KristinO Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 I received this Pierce dollhouse when I was a child. I remember staining the floor, gluing the wallpaper and saving up my money to buy some furniture. It got pretty beat up when I moved to a new state as a young adult but I decided to hold onto it. When I had children I bought more furniture and shingled the roof. Over the years the house began to lose pieces here and there. This past year we did a house renovation on our home and I decided to do one on the dollhouse. My husband actually paid someone to sand the globs of glue, prime and restore the gingerbread trim and porch. The first two photos are images of the house and it’s missing trim. The next two are of the renovated dollhouse. It’s up to me to finish the rest of the house. I’d love some advice: First, the inside is very dusty, including the windows, what do you recommend I clean it with? (I’ve vacuumed, and wiped with a wet cloth but the cloth tears so easily on the interior). What type of paint for the exterior? Some of the old wallpaper is discolored, is it best to remove it? Anyone else with this house, what scale furniture do you suggest? I have some 1:1 beds I bought when my kids played with it but they seem very large for the rooms. Lastly, any suggestions for a base for the house? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 (edited) Whilst you're waiting for replies you can post us an introduction in the Newcomers' Forum, Kristin. 13 hours ago, KristinO said: ...I’d love some advice: First, the inside is very dusty, including the windows, what do you recommend I clean it with? (I’ve vacuumed, and wiped with a wet cloth but the cloth tears so easily on the interior). What type of paint for the exterior? Some of the old wallpaper is discolored, is it best to remove it? Anyone else with this house, what scale furniture do you suggest? I have some 1:1 beds I bought when my kids played with it but they seem very large for the rooms. Lastly, any suggestions for a base for the house?... "...sand the globs of glue"? Sounds like it was originally built with hot glue. Globs are only one of the reasons we who build Greenleaf kits STRONGLY advise new members to NEVER build with hot glue; a good carpenters' wood glue is a far better choice, and use strips of masking or blue painter's tape to hold parts together whilst the glue dries. You might try warm water with a few drops of dish soap on your windows and rinse them off. If your wallpaper is discolored I betcha no one primed the interior originally; over several years the natural acids in bare wood plus the chemicals used to treat the plywood will leach out and "burn" wallpaper. Depending on what was originally used to stick the paper to the walls you can wet it with a solution of water and white vinegar and remove it with a paint scraper, and when it's dry sand it smooth and prime it. I use interior latex paint for both interior and exterior, since none of my houses live outdoors. The Pierce is designed to be 1:12 scale (1" = 12"/ 1'), so a 1:1 bed wouldn't really fit lol. Like 1:1 furniture, however, 1:12 furniture comes in different sizes; the sectional sofa in my middle son's townhouse would completely fill my livingroom. I usually wind up making furniture to fit whatever house I'm building. If I want a board to set a house on I see what leftovers hardware stores have; lately I've been using the leftovers from the walls of my workshop and cutting one to size when I want one, and if it's big enough I landscape it, like my farmyard for my farmhouse: Edited December 28, 2020 by havanaholly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinO Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 On 12/28/2020 at 9:47 AM, havanaholly said: Whilst you're waiting for replies you can post us an introduction in the Newcomers' Forum, Kristin. "...sand the globs of glue"? Sounds like it was originally built with hot glue. Globs are only one of the reasons we who build Greenleaf kits STRONGLY advise new members to NEVER build with hot glue; a good carpenters' wood glue is a far better choice, and use strips of masking or blue painter's tape to hold parts together whilst the glue dries. You might try warm water with a few drops of dish soap on your windows and rinse them off. If your wallpaper is discolored I betcha no one primed the interior originally; over several years the natural acids in bare wood plus the chemicals used to treat the plywood will leach out and "burn" wallpaper. Depending on what was originally used to stick the paper to the walls you can wet it with a solution of water and white vinegar and remove it with a paint scraper, and when it's dry sand it smooth and prime it. I use interior latex paint for both interior and exterior, since none of my houses live outdoors. The Pierce is designed to be 1:12 scale (1" = 12"/ 1'), so a 1:1 bed wouldn't really fit lol. Like 1:1 furniture, however, 1:12 furniture comes in different sizes; the sectional sofa in my middle son's townhouse would completely fill my livingroom. I usually wind up making furniture to fit whatever house I'm building. If I want a board to set a house on I see what leftovers hardware stores have; lately I've been using the leftovers from the walls of my workshop and cutting one to size when I want one, and if it's big enough I landscape it, like my farmyard for my farmhouse: Thank you HavanaHolly for your tips. You are right, my Pierce dollhouse built with lots of hot melt glue back in the 80’s. I can’t recall if that is what was advised but that’s what was done. We actually still have the glue gun! Also, the interior was never primed under the wallpaper so that’s most likely why the wallpaper is discolored. I’m getting the windows clean with your solution of dish soap, so thank you for that tip. I bought some foam board for a temporary base. Love your dollhouse! I like the idea of landscaping too. I haven’t tried working in the wallpaper yet. I also have to buy exterior paint. I was pretty sure I wanted blue/white but I’ve seen so many other color combinations on the site that I may change my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 5 hours ago, KristinO said: ...I also have to buy exterior paint... Why do you "have" to buy exterior paint? Are you planning on leaving the dollhouse outside? I find that flat finish white INTERIOR latex (emulsion for our UK members) paint in white works for me as both primer and white finish coat, or I can tint it with some of my acrylic paints from the tubes to get whatever color I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinO Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 Lol, I meant paint the exterior of the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natosha Jacobs Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Great ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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