Where do you keep your H-I-P (House in progress)

[KatFord]

I have a very large doll house, my studio is in the basement, once it's done it will be moved upstairs. It certainly is easy to work on the house while it's in the studio with me, painting, glue, drilling, etc. But I worry that once it's all done and we try to carry it up the stairs it will break things off, or the wiring, which is always a little weak, will come apart. Do you set your houses up in there permanent locations will working on them or leave them where you work and move them after? 

Thanks! 
Kim

[KathieB]

All of my houses have been moved more than once, some in long distance interstate moves. Tweaking them back into shape is  part of the deal.

[havanaholly]

I build mine in a dedicated space and then move them where they're going to go.  I have also moved mine a few times.  I built a couple of them whilst traveling in our RV.

[KatFord]

2 hours ago, havanaholly said:

I build mine in a dedicated space and then move them where they're going to go.  I have also moved mine a few times.  I built a couple of them whilst traveling in our RV.

 

5 hours ago, KathieB said:

All of my houses have been moved more than once, some in long distance interstate moves. Tweaking them back into shape is  part of the deal.

Thank you both. I've gone back and forth over this. Every time I think I've decided to move I talk myself out of it. Then I get nervous again. I was just curious how everyone else managed. 

Kim 

[KathieB]

Kim, you just do what you need to do and sort out the doll houses later.  

[Khadi]

I moved mine in personal vehicles (a friend's SUV) rather than have movers move them.  I recommend keeping a supply of spare shingles since they seem to take the most beating.  I agree with Kathie.  Making minor repairs after houses are moved is just part of owning them.  A lot of the wood, especially the trim, is fragile and is just going to get broken from time to time.

[KatFord]

3 minutes ago, Khadi said:

I moved mine in personal vehicles (a friend's SUV) rather than have movers move them.  I recommend keeping a supply of spare shingles since they seem to take the most beating.  I agree with Kathie.  Making minor repairs after houses are moved is just part of owning them.  A lot of the wood, especially the trim, is fragile and is just going to get broken from time to time.

 

6 minutes ago, KathieB said:

Kim, you just do what you need to do and sort out the doll houses later.  

It's my first big build and I'm just nervous. I've only completed the one room and I was worried the electrical would go wonky and stuff would break. One miniaturist I watch on Youtube has her all set up in it's finally resting place and she works on it from there. That's what gave me the idea. 

Thanks! 
Kim

[fov]

Kim, since you said the house is "very large," have you checked to make sure it'll fit through the doorways it needs to? That's my one worry about building a big house in one spot and then trying to move it to another spot. (I work in half scale, so I don't have to deal with that!)

I have moved from one irl house to another a few times, with the dollhouses in my car and my husband's truck. (And my dog sharing the back seat!) They've all been local moves. The idea of putting the dollhouses in a moving truck terrifies me.

 

[KatFord]

10 minutes ago, fov said:

Kim, since you said the house is "very large," have you checked to make sure it'll fit through the doorways it needs to?

 

The shell has been moved through all the doorways so it does fit. My first build was the Aster Cottage and that one is easy to cart around. 

Cute puppy!! 

Kim

[Kells]

I have a house that won't fit through any standard-sized interior door. What a nightmare. It resides in the garage, gathering dust. I can't post pics of it, sorry; I signed an NDA. A talented craftsman built a full-on 1:12 replica of a Victorian house museum and then donated it to them. 7,000 hand-laid bricks and by my calculation (multiplying pieces per square inch) over 100,000 pieces of parquet.

Guess what, Victorians had narrower doors than the modern day, and they couldn't even get it indoors! It languished in storage for a few years until a docent offered to give it to me. They really should not have given it away (hence the NDA), but it was a stone around their necks. Stupidly, I gleefully took it only to find out it would have to live in my dining room or living room because I didn't measure first!! Not going to happen.

[KatFord]

1 hour ago, Kells said:

I have a house that won't fit through any standard-sized interior door. What a nightmare. It resides in the garage, gathering dust. I can't post pics of it, sorry; I signed an NDA. A talented craftsman built a full-on 1:12 replica of a Victorian house museum and then donated it to them. 7,000 hand-laid bricks and by my calculation (multiplying pieces per square inch) over 100,000 pieces of parquet.

Guess what, Victorians had narrower doors than the modern day, and they couldn't even get it indoors! It languished in storage for a few years until a docent offered to give it to me. They really should not have given it away (hence the NDA), but it was a stone around their necks. Stupidly, I gleefully took it only to find out it would have to live in my dining room or living room because I didn't measure first!! Not going to happen.

Wow! That is pretty cool! Sad you can't get it in your house, but I would love to see that, it sounds incredible! 

Kim

 

[steiconi]

8 hours ago, Kells said:

I have a house that won't fit through any standard-sized interior door. What a nightmare. It resides in the garage, gathering dust. I can't post pics of it, sorry; I signed an NDA. A talented craftsman built a full-on 1:12 replica of a Victorian house museum and then donated it to them. 7,000 hand-laid bricks and by my calculation (multiplying pieces per square inch) over 100,000 pieces of parquet.

Guess what, Victorians had narrower doors than the modern day, and they couldn't even get it indoors! It languished in storage for a few years until a docent offered to give it to me. They really should not have given it away (hence the NDA), but it was a stone around their necks. Stupidly, I gleefully took it only to find out it would have to live in my dining room or living room because I didn't measure first!! Not going to happen.

Would it fit under a glass dining table?  That might make for interesting dinner conversation.

 

I just do room boxes and vignettes.  Much easier to relocate!

Edited October 9, 2021 by steiconi

[havanaholly]

7 hours ago, steiconi said:

Would it fit under a glass dining table?  That might make for interesting dinner conversation.

 

I just do room boxes and vignettes.  Much easier to relocate!

We have a glass dining table with a lower shelf that is BLACK glass, it looks like this one (yeah, with the same chairs):

and a Garfield not only wouldn't fit underneath, but is also liable to be destroyed by the diners' feet.  We collect camping, hunting, fishing and other play sets, little ceramic buildings, etc, and set up scenes on the black shelf.  We even set up the hubs' N-scale trains, but the vibration when they were running tended to de-rail them.

[Kells]

13 hours ago, steiconi said:

Would it fit under a glass dining table?  That might make for interesting dinner conversation.

I just do room boxes and vignettes.  Much easier to relocate!

No, unfortunately, the tower/turret makes it 46" high. The footprint is about the size of a full-sized mattress. Room boxes and vignettes are the way to go. I said to someone recently how they make so much sense not just for size, but you don't have to do an entire house in one style. A colonial kitchen, Georgian drawing room, Victorian bedroom, etc. I often wish I'd stuck with those instead of dollhouses.

[Muriel]

18 minutes ago, Kells said:

I often wish I'd stuck with those instead of dollhouses.

When you're ready, you'll just have to choose the one or two rooms of furniture you like best from a house and make a room box for them, then get rid of the house. I know I'm unlikely go get ready for that stage 😉

[Kells]

39 minutes ago, Muriel said:

When you're ready, you'll just have to choose the one or two rooms of furniture you like best from a house and make a room box for them, then get rid of the house. I know I'm unlikely go get ready for that stage 😉

We think alike. When the day comes that we downsize, this is likely exactly what I'll do. My problem is that I am a huge architecture buff, so the exteriors of a full house are just as important to me as the interiors. Alas, a compromise will have to be reached one day and room boxes are a good solution.

[Muriel]

My chosen career choices were Architect or Pharmacist. I went with pharmacist because I reckoned that as an architect I'd always be doing other peoples wishes rather than what I wanted. Dollhousing I can do what I want, though not quite to the extent of what I would have done as an architect, I don't design and build my own houses. Sometimes I design and don't build, sometimes I build an already designed kit and bash it a bit! 

[steiconi]

13 minutes ago, Muriel said:

My chosen career choices were Architect or Pharmacist. I went with pharmacist because I reckoned that as an architect I'd always be doing other peoples wishes rather than what I wanted. Dollhousing I can do what I want, though not quite to the extent of what I would have done as an architect, I don't design and build my own houses. Sometimes I design and don't build, sometimes I build an already designed kit and bash it a bit! 

Um, do pharmacists get to just do what they want?  No wonder I'm not getting better! 😄

[Muriel]

9 minutes ago, steiconi said:

Um, do pharmacists get to just do what they want?  No wonder I'm not getting better! 😄

Sadly not! But I didn't go in to pharmacy to do what I wanted, I went in to it because I love science, wanted to do something medical/medicine related, but also like helping and working with people  That is on the whole what I do (just day to day is a bit stressful rubbish at the moment, but I choose to look at the bigger picture on such days). With architecture the bit I liked was designing my own stuff, so as I knew I wouldn't be doing that day to day I decided pharmacy had the greater chance of doing what I wanted.