along that line.

Memai

Moss: When you use model railroad moss to your roof, take a few preliminary steps. Give your dollhouse a sense of direction. Where is the window where there must be a lot of sunlight for table plants and such? Is this your south wall? There should be very little moss on that side of the roof and the heaviest amount on the north roof. Where will there be a lot of shade? Under dormers? Along the chimney?

Sketch a plan for your moss patterns.

Moss on shingles will tend to be toward the top of each shake where it goes under the one from above. If you dust dark green ground foam (Woodland Scenics RR stuff) from above, it probably will NOT get into those desired spots. If possible, turn your dollhouse on its side or back and work on the roof sections which are now UP. Sift a bit of moss into the general area then brush into the desired tops. A bit will also get into the cracks between shakes or shingles which is appropriate. When you like the effect, over spray with an aerosol fixative.

Keep in mind, that the moss will grow best where the roof is most commonly wetand therefor those shingles will show additional effects of weathering. They will be darker with more sign of rot than on the South face. There will be more rust in the flashing and nails. The dry south face, on the other hand will probably have more splitting from dryness.

While you are planting moss, consider leaf compost and perhaps even weed growth in the gutters. Over the course of 50 years, there may be signs of repair on the roof. Three different shades of tar built up around the chimney or a vent pipe may be appropriate. Through all of this, however, be subtle. A dollhouse is actually a glorified showcase for miniature collectibles within. Suggest age to enhance realism but not so as to make most visitors actually aware of what has been effectively suggested.

Mel Koplin

tin roofs. I work in a dental office have access to the lead backing off of the x-ray films. These are about 1.5" x 1" & about the thickness of heavy duty foil. We roll them through one of those paint tube rollers meant to squeeze the paint out of the tube. This makes them corrugated. Then we just line 'm up in overlapping rows. Only drawback is they get heavy with a lot of them so need a sturdy roof. (DH did make do with a small structure & only a cardboard roof.) They also make great patches for a shack type roof.

Marty in SC

Stairs with landing: I needed a staircase with a 3-step landing for my All in the Family roombox as that's what we saw on the TV show. I simply took a full staircase and cut it up. You can cut off the three steps and create a landing from a piece of scrap bass wood, butt the remaining staircase at an angle to ascend the rest of the way.

Pearl Jordan

Stained glass: I made some stained glass squares for my San Franciscan dollhouse and thought I would share them with all of you. They are small and fit in the small cross bars of this house but you might be able to find a use for them. I have put enough on the page where you do not waste as much transparency film. http://www.50megs.com/brassrail/win_doll_house.html

Sclarise

Roofs for round and oblong houses: When you asked about suggestions for roofs for round and oblong houses, I remembered a book I have with a whole section on round barns - This Old Barn, published by Roy J. Reiman (can tell you where to purchase one). It has wonderful photos of barns from all around the country. Anyway, checked the round barn section for roofs. There are a variety from domed to conical & from sectioned to smoothly rounded.

The most prevalent type would not be hard to make from cardboard. I'll try to describe it. It consists of two main sections which are both derived from cone shapes. The bottom is like a cone with the top cut off & takes up about 2/3 of the height of the roof. The top section is then a flatter cone that sits on top of that & makes the top 1/3 of the roof's height. They do not overlap, rather meet at a seam. Many then have the tip of the top section cut off & a narrow (in depth) cylinder on top of that with a baby flat conical hat. This makes a cupola (Hope that's how you spell it). The pitch of the 1st section is fairly steep & the upper section is not. Hope this makes sense.I think you could easily make a pattern out of paper by simple pulling a piece of paper into a cone shape right around the top of your house. Then cut off the top & make the next cone to match that one only flatter. There is also one oblong barn. The bottom layer of it is the same principal. However the top has a ridge that runs lengthwise & looks more like a normal roof. Unable to see the ends clearly.

Also, have no idea how big a Slim Fast can is. I really should investigate this. Does that diet work? Anyway, gold cupcake papers came to mind turned upside down if they are anywhere near the right size. They are stiffer than the regular kind & several thick would be stiffer yet ????? Could be spread at bottom, but may be way off in size?

Marty