What We Have Done on the Bayberry Cottage So Far

When I first got the Bayberry Cottage, the shell was together and all inside walls were painted white. Most of the parts needed to complete the dollhouse were included. One of the things missing was the brick for the base. They had painted it a very glossy midnight blue which looked hideous! So I repainted it 3 coats of “country tan”. There were globs of glue that dripped all over so a lot of sanding had to be done to remove as much as possible. Also the porch floor looked like paper had been applied and then attempted to be removed. So I had to get the remainder of the paper off and sand off glue spots there.

Amanda & I decided to make some changes to the house. The bedroom on the upper right will be made into 2 rooms so that we can add a small bathroom. On the first floor of the left side of the house a kitchen will be added at a later date and on the right side first floor a pet shop will be added later. I picked up some Plastic Wood filler to try and fill in the large spaces where the roof meets the walls.

On each side of the first floor, I cut the windows into doorways. I cut a wall for the bathroom from a double thickness of foam core board. Amanda put several coats of “Cruising Blue” on the attic walls.

Amanda wants me to try and electrify the house and since I don’t have any experience at this it will be a challenge. We decided to hide the junction box for the electricity under the stairs and enclose this with a double piece of foam core board. That way it will look like a closet behind the stairway. I have started running the tape wires into most of the rooms.

I added scrapbooking paper flooring from the Dollar Store to the attic and a small round light on the ceiling there - it actually worked :0) This basically completes the attic.

On the second floor We have started working on the nursery. Amanda wants it to be for a little boy. The windows that came with the kit had been worked on by the original owner and didn’t look too good, so I ordered two Houseworks Attic Windows online to use in their place.

I painted them “Tapioca” and had to sand the opening a bit for them to fit. I intend to use the “Tapioca” color on all the trim work for the house.

Amanda’s favorite color is green so she picked “Agave” for the nursery walls. I used some Dollar Store self-stick floor tile that I cut up into boards for the flooring and added a teddy bear/rocking horse border that we picked up at October ‘08’ Philadelphia Minituria (our first mini show). At the show, Amanda also chose an inexpensive white crib and a white rocking horse that will be used in the room. Now I am working on the trim for the room and we have to decide on a light for the ceiling.