May 12, 2022

Fairfield #Dollhouse Progress Update!



 I know, it's been awhile, but it takes a lot of planning doing this house and lots of trimming. So much wood to paint and cut! Here's the side I'm working on. Don't be too disappointed; I've only got stuff done on the bottom two rooms though the tower and hall on other side is papered; what will be the kitchen is part papered and I'll be working on that soon. (click photos for full size.)

I found with this house that to do one thing you have to do a bunch of other things first. First electric, then wallpapers, then floor, then put in door trim before adding wainscot trim. The parlor alcove inner roof had to be painted and the inside papered, and all windows done before it's attached. That's next. 

Then...  I painted the outer windows on the alcove sections a lighter purple and... I didn't like it.  

Nothing harder/worse than repainting windows already attached but at least it was doable. (Ignore any sloppy parts that have to be touched up and there will be strip trim added top and bottom also.) The lower wall is beige/tan mixed with some sand. The inner windows are all the same color. The outside parts of the windows are now a cherry red.  The window in the second floor tower on the other side got cut out for a door, too, so that's the door color as well. It's not looking too Halloween at this point, but the decor will be. Well, you  have to go with what feels right and I've done enough purple and orange already on other projects. Time for a color change.

The inside is the fun part - the designing. The worse is all the awful trimming and wood to cut. Then I lose pieces and have to re-cut and repaint. ha!

I had these scrapbook papers saved and really liked the blackboard effect of the floral print. Plus the floor has circle designs with a part shiny surface. So black and white is the theme in these two rooms. The dining room floor is the black/white tile paper I seem to use in every house. I wanted to do matching papers since the two rooms join. The dining room on the right has to have trim and windows put in. There's also a strip on the wall dividing the two rooms.



The ceiling is a textured paper I had a few pieces of. It gives it a kind of old-fashioned Victorian feel. 

I love the alcove. I have trim for the bottom of the wall once it's attached. 


I used a pearly stone paper on the front and side panel of the fireplace on the first floor between the rooms. I'll put a thin white wood trim around the top. I decided to cover a piece of mat board also with the stone paper for the hearth instead of using the thicker wood pieces from the kit.

The front of the fireplace will be kind of different. I found these beads ages ago at a shop at the Renaissance Faire and saved them for a project. They got cut in half, so I can use the bottom designs on the other side. I'll paint all the wood pieces and the shaped trim black.



Ceiling in dining room. That split wall on left will be divided from the striped wall with a painted wood strip between the rooms.

It's know it's not a lot done, but it's taken a while to get to this point. Feeling better about this project as I go on.

The kitchen next to the tower on the other side will have an orange floral paper and a orange/green tile print floor paper. Since it has an old-fashioned look, I wasn't sure what style the kitchen would be. The stairs are made but once I saw this stove and sink set from Teresa's Miniature Creations at the last dollhouse show, I knew I had to have an old-fashioned kitchen. I'll be using the vintage Tootsietoy metal refrigerator that I have instead of the one shown here and have to order the sink since she ran out of that kit at the show. (Thanks to Terri Shuping Correll of the FB Half Scale group for the photo.)


So, slow progress but getting there. Hopefully I'll have more details to show soon. Thanks for stopping by!