Props Building a Doll House for RealPuki

So I've begun a huge project of building a doll house!
It will be scaled to fit Fairyland RealPuki (which I don't have, but I will someday!)
I've been wanting to build a doll house for some time, but I couldn't find any kits in the right size that I liked, so I decided to make one from scratch.
It's still in the planning stages ATM. I was originally going to install lighting, but now I'm thinking that it would be too complicated for my first time building a doll house. Plus it would probably save me a lot of money that I could be using to buy a RealPuki...
My original design also included a dormer window, which I've omitted as well in order to simplify things.
Anywhoo! For the base of the house, I'm using 1/4" (6 mm) thick wood, 1/8" (3 mm) thick wood, and I'll be putting the pieces together with wood glue (and possibly nails for extra support).
It's taken me hours to plan out the measurements (it's proved to be a lot more complicated than I thought) and I've already sketched out most of the pieces directly on the wood.

 

Here are a couple pictures. I'll be cutting out the pieces with an electric saw and then fastening them together.

 

Yeah, it'll be interesting. I've spent a lot of extra time planning out how things will fit together already, and have incorporated that into the measurements, so I think I've eliminated a lot of the unsurety.

 

Probably takes about the same time as my method :P I've spent waaay too many hours contemplating my measurements. All for the best, I suppose.

I'll be cutting out the wood tonight hopefully, after dinner :P

 

Just finished cutting the pieces, now to see how well they fit together.

 

Imperfections happen! (Even to perfectionists!)
These pieces are gonna need a bit of trimming. Tomorrow. I'm tired! Thankfully this pile isn't very large :P

Tomorrow I'll also hopefully fasten all the pieces together. I'm filming this whole process as well, and it's going to go up on YouTube.

 

Started the gluing process! First floor in progress.

 

First & second floors have been glued together, only the attic is left. I would have finished the whole gluing process already if I wouldn't have had to go to work. :/ I may have to pick up some supplies tomorrow. We'll see.


Hujoo Nano Rabi (named Loki) for scale.

 

I've just finished gluing the pieces together! The first episode of my progress will be uploaded to my YouTube channel tomorrow.
I have to wait until next week to get more supplies, so I'll have to wait to work on it until after that.
A list of things left to get:
~ channel molding
~ corner molding
~ doorknobs
~ railing posts
~ more wood for siding & stairs
~ shingles
~ hinges
~ dowels
Next episode, I will be adding siding, stairs, flooring, & shingles. (I am breaking down the process into steps in order to make episodes for my YT channel. Episode 2 will probably be released in 2 weeks.)

 

The style is going to be inspired by old fashioned houses & fairy gardens. I want it to look like it was built in the mid to late 1800s but I also want it to look like it was built by fairies. All the wood trimmings, flooring & shingles will be stained a earthy wood color that reminds me of pine trees. The siding will be painted green, and the wallpaper will be green as well with an old fashioned print.
As for furniture, I plan on making some of it myself, as well as using some that I've bought. I hope to make a bed, table & bookshelf.

 

First episode is up!

 

Haha, thanks! I do my best

 

I started putting in the flooring since I already had the material & time. Just using some popcicle sticks, and I'm using a garden pruning tool thing to cut the pieces. (It's easier than scissors)
I think I'll have to decorate the closet before I put in the stairs.

 

Finished the second floor last night. Still contemplating if I want to do the same with the third floor.
I had some trouble with my camera battery so I wasn't able to film everything. At least I got some of it.
I also worked on the closet, adding flooring and a baseboard. I'll have to paint the closet before I proceed with putting in the stairs.
Ugh, I can't wait to get to the decorating! It looks so boring right now

 

Haha, I'm *kind of* a perfectionist. I have a very clear image in my mind of what it needs to look like and I try to do everything I can to get it as close to that image as possible. I was really worried that the closet wouldn't look good!

 

Just started putting in the attic floor. I was hesitant about it because I wasn't sure if I even wanted wood flooring up there.
Anywhoo I also just ordered a bunch of stuff from miniatures.com and I hope to stop by Hobby Lobby sometime to get the rest of the stuff I need.
I've also been working on some furniture/decorations (posted on my Instagram)

 

Thanks everyone! I got really behind when school started. I did work on it but I didn't post anything because I was too busy. But!! It's winter break!! And!! I have been working on it!!!
I now present to you, the dollhouse, fully roofed, floored, stained, and wallpapered, awaiting the baseboards and etc. moldings.





Also, I've been working on making some furniture, and recently just finished this little shelf for the closet.


I started carving the doors, which will also need to be trimmed soon on account of the moldings that will cover the edges of the doorways.
I made a list of things to do to finish this bad boy, and it's looooooooooong. But it definitely helps! I can see how close I am to finishing, and it keeps me on track. Next up I'm going to finish things I've already started- carving the doors and painting the ceilings.

I still haven't decided what to use for the siding. I was originally going to use wood like the rest of the building but I can't find any that's thin enough. Cardboard would be thin enough, but not exactly water proof. Any ideas? I'd be super grateful!!

 

Thanks! I did search up dollhouse siding, but I need it to be a certain thickness and either they don't give the measurement or it's too thick? Anyways I actually did find something that seems to be thin enough, I'll have to test it with the moldings I have first tho.

 

Hey folks, just wanted to let you know I'm finally working on episode 2 after all. It's gonna take me a while to edit because I have a crap ton of footage that I need to re-watch.

Edit:

Just to give you an idea, I've broken up the footage I have currently into 2 episodes. Episode 2 of the series, unedited, has 3 hours of footage, not including all the videos I chose to omit. Episode 3 will be potentially shorter, but I haven't even started editing that yet.
Oh god what have I gotten myself into...

 

Picked up this project again recently. Aside from installing the siding, there isn’t much left to do. I still want to make some furniture and props tho.
Anyway I’ve continued installing the siding. It really doesn’t take much time or effort, it’s just boring. But I’m like 2/3 done with the first wall, so that’s like 1/4 done for all the walls. I have to order new corner moldings because the ones I got are just a mm too short.
I also ordered some 1/16” plexiglass on amazon for the windows.
Yesterday I decided on a whim I wanted to make a fireplace for the living room, since I can’t find one that’s the right size. Started with a cardboard base that I hot glued together, then added apoxy to make the cobblestone. This is a tedious process so I’ll finish sculpting the rest tomorrow. Then I’ll paint it and add a stained wooden mantle with some nice little knick knacks.

 

Yep, I used Apoxy. I'll have to upload some more pictures of the fireplace and furniture that I finished recently.
I finally started a layaway on the RealPuki I want! I've been dead set on getting a tan one and they finally had one in stock on DDE. It'll be a couple months till I finish the layaway, I wonder if I can finish it sooner though?

 

It’s a Papilio! At first I was gonna get a Different one but then I fell for Papilio’s adorable little smirk.

 

I built a bakery out of cardboard several years ago, for 1/6 scale dolls, but I wasn’t going for a realistic look with that one. This is my first real dollhouse, and I’m learning lots of new things while working on it.

 

Thanks! I'm so glad it inspired you! Dollhouses aren't difficult to make, they just take a long time if you want them to look good. I was hoping I would finish this sooner, but I'm not surprised that it's taken me almost two years to get thus far. It's a big project and I've gotten a lot busier since I started making it :P Still, it's a lot of fun when I have time for it.

 

I was 16 or 17 I think, when I started this project. I was still in high school so that’s part of why it took me so long, but also I set it aside for a while and just kinda forgot about it. Lol. I actually consulted my dad on some things, since he has architectural skills; my initial sketches were a little off, but I kept checking them, and picturing how things would fit together in my head, and then adjusting things accordingly before I actually cut anything out. There was at least a week of planning before anything was finalized, as well as numerous sketches before the planning stage where I just played around with the design. There were actually a few pieces I cut wrong, but again, that was more due to my inexperience with the saw I used than with the measurements/blueprint. I’ve been good at figuring things out on my own mostly because I am a visual person. It’s a skill that’s hard to explain. I can picture a finished product and take apart this pieces in order to see what I need to make something happen- it’s actually kind of fun, which is why I get more enjoyment out of figuring things out on my own rather than using instructions.

 

I've moved three times in the last four years and brought this project with me through each move. The last time I worked on it was in 2022 to continue the siding, and last night I finally finished the trickiest part of the siding that involved a lot of angled cuts.

I've had plenty of time to plan how I'm going to continue this project and problem solve a couple issues I encountered. I've stopped feeling upset at myself for not finishing this project and am letting myself enjoy working on it without guilt.

today I am going to paint it with the paint I bought for it nearly 9 years ago and then we can get on to some other parts of the house.

 

The first coat of paint went on! It was thinner than expected and I knew immediately it would take at least two coats.


Luckily the first coat dried quickly and I was able to immediately paint the second coat, after which I let the whole thing dry.
The next day I came back to inspect the coverage and decided it needed one more coat so I whipped out my brushes and slapped some more paint on there. I wasn't being too meticulous about avoiding painting the roofing but I did tape off some areas for ease of mind.

Success! I'm happy the paint is still usable after all this time. The color is Absinthe Dreams by Valspar in satin. I would definitely prefer a different brand for painting my own house but that's me being a construction nerd.

I also realized multiple times that I really should have done the siding first before the roofing as it would have made measuring the angled cuts much easier, but the only thing atp I could do was keep going.

Now that the siding is completely done I can move onto adding in the trim. However, I need to source some new trims since the ones I had bought for the project are not the right size.