Paper lace: Actually, she was talking about the lace paper sold through artists' suppliers (the reference she gave us was: http://www.dickblick.com). It's a very fine, delicate paper that resembles lace. All I could think of as far as mini uses were: 1) pull-down window shades, 2) those type of oriental fans that are hoop-shaped, or 3) panels for a screen.

Molly/StormBorn

Lace paper: I have a little shelf that I received as a swap with lace paper trimming the edges, it's adorable. Perhaps it could be used as shelf edging in those $1. Michael's hutches as well.

Marilyn, MI

Architectural

Stairs or No Stairs: Stairs in a house big enough for a stair hall are great. Full stairs in small houses are a big fat waste of good space, & one of two reasons it took me four years to find a house-kit I liked. (I loved the kits of one English maker, but the (beautifully crafted) stairs in the house I wanted took up 37 1/2 % of the floor space!!) And if there's no separate hallway for the stairs, they make no sense at all. The house traffic (as if dolls could climb stairs anyhow) must ascend & descend & get in & out of the bathroom or their own bedroom through someone else's BR, etc., etc., etc. There are lots of ways to suggest stairs. The simplest is a false door in the back wall, suggested that the stair halls run up the back of the house. Your false wall idea is another; and the "hall" doesn't even have to run the full width of the house. In my house (which is 5-stories, 16X16" rooms) I am dividing only one floor into a 9X16" BR on the right & a 6X11 1/2" bath on the left. The 6" wall w/door is at the back of the bath, w/the 4"-deep hall & false door showing through the doorway. The bedroom door is on the back left side of the room, opening from the hall. The other rooms have only the door on the L. back wall, except for the kitchen, which has 1 step and a landing (w/handrail on the wall ) up to a door in the back right corner of the room. (BTW, The kit maker I finally found who had the kind of house I wanted and was willing to supply it w/o stairs/stair holes is de Stolp in the Netherlands. They have a web site, and are the most accommodating, helpful, people you could hope to find.)

HMH

Stairs: faux perspective should work for the stairs. I used it in my townhouse kitchen, which had the front door but no windows. Cut a false back wall from foam core, with door and window openings; papered to match the other walls, then inserted Houseworks single French door and large window over the sink. Glued a mirror to the real back wall parallel to the sink and replaced the window "glass" with a stained glass window transparency. Glued a greeting card with a painting of a sunny terrace and walled garden to the left outside the French door, with a "tree branch" (preserved greenery) on the back of the false wall extending into the door's sight line. Put the faux wall in place with about 1/4" space behind it and added moldings to match other walls. The difference in room depth between the kitchen and dining room isn't very noticeable, and it allowed just enough space to provide the perspective illusion, which the light reflected by the mirror behind the stained glass enhances.

Loretta Sniarowski

Stairs: Stair construction is pretty simple using a stringer, riser, and tread. The biggest problem is getting a reasonable angle and appropriate riser/tread ratio - generally 7 in. riser and 9 inch tread for full sized residential construction. That ratio and the 4 ft width chews up a lot a space in a dollhouse. Each of DollHouseDesigns.COM's houses have custom designed stairs. You might be able to get an idea of the stairs by visiting our web site http://www.dollhousedesigns.com. All but the Mary Kay show the stairs (they are small - look close), some straight, some with landing and return or right-turn. I'll be glad to consider custom designing a simple set of stairs for you, contact me directly if we can be of help.

Jon Lash

Stairs: Our club is at the moment working on making stairways.... there are a number of ways to do this, but for realism remember the pitch ratios... 40 degrees is normal for most common stairs, the servants stairs were generally steeper and oddly, narrower (they carried stuff all the time, you'd think they'd be wider) probably 45 to 50 degrees of pitch. Formal wide sweeping stairs were 30 degrees or less. Treads wider and rise shallower.. remember the graceful tiny pitty pat of Scarlet as she ran down to welcome 'whatshisname'? Her skirts aflow and feet going so fast she seemed to glide? Those wide sweeping stairs were very shallow and curved to present an elegant formal impression.

Flying staircases were buttressed from the walls, leaving the visible outer edge virtually unsupported.. Neat trick.... but they were actually supported by massive beams set into the walls each beam holding a step. A triumph of engineering...

My own beef is that most DH stairs are too narrow. They 'look' skimpy, if they were real, they would 'be' skimpy. . the whole effect of a DH can be ruined by stairs that are too narrow. Most kits include stairs with this singular fault. In most real houses, the stair was showcased... miniature makers tend to want to push this important architectural feature into the background.... realistically it was most prominent in the majority of houses.

I suggest you do some research, historical buildings are wonderful for showcasing magnificent staircases... if you can, take a measuring tape with you and tour a few historic homes. Check out the stairs.. Fascinating addition to any miniature home if you take the time to make it right. Secret to good construction is keeping proportions to scale, making your stair nice and wide gives the whole room importance.

Judie - Daytona Beach, FL

Cabinetry: Since you enjoy kits, you could always kit-bash the Chrysnbon Hoosier cabinet. That's how I did cabinets for my townhouse. Just assembled the top section with the faux glass doors, using one shelf in the enclosed section (bottom of section gave the enclosure two shelves) and using the other shelf to finish off the side brackets where the top of the bottom cabinet would be connected if you followed the directions. This gave me an open shelf underneath the cupboard. Since they're in a country-style modern kitchen, that shelf was handy for cookbooks, a radio, spice jars, etc. I used two cabinet tops, which fit along one wall of the kitchen, and then used the bottoms for kitchen islands in other projects. If you're really new, you probably missed last week's discussion on Chrysnbon, but don't be put off by the plastic. The kits make up really nicely with a good paint or stain job. Also, you might just want to use a Hoosier or two instead of installed cabinetry. One of my friends once owned a farm in Kentucky with a very old, unoccupied house (pre- Civil War) she camped out in occasionally. It had absolutely no cabinetry other than the framing around the sink (which pumped well water). I asked her whether someone had stripped it, and she said that she'd been curious too, did some research, and discovered that until the turn of the century few kitchens had any built-ins. That's why Hoosiers and china closets were so popular. Same thing in a house one of my college professors owned -- it had lower cabinets around the sink (nicely marble-topped, too) but the storage was open shelving in a small pantry between the kitchen and dining room.

Loretta Sniarowski

Cabinetry: An exception to the lack of built-in cabinets in late Victorian kitchens is in the grand house. There the butler's pantry and warming or serving kitchen often had wall-hung glass-doored cabinets for china and glass storage, drawers for dishtowels, cutlery, etc., and cabinets below a wooden counter for large serving pieces. A good source for accurate details is William Seale's book "Restoring the Historic House Interior." Another is the same author's "The Tasteful Interlude: American Interiors through the Camera's Eye, 1860-1917." Seale is the White House Historian. Both of these books are out of print, but can probably be found through Alibris, ABEbooks, etc., and certainly through interlibrary loan. Your public library' s architecture, interior design and decorative arts sections should provide you with a wealth of material. Also, Dover Publications has reprinted many works on these subjects that are available through book stores and their on-line catalogue. I have been involved with historic houses for many years as a house museum curator, director and now volunteer, so know the importance of research, research, research if you want an accurate setting. Watching "costume dramas" (unless by BBC) doesn't cut it and isn't necessary -- except for fun - -- when there is so much documentary material available.

Margaret in Texas

Fake Stairwell: Yes, you can put a hint of a stairway against the back wall. You can also save some valuable space 'upstairs' by putting a false wall maybe two inches from the back of the house, with an open door showing a room beyond. Perhaps put just the edge of the toilet bowl or a chair back sticking out into the doorway, so it looks as if there's more back there. This is a good way to use damaged pieces - remove the chair seat, and just glue the back so it sticks out a half inch or so. Cut a toilet shape from 1/4 inch balsa and sand it to round the edges, then paint with Ceram-Coat to make it shiny. A plain closed door glued to the back wall can also give an illusion of rooms beyond, and not use even the two inches of floor space, but that trick works best if you've "set the stage" with other "open" rooms elsewhere.

Dani

Stucco: Although I used StuccoMate for the outside of my lighthouse, I really like using Skid-Tex as it is so durable. It's the stuff that you put in paint to use on steps, boats, etc, to keep the surface from being slick. You can mix in as much Skid-Tex to the paint as you want to get it the texture you want. It doesn't flake or rub off. It's great for textured ceilings!

Carole Pierce in TN

Porch Flooring: you didn't say if your house is supposed to be accurate to a particular period. If not, floor it any way you want. It's your house, so floor it any way you want even if it is a period house! But if you want to be accurate, indoor-outdoor carpeting would not have been available prior to the early 1970s -- it's the domestic equivalent of Astroturf, which came into use then (and which teams like the Reds are now busy ripping out of their stadiums). Other choices: my friend Ronnie's brick house dates to the 1920s, and the front and upstairs sleeping porches are floored with terra cotta tiles. Very attractive and practical -- he hoses 'em down to clean. Or you could use sushi mats or fiber place mats to duplicate sisal or coir flooring, sort of a more rugged, natural version of wall-to-wall carpeting.

Loretta.Sniarowski

White straws (tubing): For the person looking for white straws for drainspouts...you can buy 1/4" white tubing in the lawn and garden section of the big box hardware supply stores. It comes in many colors in fact so it can be used in misting systems and coordinate with house colors.

Jackie

Painting shingles: When I needed just the right color asbestos shingles for my recent project I unrolled the strips of shingles onto newspaper to paint them. First I spray painted the base coat using a flat, quick drying paint. I used light grey as the base coat. After that was dry I used a very quick sweeping spray of the "granite" textured paint in grey with a few black and white specs. The result was perfect!

Karen Golomb

Cutting shingles: For the person trying to do shingles where two surfaces meet - cut some shingle sized pieces of paper or scrap matboard and test fit before cutting the real ones. Easier to experiment with paper and if you mess up you don't waste materials. I'd cut them to butt up against one another rather than overlapping them. But I'm sure there are several ways to do it! I think some people even add a decorative strip of wood.

Bonnie Gibson - Tucson, Arizona

Cutting shingles I'll try to explain your shingling question .... where the 2 roof panels meet, forming that odd angle....take a few shingles, and cut them to fit the angle...it'll take a few to get the angle 'right'...then put some masking tape over the shingle ...mark it with a pen as your 'master'...
Use this 'master' shingle to cut all the rest which will butt up against that angle....the masking tape will help prevent your 'master' piece from splitting. don't forget to stagger where the shingles line up over each other in rows.... I always goof once or twice on that part :)

Laura in OKC

House façade and slate shingles: Wanted to share something I did yesterday that came out really well. Not long ago, I made a garden room in a Joann garden 'birdcage'. I wanted a slate floor and to make it, I used inexpensive, slate-like peel and press flooring tiles. I cut them up and mounted the slates on the underside (sticky side) of another tile. Put spackle in between and then did color washes in green and brown to take away the gloss. Sprinkled on landscape moss while it was wet, etc. Came out great. So, I decided to do something similar with the facade of my dollhouse. I bought a 3/8 plywood shell on eBay. The lady I bought from said it is the American Craft Maplehill; it looks just like the RGT farmhouse. I'm doing it colonial. (I know that's 'wrong'. Don't care. I love that house style and that time period, so I'm mixing them :).)
For the stone facade, I cut up mostly gray tile, but also some browns and beiges, and stuck it right on the primed surface. Stuck really well and looks just as I wanted it to. WAHOO!! When I get a new photo-hosting site, I will post pictures of that, the garden room, my lilies, and some Michael's hutches I've been playing with.

Linda in Leroy, OH

Front Opening Houses: You can get around the landscaping issues by having very low foundation landscaping with the sidewalk directly in front of the house and creating a yard/garden on the side. Cut some windows in the back and cover the outsides with pretty postcards so you are not looking at the wall. Another idea I saw somewhere and an still "thinking on" was a front opening house that had a tiny ledge extending into the room over the floor. Then when you open the front a tiny bit of the room comes away with it. They had small things on it, like perhaps a stool, some vases, and stuff like that. This way the hinged front had sort of a vignette effect.

Linda in GA

Front/back opening houses; In the UK we are more familiar with front opening houses and speaking for myself I prefer to look at the house "face on" with all the curtains "flapping" as it were just as they did in the early days of Baby Houses. The best dolls house makers in the UK will put additional windows in the sides, back, or wherever you want them to maximize light, viewing and realism. The dolls houses they make are usually the basic item (excellent in itself) but customers can make changes or additions to this design to suit their own requirements.
To answer the question about kits having "ready cut parts". It means what it says. The entire house is all cut out so all you have to do is follow the instructions and fix it all together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. With a plywood house of top quality there is minimal sanding or filling of gaps. I have completed a Honeychurch Town House and am working on an Anglesey Victorian shop and after just priming and sanding they were both ready to decorate.

Karon

Front Opening Dollhouses: Following the thread about dollhouses that are front opening. Speaking from the "displaying" point of view for our miniature museum due to open the end of June--they are difficult to display. We have one dollhouse that has a removable front and back and we will hang these pieces above the dollhouse. Another house has hinges on 2 sections of the front. We will also hang these pieces--however, it is a shame to lose the lovely 2nd floor porch area--but to be able to see the interior, it is necessary. We also have a 3 story + dormer apt house with shops on the 1st floor. This building is completely enclosed and the dormer areas lift up. It has a lovely facade which loses a lot when it is opened. We choose not to open the dormers but are opening the two sides. We had to have display bases and covers built for these pieces and displaying is not a "piece of cake." I think front-openings are fine for your own personal use, but for museum display they create some display problems.

This is one reason that my big dollhouse has the front and back solid and the both sides open, with plexi on each floor that can be removed with the simple removal of 2 screws. That way if I want to get into the kitchen, I remove that floor's plexi (about 12" high and 36" wide) and don't have to wrestle with a huge piece of plastic that covers the entire side.

Fay in St. Louis

Front Opening Dollhouses: This is not to try to sway anyone's opinions, but there is much to be said for both styles of mini houses. The N.E. Town House featured on my web site is a front opening style and it was a delight to work in. There are windows in the back. There are 15 windows on the front doors and I always have it closed when someone new comes to see it so they can "window peep" inside. Since it is electrified, it never fails to delight them.

When it was on exhibit twice, I had a piece of Plexiglas which was screwed to the opened front and the doors remained open but could still be seen if desired. It was built in 1980 and I have never had to dust anything in it. The same does not hold true for my "real" house that we live in. I also have a Victorian dh with a tower, which is four sided (like a real house) and it stands in a corner on a table built for it. It is not finished but is a pain to try to turn around even though it stands away from the walls. Those zero-clearance turn tables would be nice, but I don't have one & suspect they are very pricey.

Jeanette in Wisconsin