Began Construction on my Orchid...

[critter]

So I was happy to have about 6 hours free (well, I really should have been doing school work) on Sunday to being sanding and constructing my first DH, the Orchid! I am usually the type of person who likes to make things my own and very personal so i began by following the instructions. things were going very well; I got the windows on and was ready to put the first floor together when I realized that I had glued all of the windows on upside down to the front wall! Way to go! So i had to painstakingly remove the window parts and I have to say that my technique left them in bad condition. I'm actually considering cutting out new borders from some of the spare wood in the kit but I may just try to salvage them with a bit of sanding and wood filler. Any suggestions?

So I stopped for the night after this incident and skimmed through some books I got at the library about DH's. I have to say that my idea of following the instructions for this house has gone flying out the window! I have so many ideas that I had to begin making sketches to remember them all! I am SO excited about this house now that I have decided what I want it to look like and how it is to be decorated. I found some great ideas on the Blogs page from other Orchid builders. I have decided that I LOVE the look of the paper clay stones and went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and bought a bag full of papercaly! I really like the look of stucco as well and may incorporate both into the design somehow. I don't know what time period exactly that this house will be set in but I do know that it is a time before telephones and e-mail. I really want to wire the house and have considered using only oil lamps and candle sticks as lighting so maybe it was a time before electricity. The tenant will be a young woman (much like myself) who enjoys being in the kitchen as well as sewing and knitting by the fire. I have my sketches and have considered uploading them but for now I'll just describe some of my ideas:

I am thinking of a cottage style look for the house with dark wood stain and stucco, brick or stone exterior.

I would really like to fill in the second story window on the opposite side of the house from the bay window and make a stone chimney on one side of the house. Which means that there will be a fireplace in the living room. Do you guys think this can be done?

Also, I have decided to either stain the floors a dark brown color or instal wood flooring. I may go for the easier route which would be to just stain the existing piece of wood rather than adding the wood for the floors. Which do you think would be more in keeping with the cottage look?

Another issue I'm having is with the kitchen. The stove really. I was thinking an older style woodburning stove or something of the sort. Since the chimney is on the other side of the house, in the living room, I was thinking of a stove pipe on the outside of the house. I want the kitchen to look as functional as possible.

I'm also having a battle with myself about a bathroom. Since the house is so small I would like to leave out the second floor wall entirely and maybe put in a wash table (not sure if that is the correct historical term) with a towel rack. i figure an outhouse might be more appropriate for the time period (the very vague time period). I know it sounds funny but I have even considered a small outhouse to put outside the house. Is that vulgar? LOl! Anyway, I'm not crazy about the look of the tiny little bathroom that is usually installed into the house. Plus, I want to have more room to put a sewing area on the second floor. I also saw a great idea where someone used the window seat dormer area to create the look of a bathroom. INGENIOUS! I thought of doing this but I really love the charm of a window seat and don't want to lose the added interest. So I am leaning more towards the wash table and outhouse idea.

So that's what I am thinking so far. Sorry I wrote a book. Thank you for taking the time to read all of this if you made it this far!

If anyone has any tips on paperclay, staining (wood floors or the plywood), electrical, or outhouses I am all ears (or eyes, really). Thanks so much everyone! I will post pictures as soon as the house doesn't look like a pile of plywood lying on the table.

[butlerestates]

Oh it sounds like your having a blast! The idea of an outhouse is not vulgar. If that is the time period you are going with than it's perfect. I like your ideas so far.

I always put in the windows last after I paint the outside and paper or paint the inside. But in the mean time I am always testing them in and out to make sure it all looks ok. Don't feel bad about putting them in upside down it happens.

Last winter my oldest kids wanted to help me build the greenleaf village since we were snowed in. My son who normally makes car models was working right along when he decided he needed help. Besides using like a gallon too much glue he was making the building wrong side out and could not figure out why it would not fit. But we got it all worked worked out.

:lol:

[critter]

Yes, I thought about the windows going in lastly. But that was only after I had gotten them on. I think it is best to put them on before putting any paper clay down. It seems to me that if you put the clay underneath the window area then they would not lay flat and would be raised too far out from the structure. This is why I did not rip all of the window pieces off. Thanks for the tips! I found this product...a miniature outhouse! So apparently my idea is not very vulgar at all! LOL! I think this one is a little to "cabin in the woods" looking for my house (not that I don't adore that style either). But I am thinking of constructing one of my own that is more like the second photo. Would a tiny roll of toilet paper be appropriate for the time period? That would be so cute! But I imagine if there was no running water they probably hadn't invented toilet paper on a roll. Maybe they would have used to old wash cloths/rags or other kind of wool or cloth. Is it creepy that I am analyzing this so much? I'm wierd...

outhouse1.php

[havanaholly]

Christie, lay your exterior window trims in place and trace around them and cut away your paperclay from the tracings and the windows will fit. I masked mine because my Orchid/ general store is spackle "stone".

[butlerestates]

On my house Im doing now the tower is rocked with real rock. So I had to put the windows in place. However I did not glue the inside in so I was able to come back in and paper and the trim just slipped off and right back on. With every house you do you will notice that it may have to be done different depending on how you are going to finish it. This is why I like to plan mine out ahead of time just so those little details are done in the right order. But as with anything in life things change. You may think you have it planned and then change your mind ten times

I don't think it's weird at all to be thinking it all through so thoroughly that's part of what makes this all so fun. I actually thought a pile of leaves close by lol . Maybe you could make the outhouse rock like the real house? not sure I usually do more modern themes because I know that better

[chesterfieldzoo]

Go for the outhouse. If it is geared to before electricity, then there was no indoor plumbing. No toilet paper either. Put an old sears catalog on the seat next to the hole.

Also, for the time period you are going for, the fireplace and stove are the same thing. Don't put in the dividing wall, make it one big room. Pretty much you cook in the living room. Put a small room stove (parlor stove) in the bedroom upstairs. Put a handpump and sink near the fireplace. Where are you going to put the stairs if you put a fireplace in?

[critter]

I've been thinking about those stairs and have decided that I want to include them somewhere in the house. I was thinking of just flipping the second floor to the other side and have the stairs coming up the left side of the house rather than the right. I began constructing the chimney and fireplace last night and I almost lost a finger so construction came to a halt. Plus, I have a few other things to think about before I move on. I'm not sure that I want to eliminate the kitchen all together. I do understand the time period discrepancies but maybe they woman is living in this secluded cottage just after the invention of electricity and her home has not been updated to modern times? I may need to do quite a bit of research if it is to be perfect. Maybe that's what I'll do while my finger is healing! LOL! (btw, it's ALL worth it!) Thanks for all the suggestions and keep 'em coming!

[havanaholly]

One of the really neat things about the Orchid is that it'll let you do just about anything you want to with it.