I know what you're thinking . . . does the world really need another blog?!  Probably not, but here I am.  If blame can be placed, I point my finger toward my partner, Ray Whitledge of "modernminiatures-whitledge-burgess".  Ray has so enjoyed sharing his journey with the transformation of a Chessington Plaza structure, that he has encouraged me to enter the world of the blogger.  My question had been . . . what can I possibly write about that would be of interest to our fellow miniaturists?  Then it came to me.  I have always wanted to design a dollhouse in 1:12 scale and build it using "real life" construction techniques.  And so, as my journey begins, I'm proud to introduce . . .

"the dollscottage"

To begin, I spent the first few weeks playing the role of "the client".  Sounds simple enough, but this is a daunting task for any professional in the design field . . . there are sometimes simply too many options!  Plunging ahead, I asked myself, how could a house that I would want to "live in", be designed within the parameters of a dollhouse.  I knew that it couldn't be too large since we had to be able to get it out of the basement someday.  I also knew that while it had to "open" to allow access to the interior, I wanted to accomplish this in a way that didn't involve the opening of the exterior walls.  The end result is a house that is built in two halves, joined together.  Since we all know a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few drawings of the final design . . .



This is the front elevation

This is the right elevation

This is the rear elevation

And finally, this is the left elevation

I'll end this post with the floor plans.  This will give you some time to review the overall design of the cottage.  Next time, I'll explain my concepts for the function of all of the rooms . . . and how the house comes apart!

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Thank you for visiting my new blog.  I hope you've enjoyed this introduction to "the dollscottage", and I hope you'll become followers of its progress over the next several months.  I'm looking forward to sharing my trials and tribulations with you!

Until next time . . .

Scott