Monday, April 25, 2016

Houseworks Double Room Box......DONE!





Here it is.  Months and months later.....I finally get the chance to write about my room box! It is the Houseworks Double Room Box from The Little Dollhouse Company that you have scene in numerous mini scenes, just never as a finished whole in photos.


Walls and Doors


There were a few challenges.  The walls are really, really thin plywood.  So, I had to smear a thing layer of wood filler all over them and sand them smooth.  Then prime and paint.  I believe this is the wall colour of my bedroom!  

The thin walls meant the door frames just seemed to jut out way too far into the opposite room.  I corrected this with thin wood trim that sat sandwiched between the wall and the door frames. This made the thickness of the frame relatively equal on both sides of the wall.  I had similar issues on the front door too, but I had more framing and bits to play with so, I could hide it better.

Then, there was the floor and the bottom of the door frames.  Notice the right side of the room box is higher then the left? That's because I lay a thin plywood subfloor on the right side.  Again, the door frame base seemed SO high above the the wood floor.  And these are Houseworks doors I might add!

The whole bag of weirdness left me thinking, what the heck is wrong with this?? It's the same manufacturer! 

Whatever.  That's what morning runs to Michael's with my 50% off one item coupon is for.  Wood and more wood and glue.


Left Room 
Right Room

Floors


The floors are stir sticks.  There a bit more narrow then regular popsicle sticks.  And I wasn't in the mood for veneer.

They were stained in Minwax Classic Grey and finished with a satin polyurethane. 





FUN TIP!


Have a bench vice? You can clamp reasonably 6 popsicle sticks in them....just catch the rounded ends in the vice...tighten very snug....then pull each stick forward one by one to get a clean break that nips off the end! Repeat on the other end of the stick.  You can knock out tons of sticks in a short time.  It does work for snapping any length you might subsequently like, rather then hand cut, but beware if you tighten it too snug, the vice might leave an imprint on the wood.
Photo: Lowes.com
http://www.lowes.com/pd_552524-281-4935507_1z11pbc__?productId=50168501&pl=1

The Exterior


You make recall a past post about egg carton stone, well, there is the finished product!  The cinder blocks are coarse sandpaper.  In fact, the cinder block area is really the wood base I mounted the room box on.  It was a smart move.  It makes the structure very secure and sound given the thinness of the plywood.






The Front Door


I grabbed a cute battery operated light for the front door.  And as soon as I turned it on, the on/off tab broke.  Usable, but I now need the tip of the craft knife to move the switch.  It was perfect for 30 seconds...and then I had to go and touch it.  Ha.

The house numbers are kind of fun.  I keep my tiny minis in small divided tray containers.  The dividers are movable....but I have so many I used on as the slightly frosted plastic back for my house numbers!  It's suspended off the wall using jewelry findings (the long metal sticks with the flat ends for earrings).  The numbers are jewelry charms from ebay....I just nipped the loop off the top, sanded and painted a flat silver. 






And......


One last shot of the air conditioner on the roof.  I might add that I realize I never added vents or light switches in the room box as I wrote this post.  Gah!!!






I hope you enjoyed this drawn out and painful saga!


15 comments :

  1. Well I definitely enjoyed the tour! You handled the challenges beautifully, it's got a modern vibe while still exhibiting the quality of craftsmanship in the moldings and doors. I love how you've used it as the backdrop for many fun scenes without giving the whole thing away! It was fun trying to piece it together! Can't wait for more of your fun and witty brand of creativity!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jodi! The blend of modern/classic is something I love....even in my own home. You should see my living room, classically styled but with cheeky modern art and a few medical models here and there.

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  2. Has hecho un bonito trabajo. Estupendo el suelo y me encanra como queda el exterior.

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  3. It looks fantastic! I can well imagine how frustrating it was dealing with thin walls when dealing with doors and windows. It looks great, despite your frustrations. Love the house numbers. The vise is a smart idea (this is coming from someone who cut each of the sticks for her floors one at a time!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Claudia. You build looks amazing! And yes, the floors are the most mind numbing task (that and gluing them down). No amount of TV watching and mini making makes it an easy task

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  4. It's so pretty...and I love that floor! Gorgeous greys!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Sheila. I kinda wish my real life floors were grey now!

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  5. Hi Kat! There is so much to LOVE about this project and I'll start first with your choice of a color scheme for the interior and the exterior. The neutral grey pallet gives the interior a fresh urban cool and yet grey can look "warm" too, judging by the past decorating which you have done within this roombox. It is sophisticated as well as family friendly, and I love it! Also I love how you contrived the house numbers... Very VERY Clever!
    I can appreciate your dilemma (as well as your solution)of how to eat up the excess wood showing around the door frame and the threshold. You did a Great Job with that and your Fabulous floors too! Everything looks Smashing and the Perfect vehicle for your Wonderfully Creative displays. :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth! I figured that if the pallet works in my real life house, then it should work in mini...and I think it did! Plus, I save on paint.

      I now cannot wait to have the same issues with the windows/doors with my next build....but at least I know what to do

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  6. I love your colour choices - the walls are gorgeous paired with the white and the floor looks fab in that warm, muted grey. Nice exterior detail too. The number plate is snazzy! =0)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Pepper! (and I'm glad you're back blogging!!!!).

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  7. Nice job :)

    I love that shade of gray, I wanted to paint my bedroom that color, but after all the painting at my daughter's house I wasn't up for the task.

    Clever idea for the house numbers, it's very modern and classy.

    Do you have light switches and vents already? If not, I'll send you some.

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    Replies
    1. OMG! Really? That would be absolutely fab. I was at a stand still trying to figure out what to do with the vents and switches. You're awesome

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