KITCHEN Catastrophes

"I get by with a little help from my friends" - Beatles

A couple Saturdays back a very close friend of mine Beth called me up and asked if I had any plans.  My normal response as of late is, "I'm Dollhousing it up.  Want to come over for Extreme Mini Home Makeover, Dollhouse edition?"  I was thrilled that her answer was yes! 

I have a lot ideas and like my best friends and roommates will tell you,  I'm awful at follow through.  BUT I am determined to follow through with this dollhouse makeover.  

The one area that I told myself (and you, my reader) earlier that needed very little work and restoration was.... THE KITCHEN.  Boy! Was I ever fooling myself.   I decided that it's 2012 and the dark wood beat boards needed to go! 

Here's a reminder: BEFORE

What did that mean?  WHITE PAINT.  AND I love me some white paint!.  

DURING:

I painted the beat board and windows with Marshmallow White paint. (Sample Size) and the walls got primed and painted Gideon's Natural Linen.   As you can see I used Blue Painters tape to keep from paint over the white trim.  I suggest painting things white first, then taping off to paint color.   It's easier to go back in with the color paint than the white for touch ups.

While I was busy painting the walls GREEN.  Yes I said green, not natural linen.  My friend Beth was creating the flooring mosaic.   I decided to redo the walls on a later date to make it feel classic and less springy.

This is my beautiful friend BETH.  She's starting step two of building the Kitchen Floor.  Cutting out the floor backing.   Step one is using the old flooring we saved from before and tracing the pattern onto the backing.   For the backing of the floor- I wanted something that glue would stick to and not soak through.   Therefore I used "FOR SALE" signs made of flimsy plastic.   It's always wise to explain to roommates why you have "FOR SALE" signs scattered on your bedroom floor. 

You can see Beth has taken the old flooring and trimming the area to fit perfectly to utilize it for the pattern to trace onto the "FOR SALE" sign.   This prevents mis-measuring because some of the old flooring was hidden under the baseboards.   We wanted to make sure that the flooring could be easily removed at any time to gain access to the tape wire for electrical purposes. 

Beth dry fits the floor backing into the dollhouse, its determined that it's perfect and she begins laying out the mosaic tiles into a pattern.   It's important to lay out a patterned before gluing each tile down.  It's easy to make mistakes otherwise.    For the use of the floor,  I used a Glass Tile back splash sheet about $3.00 from Lowes.  I removed each tile from the mesh backing.  These are glued down with Liquid Nails (clear for Home repair).  I prefer this glue because of the ability to easily remove, it holds in place without clamps and allows you to move for up to 5 minutes before it sets.  Also, if it dries and you do not like it, it can easily be removed later.  It is a little pricey at $4.00 per tube.  BUT worth it!   Before Beth came, I had already broke the tiles up into color groups and placed them into individual zip lock bags.  This, I confess made pattern making easier - it save a lot of time!

FLOORING AND WALLS- END RESULT:

You'll notice the walls and the trim look extra shiny.  I used a the triple thick gloss glaze for acrylic paints.   I knew once the Kitchen cabinets and lighting are placed in the room it won't be so bright.  I find satin paints are too dull.  But that choice is personal preference.   Also, any paint on the plastic film windows can be removed easily and will be my very last step after touch ups.

BIG Thanks to Beth in helping design and build the diagonal pattern glass tile floor.  It turned out amazing!  OH, She also helped in removing some wallpaper.  THAT WAS A PAIN!  ;)

As a reminder..... BEFORE & AFTER Shots side by side:

PAINTING

"Painting, n.: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and exposing them to the critic."  - Ambrose Bierce

Painting a dollhouse is nothing like painting a wall or an actual house.  There's tons of little details, and sometimes the paint runs.  Covering up tons of little mistakes take lots of time.   I started painting last Thursday January 12, 2012 and I still am painting.   The great thing, TRIM it covers up problem areas, such as corners.   

WHAT I NEEDED:
1) Paint Brushes
2) Paint
3) Wood Stain
4) Cedar shingles
5) Doll-Rods

WHAT I USED:
1) I used artist paint brushes that I already had in my house from crafty projects.   I needed something small to get at all the trim, and get into the small cracks of the siding.
2) PAINT: 

• Valspar (Sample Size) Black Ice for the Shutters.
• Valspar (Sample Size) Red Door for the Front and Balcony doors.
• Valspar (Sample Size) Taupe for the siding.

3) Cedar Wood shingles and Wood glue, cutting and replacing all the broken shingles.
4) Wood Stain:

• 1st- I tried Mirmax Red Mahogany -  BIG MISTAKE!  It's way too dark and purple.  Good thing I tested it on spare shingles before applying it to the roof.
• 2nd- I used Mirmax Providential .  Perfect color. You can't tell from the photo but it has a slight red hue to match the doors and it's dark enough to contrast the paint color.

5) Doll-Rods.   This was the most agonizing part of the process.  Measuring and cutting each piece, painting and waiting for it to dry.  Then I had to chisel aways the end to have it fit in the frames for the balcony.  Then I have to press down and wait for the glue to dry.  Just one section of the railing took 3 hours of my time.  NEXT TIME - Buy it pre-made.  It's worth the investment financially.

BEFORE:

AFTER RESULT:

 As you can see, it's not perfect.  There's still much more touch ups that need to be completed.  There's trim missing, and I need to go back & fix the areas the paint bled.   The roof also needs some white paint removed from the singles. 

 From this angle you can't see the red doors.  BUT there will be a front porch swing that will be red, and upstairs on the balcony- I'm considering putting out red lounge chairs.

 The RED front Door.  If you remember this door was broken off.   I had to remove the frame, sand it down re-glue the door back together and paint it.  Took about 4 hours. From this angle you can see some yellow from the old paint color behind the shutter.  Unfortunately, these 4 shutters could not be removed before painting without damaging the shutter and the siding.  I have to paint around them with a small brush.  This will be touched up later.  I also wired in the new outdoor lamp- because I had to redrill the hole and remove the old broken fixture and scrap off the old glue from my childhood poor repair job. 

 Balcony Door.  I'm considering placing a stain glass insert on this door's window.   If you remember this Door was also broken.  It was also removed, sanded and glue, paint and placed back on to the house.   This door took much longer than the front door to complete.  I spent about 6 hours on & off getting this back together.  In the future if this breaks- I will invest in buying a new one. 

This is the side view of the railing.  It was agony putting this together. 

STRIP

"I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Sometimes it's easier to create a masterpiece with a blank canvas.   Just like a new home buyer, I couldn't move past the wallpaper and old flooring to see the possibilities.   Therefore, I got ahead of myself and started ripping out the interior.

 In order to get at the flooring, I hade to first remove the base boards.  You can also, see some of my brain storming ideas for the lighting & kitchen in this picture..

 I'm holding onto the original flooring, this will allow me to measure the new flooring easier.

AFTER:  The Third Story Attic/ Bedroom

 AFTER: The Hallway/ Music Room.

 AFTER: The second story Bathroom

AFTER: The Downstairs Dining Room.

 AFTER: Living Room.

 AFTER: The PINK Master Batheroom.  Not so pink now.

PRIME

"Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur."  - Muriel Spark

 

 If you don't like to paint, you won't like buidling or restoring a dollhouse.  There's a lot of painting, and waiting for the paint to dry and painting again.   In order to start fresh, I need to get ride of the yellow.   Yellow is a great color, but it get dirty fast, and it fades even quicker.  Since, painting on a small scale shows more mistakes, I decided to prime away the yellow and take a different path with colors. 

 

Before I painted, I had a plan. 

 

I found this picture online and really love the color scheme.   I began searching for dollhouse in the same color pallet.  And I found this one on Esty.

It's charming and it's what I found I could live with for a long time.  I really love this pallet.

WHAT I NEED:

1) Primer

2) Paint Brush

3) Canvas Drop Cloth

4) Wood Glue/ filler

5) Metal Scraper

6) Wood Filler

WHAT I USED:

Canvas 6ft by 9ft.  I wanted something heavy duty that would not leak or tear as I moved the dollhouse around.

I obviously did not need 5 Gallons, but I used 1 quart of Zinsser 1.2.3 Primer.  

I also believe in investing in a good paint brush, so that you don't get streaks or fibers left behind.  Therefore, I bought the Purdy 1" XL- Dale Paint brush from Lowe's.   

Before I could began to prime I need to sand the ouside trim, remove the window frames and shutters.  I removed everything with a metal scrapper. I bought the 2" for more surface area and leverage.   

Also, I need to fix some of the wood siding coming apart.  I used wood glue and a wood filler.  Once the filler dried, I could sand it down to hide the cracks.

HERE are the RESULTS:

 

CLEAN

"I have sporadic OCD cleaning moments around the house. But then I get lazy and I'm cured. It's a very inconsistent personality trait."-  Chris Hemsworth

I hate to clean, the only time I clean is when I'm processing something and need to get my mind clear- then I go on a cleaning rampage.    Great thing about a little doll house you don't have to like to clean because the process doesn't take long- a good vacumm will clean it quickly. 

What I needed: 
1) Vacuum.
2)  Wet wipes.

What I used:

Eureka - Pet Expert HEPA Bagless Upright Vacuum.   I have two cats, and this is the Vacuum we have on hand in our house.  I used the extensions to vacuum out the cracks and crevices of the dollhouse.


Target Unscented Baby Wipes.  I have a stocked up supply of these for make-up removing.  But I used these to wipe down the inside wallpaper and clean the outside. 

END RESULT:  (a lot less dirty)

BEGINING AGAIN

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself." - Rita Dove

I remember it so clear as if it were yesterday.  Christmas day at my grandparents home in Plano, Texas place on their dining room table a bright yellow Dollhouse for me.   This dollhouse had been played with by my cousins, made by my grandmother's brother in law for his girls- finally past down to me.  

As a little girl I would spend hours playing, decorating, rearraging and destroying my dollhouse.   It was my favorite.   It where I would dream about the future, act out my plans, and store my hopes.  I held onto it through highschool and when my parents moved after my first year of college- I made the decision to store it in the attic of their new home, so that one day my children could make memories like I had.    Unfortunately, sometimes life doesn't always go as planned.   Now at the age of 27 my parents have decided to relocate to the west coast, and the dollhouse has been removed from the attic after 11 years.  Though, I have no kids yet - my mission is to restore the dollhouse back to it's glory days.   This is my journey of restoration.

 BEFORE: Front View.  You can see that it's missing a lot. 

 BEFORE:  Back View.  It is covered in dust and dirt from being in the attice for over 11 years.

 BEFORE:  The front porch lighting.  This was broken before the attic.  Notice the super glue runs. - As a child I fixed what I could very poorly.  I broke a lot- this dollhouse was loved on.

 BEFORE:  Top view of second story porch.  The shingles are broken, all the railing is missing and the door does not close, it has also been super glued together and on crooked.

 BEFORE:  Downstairs living room- exit to the porch.  The wallpaper is bubbling, covered and dirt, and the light fixture is missing.

 BEFORE:  Looking into the window of the downstairs kitchen. The hanging light is broken, and you can see my cat BooBoo curious about his dirty miniture sized home in the middle of his floor.

 BEFORE:  The upstairs attic/ bedroom.   The railing to the stairs is covered in dirt and is leaning to the side,  the carpet is is so dirty as well, and the wall paper has given up hanging on.

 BEFORE:  The third story baby's room.   The carpet is dirty and torn.  The wallpaper has bubbled and yellowed.  

 BEFORE:  The hallway/ Music room.   The railing is leaning and filled with dirt.  The carpet is beyond repair and the door to the second story porch is covered in spider web.  The wallpaper is also yellowing. 

 BEFORE: The roof is coming apart.

 BEFORE: Downstairs Kitchen.  This room is the best shape surprisingly.  Just need a new light fixture and a good wipe down with new flooring.

 BEFORE:  Bathroom.  Really dirty.  But Hey, there's a light fixture.

 BEFORE:  Master Bedrooom.   Really dirty and really pink! MUST GO.

 BEFORE: Formal Downstairs Dining room.  It's a mess, dirty carpet, broken light fixture and marked up wall paper.

BEFORE: Front view of entry porch.  It's in bad shape.  Needs new railing and a good paint job, and light fixture.