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What style dollhouses would you like?


mesp2k

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Mike, yes old world European stuff would be great, but also the proper French townhouse or chateau, more like the picture.

It wouldn't need to be as fancy, as mouldings can be purchased to fancy them up, but it would be great to have the basic structure right for the style.

There are a few kits around that could be used, such as the Barbara's Mouldings houses, but my biggest gripe is that they have low (sometimes 8") ceilings, which is not at all architecturally correct. Also, sometimes things like the exterior or interior decoration, windows/doors and roofline are wrong.

Other things: windows on the sides/back as appropriate to the house, not just the front door. Not too big, but big enough to have a few grand rooms. More than one room deep is good too. The Real Good Toys Thornhill is a good example. And I am more than happy with half scale (no more full scale for me I'm afraid, unless I move into a real life chateau).

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I love all these plans! I have to go with the fantasy or exotic houses myself.

My favs would be all Lazer-cut ;) not cut-fingers..like I have ;P

A elven castle or something Rivendale like Link

Old fantasy English homes such as Skyrim games Link

Things of ancient Asian or Indian culture or carved homes Link

Maybe some wonky homes/ Whoville homes~Link

My guess is with the advancements of 3D printing these things will become easier to have come in a kit. Untill then..finger cuts ;(

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Ooooo I LOVE art nouveau! My favourite time period for design (we have decorated in an art nouveau style in our real home). I actually have plans for an art nouveau cottage that we saw in Vannes, France.

Either way, something a bit different from what's available. And tall ceilings!!

Here is a picture of our vintage light we had rewired for our loungeroom, and our art nouveau cornice.

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I was just thinking more smaller house designs. I like working on something that doesn't take me 5 years to complete. I get bored easily. Also lack of storage space makes smaller designs more attractive. I would love to see that GL Castle again.....I would make that in a heartbeat! :)

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I was just thinking more smaller house designs. I like working on something that doesn't take me 5 years to complete. I get bored easily. Also lack of storage space makes smaller designs more attractive. I would love to see that GL Castle .....I would make that in a heartbeat! :)

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I would also love some Asian or Indian designs but what about other purpose buildings. If you saw the CSI miniature killer episodes. They made a chicken slaughtering plant. Creepy but challenging. What about factories or an apartment building. I ran across a four story house once that would have made a great apartment building. The boss wouldn't take the leash off.

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Art Deco dollhouse plan here pg114

Thank you so much for the link. Alas I already have the 'plans' for that 1937 house - if you can call them plans! To me (a novice) 'plan' suggests something drawn on paper, say, usually actual size, that you then place on wood or foam board, carefully cut out, and then assemble Easy peasy!

The plan given for that totally gorgeous wee house is unfathomable. A lot of measurements, and a few artist's impressions of the parts and of the finished house. No kidding, if anyone here can build that house from those plans without any trouble, I salute them. The other day I found a thread about building this very house, dating back to August 2012 (I think). Two members posted that they were about to tackle this house. WHEE! thought I. Finally! I eagerly replied to their posts by asking how each project was coming along. Not long after I noticed that the lady OP had never again posted in regard to the art deco house.... I'd love to know if they actually managed to transfer those measurements to paper/wood, and better still, if they were able to build the house. Does anyone know?

Also - am I the only one that finds those plans scary? I can't fathom them LOL. Beautiful wee house, though. I'd love to make one.

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Pauline, the house plan Mike linked to is in a 1930s copy of Mechanics Illustrated, and back then a daddy with a woodworking hobby could take that article and some 1/4" graph paper and draw up a lovely set of plans to build the house from. I find it interesting that it was intended to have walls on all four sides with some of the walls removable for the child to play with it. If I were going to invest the time to draft those plans I think I'd leave off the removable walls.

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Thank you so much for the link. Alas I already have the 'plans' for that 1937 house - if you can call them plans! To me (a novice) 'plan' suggests something drawn on paper, say, usually actual size, that you then place on wood or foam board, carefully cut out, and then assemble Easy peasy!

The plan given for that totally gorgeous wee house is unfathomable. A lot of measurements, and a few artist's impressions of the parts and of the finished house. No kidding, if anyone here can build that house from those plans without any trouble, I salute them. The other day I found a thread about building this very house, dating back to August 2012 (I think). Two members posted that they were about to tackle this house. WHEE! thought I. Finally! I eagerly replied to their posts by asking how each project was coming along. Not long after I noticed that the lady OP had never again posted in regard to the art deco house.... I'd love to know if they actually managed to transfer those measurements to paper/wood, and better still, if they were able to build the house. Does anyone know?

Also - am I the only one that finds those plans scary? I can't fathom them LOL. Beautiful wee house, though. I'd love to make one.

:hmm:Pauline

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A couple of years ago someone posted a proposed kit for a castle by Greenleaf. I wonder what happened to it? Was it ever made? I have always wanted to build that castle ever since I saw the idea. I did make a small one from a puzzle kit but its not the same.

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Pauline, the house plan Mike linked to is in a 1930s copy of Mechanics Illustrated, and back then a daddy with a woodworking hobby could take that article and some 1/4" graph paper and draw up a lovely set of plans to build the house from. I find it interesting that it was intended to have walls on all four sides with some of the walls removable for the child to play with it. If I were going to invest the time to draft those plans I think I'd leave off the removable walls.

I sourced that magazine and the various doll's house plans it displays last July - it came up when I googled 'art deco doll's house'. I saved the pages as shown. Every time I looked at them I thought, no way. Too difficult. A couple of months later on Pinterest an American girl was selling the same thing described as easy to follow 'plans'. I thought, what the heck? And bought them. Predictably, the paid-for download turned out to be the exact same, freely-available 'measurements alongside artist's impressions' I already had! I realise that the component parts are meant to be copied onto some kind of paper - graph paper, as you suggest, being the most likely, and for someone who knows what they're doing that process, and indeed building the house itself, would probably be simplicity itself. To me it represents a lot of hassle. Definitely not a beginner project!

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...A couple of months later on Pinterest an American girl was selling the same thing described as easy to follow 'plans'. I thought, what the heck? And bought them. Predictably, the paid-for download turned out to be the exact same, freely-available 'measurements alongside artist's impressions' I already had!

I saw that on Ebay & thought, "she's not just selling a copy of the article?" -thanks for the heads-up!

Post #44 above shows a 3D drawing I did of the PM'37 Art Deco dh - I started drawing plans from that virtual model. I'll post them as I go? :)

Sample:

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I think the Art Deco house plan is neat, but I noticed the second story is only 5" high--and the kitchen/dining wing is only 6", but the living room is quite large--I couldn't figure out if this is supposed to be half-inch scale or maybe just doesn't commit to a specific scale at all?--Are you going to commit it to a certain scale, Mike?

I think I would like a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie style...as others have mentioned and from what is posted in the gallery, the current GL/Corona line can be bashed into almost anything imaginable!

Tappy

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I think the Art Deco house plan is neat, but I noticed the second story is only 5" high--and the kitchen/dining wing is only 6", but the living room is quite large--I couldn't figure out if this is supposed to be half-inch scale or maybe just doesn't commit to a specific scale at all?--Are you going to commit it to a certain scale, Mike?

I think I would like a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie style...as others have mentioned and from what is posted in the gallery, the current GL/Corona line can be bashed into almost anything imaginable!

Tappy

It seems uncommitted. :) I didn't want to mess with the plan too much, so its a weird 1/12 scale?? I guess you crawl into the loft-like bedroom & fall asleep & as far as the kitchen & dining room go - they must order in or dine out a lot?

I had to guess at a lot of stuff...

In the 3D drawing above (post#44) I did increased the height of all the ceilings.

For the 29" x 18" footprint half scale would allow for better room sizes.

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