Research

Today I went to Hobby Lobby. Last week I sniffed over to Michael's and Jo-Ann Fabrics.
What I found was:
1. I need to ask my dad if he has extra paint/paintbrushes/wood glue/glue gun.
2. I can get some nice door hinges at Michael's to fix the front and kitchen doors.
3. Carpeting's gonna be a bit trickier than I realized. Everyone's got some good felt I could use. Jo-Ann's has cloth fabric quarters, which is interesting (but cloth for carpet? Hmm.) And Hobby Lobby has foam, and dollhouse carpet. (Foam is also strange, and dollhouse carpet is expenseive.)
4. Tiling will be a breeze--Hobby Lobby has tiling (and it that doesn't pan out, there's nice cardstock at Jo-Ann's I could use if I had to.)
5. Hobby Lobby also has mini furniture, so that's handy.

Too bad Hobby Lobby is on the other side of town...oh well.

Getting closer! Thanks for reading.

Before Shots: What the House Currently Looks Like

The first picture shows the master bedroom (covered by a piece of wood, not sure how that got there), the two smaller bedrooms, and the bathrooms.
The second shows the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and the other half of the back porch.

Above is an outside view of the house. The big windows are visible, as are some cobwebs. The front door has fallen off and will have to be reattached. The paint is chipping, and of course, there's an overabundance of not-right-sized furniture.

So, I've got a preliminary to-do list:
1. Get supplies.
(This includes paint, wood glue, and a glue gun (which my dad may have in his workshop), felt/fabric/tile for the floors, door hinges, and paint brushes. More to be added if necessary.)
2. Take out the furniture.
3. Take out the astro-turf, wallpaper, and old washcloth that all served to be "floor covering".
4. Clean the entire thing thoroughly.
5. Reglue windows.
6. Repaint outside and inside.
7. Reattach doors.
8. Recarpet and refloor.
9. Possibly get in correct size furniture
(Beds, bathroom bits, fireplace, fridge...not going to go too overboard on that bit.)

Sounds like a plan to me!

Laying the Foundation

My dad and his dad built our house, so it was only fitting that when I was about 7ish, my grandpa built me a replica of our house as a dollhouse to play with. However, it was built at 1/24 scale, and all my dollhouse accoutrement were 1/12. I didn’t play with it as much as I should have, and I didn’t respect it nearly enough.

Grandpa suffered his last stroke almost 11 years ago and passed away. Since then, I’ve graduated high school, my brother and I have both received college degrees, and we’ve both felt the sting of the Michigan economy: we’re both currently unemployed, him so much so that he had to move back in with my parents.

But, that’s an interesting note: we’ve always had our parents, and their home, to fall back on. That same house that Dad and Grandpa built in 1976 is the one we come home to, the same one that inspired the dollhouse that is now dusty and in disrepair.

I figure a good tribute to my grandpa, then, would be to restore it.

I'd like to chronicle this journey as much as I can on this blog. Please join me, and if you have any questions, tips, or whatever, please feel free to comment!

Thanks.