My Kit Has Arrived!

My Craftsman Bungalow kit from Real Good Toys showed up at work this week! I was super excited, but also am realizing that I need to get a space cleared and set up to work on this before I even think of opening the box up. I don't think I'll really get a good chance to start on construction until perhaps the end of October since my fiancé and I are getting married (!) in less than two weeks. But I think it will be good to really plan out this project as I go.

While I am excited (and a bit daunted) by the house project, I also have been thinking about how I want to furnish the house when it is completed. I don't want to start buying a lot of things ahead of time, but I've definitely been scoping out what is available online and forming ideas. I do want to do some fun Arts & Crafts things on the interior finishing with wood panelling and wallpaper friezes. This has been inspired greatly by the amazing work on the same kit at the blog "Architecture of Tiny Distinction" (AOTD) by a miniaturist in Australia. But I don't want this to be a period home. I'm looking at finishing it as if it is a home that has been purchased and is occupied by a contemporary inhabitant.

Since it is a smaller house, I'm planning on following what AOTD did and not install a staircase that will take up valuable space. The two floors on the bottom of the house will consist of a living room in the larger space, and probably a dining room in the second space. Kitchens can be so complicated! I'll avoid installing one in my first dollhouse. Since I'm leaving out the kitchen, I am also going to forgo a bathroom on the upper floor and just focus on rooms that I will get more pleasure from designing and constructing. The middle space will be a study/studio, with the two smaller spaces as small bedrooms.

Not quite a doll house...

Well, this isn't a doll house, but I did finally finish putting the Lego Simpsons House I got my fiancé for his birthday this year together. He let it sit in the box for a few months, and then we had finally started putting it together this summer. I realized how much fun it was to assemble, and then ended up rediscovering doll house miniatures this month. 

I'm still waiting for my Craftsman Bungalow to arrive in the mail, it should show up by the end of the week. Of course, I feel like it will be a long process to get it built and completely finished to my satisfaction. I'm a little nervous since I haven't done any big projects like this in quite a while. But, I'm also really excited! 

Rediscovering Miniatures!

Inspired by a friend's Facebook post last week professing his love for dollhouses, I poked around a little on the internet and discovered that there was a miniature shop in my neighborhood that had opened earlier this spring. Immediately, I knew I was going to check it out on my next day off. So, last Friday, I stopped by. It is a tiny shop (350 square feet) for tiny things! I looked at everything and ended up buying a few magazines.

The rest of that day and the next, I was glued to those magazines and to checking out various miniature/dollhouse websites I found in the magazines. It brought back all of my love for miniatures that had started for me in elementary school. From a young age, I always loved tiny things. In high school, I had even embarked on building a Houseworks Thornhill dollhouse that I never completed. I had a subscription to Nutshell News and used to go to the occasional miniature show as well. But, life progressed, and I ended up selling my unfinished house and miniatures.

What was so great about rediscovering miniatures last week was the immediate feeling it gave me. I was like, "Oh! I forgot all about dollhouses, but this seems like the PERFECT hobby!" After much obsession, I've finally decided what project I want to undertake. I almost chose a 1/24 scale Thornhill since I had loved that one so much before, but instead I decided to stick with 1/12 house to start with. There is a Real Good Toys Classic Bungalow that just shipped out today, and I should get it sometime next week.

I've already been planning so much about what I would like to do with it. I've also run across a couple other bloggers who have posted photos of the same kit they have worked on, which has given me a lot of inspiration. I'll keep track of how the project goes on my blog here, and see where things lead. But I'm super excited! Can't wait to get started on building!