The RGT Half-Scale Bungalow

Here is another Throwback Thursday post.  I am back on track with the library, and hope to have a new post on that next week.  

Having had so much success with my little greenhouse, I decided I wanted to build an actual house.  I chose the half-scale craftsman bungalow from Real Good Toys because our real-life home is a craftsman bungalow, and we have a lot of mission-style/arts-and-crafts pieces in our house.  (And, as you'll see, it also allowed me to indulge in some fantasy wish-fulfillment for things I'd like to have.  😊)  I think this was a great first choice for a dollhouse.  The construction is relatively simple, everything is well made and fits together cleanly, and the siding is already milled in.  The instructions were very clear and detailed, and, except for the electricity, which is never my favorite, I had a wonderful time with this build.  I always think of this as "our" house.

I didn't modify very much.  I moved the right wall of the bedroom over a bit, to give me more room for furniture.  This means the room isn't centered on the window, but I don't care.  I left off the cricket roof, which I didn't particularly like, and I added some "stained glass" (made with my color printer and transparency sheets) to the front door, because, in its original state, it seemed more Victorian than craftsman.

I'll start the tour in the kitchen.  The kitchen includes two of the first pieces I ever made from scratch—the kitchen sink unit (based on a tutorial from Melissa's Miniaturen) and my monitor-top refrigerator, made from mat board, the lid from a bottle of ear drops, the cap from a tube of ointment, a button, a plastic fork, and tube beads.

The door doesn't open, but I was ridiculously pleased with how it turned out.  The wonderful Hoosier cabinet, complete with flour bin/sifter, is from a kit by Mini-Etchers.

Here you can see the completed kitchen, with my little homeowner hard at work making cookies.  I tell people she has just realized she is out of icing sugar, so has tossed her apron over the back of the chair and run to the store.  😉  The stove and table are both Cassidy Creations kits (unfortunately, the stove is no longer available).  I made the cupboard from scratch, and the plate rack is from Mini-Etchers.  It is filled with "china" made from paper.  

The living room contains a lot of things I'd love to have in real life.  It has wallpaper from Bradbury & Bradbury and fireplace tile from Motawi Tileworks.  The tile was just printed on cardstock; I then used a bone folder on the grout lines and coated it all with clear nail polish to give it a sheen.  (Inspiration fireplace in the upper left-hand corner; the remainder of the photos are from the Bungalow.)

One of my favorite things in the living room is the bookcase.  It was a simple, unfinished Houseworks bookcase, but what makes it special are the books.

Each of the books on the shelves was chosen by a friend.  I asked all my friends to name a favorite book of theirs.  I then made up the books, with real pages from the originals, and put the name of the friend on the inside cover.

Another item I love in the room is the rug.  I have always loved this rug, so the bungalow was the perfect opportunity to "own" it.  I created a somewhat simplified version of its design in PowerPoint, saved it as an image, then sent it through a picture-to-pattern site on the Web.  I worked it in cross-stitch on 36-count Evenweave.  And voila!  I (or my imaginary homeowners) now have the rug I love. 

Here is the completed living room. 

The Morris chairs were from kits by Theresa's Miniature Creations.  (Unfortunately, I don't think she is selling any longer.)  The table is a kit from SDK Miniatures; the tiny radio on top was made from Popsicle sticks.  The curio cabinet was purchased from the Monticello gift shop (yes, that Monticello).  They were having a clearance sale of 1:24 furniture that had been created specifically for them--$5.00 per item.  Who could resist?  The telephone table under the stairs is a magnet, and the prairie sofa is the very first piece of furniture I ever made from scratch using strip wood.  I followed Theresa's lead in using mulberry paper to cover the cushions because it looks surprising like real leather.  Now that I've gotten a little better at making furniture, though, I may replace the cushions with actual leather.  I still have some of the left-over brown leather I used to make Theodore Roosevelt's chair. The throw pillows were just designs printed on fabric.

Of course, over the mantel, I have the wonderful painting that Samantha made for me.  The clock is a kit from SDK Miniatures, the bear fetish figurine is a bead, and the vase is my quilled-paper attempt at creating Ephraim Faience-style pottery, another favorite of mine.

On the second floor, there is a little area left over from the staircase.  (Yes, the staircase is a bit odd, but that's the way RGT designed it.  The funny thing is that someone on Greenleaf posted a picture of a real-life staircase that looked just like it!)  To make use of the space, I made a little sewing nook with a sewing machine magnet I had.

I made a sewing book, sewing box, patterns, and a thread caddy with painted metal spools, then put them on shelves over the sewing machine.

The ironing board was made from matchsticks and mat board, and in the full photo of the nook you can see a soda bottle that has been "converted" to a sprinkler for the clothes.  I remember my mother using one of those. Can anyone else remember them?  😊  The iron seems a bit large, but that's another one of those scale issues.  *sigh*

Most of the furniture in the bedroom comes from the Arts & Crafts bedroom kits by SDK Miniatures.  All of the drawers really work.  Unfortunately, I made them before I learned that you stain, then glue when you are working from kits, so you may see a bit of unevenness in the finish.  The wardrobe was another of the pieces I bought from Monticello, and the Arts & Crafts mirror over the chest of drawers was a kit by Jane Harrop.

I crocheted the bedspread and pillows.  I was going for a chenille look on the spread.  Didn't quite achieve it, but I was happy with the way it turned out anyway.

The "hope chest" at the foot of the bed is from a kit by Karen Benson Miniatures.  I filled it with blankets and quilts.

There are tiny clothes in the dresser, too.

And here is the bathroom.  I used the standard half-scale bathroom set, but painted over the gold embellishments, as I thought they looked too Victorian.

I made the little cabinet from mat board, and filled it with bars of soap, toilet paper rolls and towels made from baby washcloths.

Of course there's a toilet paper holder, although it's somewhat obscured in this picture by the sink.

A full shot of the interior.  

I put the house on a revolving base and landscaped it, using green scrubby pads for the grass, as well as flower-making techniques I had learned while making the greenhouse.

To make use of the areas on the sides, I put a croquet game on one side (the hoops are paper clips, the mallets are dowels and toothpicks):

And a walkway and lawn mower on the other.  I made the lawn mower from card stock painted silver, rubber washers, watch parts, and toothpicks.  The stepping stones are made from "granite" polymer clay.

The Adirondack chairs are kits from Mini Etchers.  The sweet little blue jay and squirrel are by Barbara Ann Meyer of MiniGems.

The glider was a bronze mini I found on eBay in rather sad condition.  Some paint and soft furnishings brought it back to life!

And that's the Bungalow.  Hope you enjoyed the tour!  My next house was the Fairfield, which I didn't enjoy quite as much.