Under a Blue Moon

I finished the attic floor last week and I wanted to share my process.  Please keep in mind I am a complete novice at this so this may be a cautionary tale as well as a bit of instruction.

I’ll explain what I did and what I would have done differently.

Here is the finished product.  Keep in mind my plan for the attic space is to have it look rough-hewn and a bit time worn.

I used craft sticks I purchased at Joann‘s.  They are tongue depressor sized (6″ x 3/4″).  I trimmed off the rounded edges using a band saw.  The wood is too hard to hand trim using an Xacto knife.  Trust me I tried.

I went back and forth on whether the boards should run side to side or back to front and in the end decided side to side would be easiest.  I started in the front and worked my way back.  I didn’t want to have a narrow board at the very front.  I staggered my starting piece in each row so where the ends join up wouldn’t be uniform.

I used wood glue to adhere the flooring to the dollhouse floor and as I mention in a  previous post I did paint the floor brown before hand.  I also wallpapered the walls first.  Tip number 1:  If you are going to add baseboards I recommend painting up the wall 1/8″ – 1/4″ so help disguise any cracks between the floor and the baseboards.

After I did a few rows I noticed the boards were cupping a little bit along the long edges.  I used a board and some clamps to help flatten them.   However this type of clamping only works for the boards closest to the opening of the dollhouse.  Unless you have some sort of fancy clamp that reaches further back.

What I did further back was place heavy items on top of the boards.  Here I’m using an assortment of marble coasters, a metal chunk and some large candles.

I was still left with some edges that were uneven but I did a good sanding with 60 grit sand paper that smoothed them out enough and still left me with that rough hewn look I was aiming for.

Here it is before staining and adding the baseboards.  Also this picture was taken before I removed a couple of boards in the back that just weren’t laying flat.  I cut new boards, glued them down and weighted them, then resanded.  The back rows where just a little more awkward to install.

My approach for the second floor wood flooring will be different.  I’ve already done the bedroom flooring which is a herring-bone pattern.  I did it on a large piece of cardstock and then cut it to the size of the room.  Because the room is essentially a rectangle this was an easy method.  I’m not sure how to tackle the stair landing as there is a staircase to deal with.  Part of me is temped to remove the staircase and replace it because wasn’t assembled or painted very nicely.  I actually already have a spare staircase I can use.

The bottom, living room area floor will probably be down on cardstock and then cut to size.  It’s not quite a rectangle but I think I can manage the cutouts for the bay windows.   The living room and kitchen will be tiled (well, faux tiled…)

The attic space, minus a few accessories, is finished!

I have finally made some progress on the dollhouse.  I have been working on the attic space.  The attic is made up of two rooms – one large space and a smaller space.  If you remember my post from a few weeks back I mentioned that I had opened up the third floor because I had always intended for it to be an attic and not a bedroom and bath as most renditions of this dollhouse model show.

While the two downstairs spaces will be white and airy I wanted the attic to be gloomy and kind of unfinished.  I found some wood plank scrapbook paper that works perfectly for my vision of the walls.

I wallpapered the main area with that paper.  For the smaller room I used some paper I had on hand that is the perfect scale and also was pre-aged.   I did make one tactical error in that I got ahead of myself and started to put the baseboards on.  I forgot that I want to install the floor first, then the baseboards so I tore the paper a bit when I was removing them.  No matter, it will all be covered back up by the baseboards eventually.

My plan for the floor is rough hewn planks made out of tongue depressors that will have a dark stain on them.  I have them all cut out and I just need to glue them down.  I slapped a coat of brown paint on the existing floor because I didn’t want the original pink or green to show through the cracks.

I did have to do a dry run with some of the attic bits and bobs.  I mean that is the whole point of a dollhouse, right?  All the fun bits.  I made a lot of the items you see in the picture above.  I made the suitcase (under the green tool box), the box with its books and maps, the puppet theater, the painter’s box, the armillary and the riding hat and crop on the coat rack.  I also printed off the dart board and circus poster.

The contents of the attic will tell a story about the occupant of the house.  I have an entire back story in my mind.  She may have been a circus performer in the early 1900s…

Oh and I made the rugs.  I plan on doing a separate post on them, detailing the steps.  I printed them on material using my inkjet printer.

When I am working on the dollhouse my office turns into an absolute hot mess.  I’m generally working on four different things at once so at any given moment there are paint supplies, sanding materials, spackle, you name it – it’s all spread out over the office.

An occasional cat gets in the mix too.   Wow that’s bad.  But reality.

Next up is the floor for the attic.  I’m thinking that should go fairly quickly since I have all the planks cut out.