1:6 Doll House Project 2016

My ever changing doll house has taken a new turn this spring. For the past couple of days I’ve been working on my 1:6 garden doll house with the aid of my family members. The house that used to be kind of beige in colour has now gotten a brand new coat of bright red reminiscent of the traditional Finnish farm houses and country cabins.

The doll house has been planted in the garden now with a base footing structure made of some bricks. The house will remain in the garden throughout the year, so it needs to be lifted off the ground some. The wood has been treated and the roof is waterproof, but I’m still going to cover it up with a canvas when it’s not in use.

The finish ended up looking delightfully rustic, which does not bother me in the least. In fact, I kind of prefer it that way, even if this result was more to do with ineptitude than design. Hehe! I actually really love the way the wood looms through the paint and gives the house an old fashioned feel.

White frames have been added around the doors and the terrace railings have been now painted white. My dad and I built a staircase leading to the patio this morning. My father did a brilliant job with the door handles. The stairs to the terrace still need some finishing touches. I’ll also still need to paint red those little pieces of wood that hold the front wall of the house in place and coat the terrace/balcony floors, the doors and stairs with a clear vanish. I want to keep the original colour of the woods there.

Here's how the house looks on the outside now. The house comes apart so that the stairs, the terrace/balcony, the front wall and the second floor all come out and I can photograph the house in various different ways from inside and outside.

The next step is sewing new curtains for the house and starting the interior decorating. This year my upcoming Blythe dolls will be sharing this house with my 20cm BJDs, so I will need to design the interiors with both types of dolls in mind. It will still look very cabin-like on the inside with the wooden walls and the furniture I’ve already made for it. I will still need to make furniture for the terrace and the balcony, as well as plan some flowers and decorations there. I can't wait to see the house surrounded by green leaves of the trees. That might take a while yet... today we have only +5 degrees Celsius out there, so I very nearly froze my fingers painting the house out there. I'm thrilled the house is shaping though and I'm looking forward to photographing the dolls there!