Reassurance Required!

[rootyboots]

Hi All,

Firstly I'd like to thank everybody for being so nice and welcoming on my first ever post (Wartime Mountfield)! You're all so nice

Now I'm hoping you'll be able to help... the help I need is really more like reassurance because if I've made a mistake, I've already made it and there's nothing I can really do about it now! But I'm hoping all is not lost.

Basically, as per my Mountfield post, I have pre-decorated my dolls house before putting it together. The reason I did this was because I did a lot of research before starting, and this seemed to be what I was being advised to do. I know I was pretty sure of this when I began, because I *so* wanted to do it the other way around, and build it first! There's no way I would have resisted that urge if I wasn't totally sure that I was supposed to be doing the 'boring' decorating first, because I remember I really wanted to feel like I had a 'house'. Flat, decorated boards don't really give you that buzz! However, now I'm wondering if I've misunderstood the advice - perhaps they meant to only decorate outside - because suddenly everybody seems to be telling me the opposite, that I should have built it first, and then decorated.

As I've said, it's almost all decorated now (barring the flooring, as I know that needs to go in after the lighting - which incidentally, I'm terrified of! ), so there's no going back. I'm hoping to get it put together in the next week or two.

What I'm wanting to know is - firstly, how bad is my mistake?! Have I really messed up, here, or is it more a matter of personal preference? It was certainly *easier* to decorate a flat wall than I imagine it would have been to decorate in 3D.

Secondly, what challenges can I expect, now that I've done this? I know that there may be an issue in the corners of my rooms - they may look a bit less 'neat' because you'll still be able to see the joins. Hopefully it won't look too bad, though. I'm also becoming aware of the fact that when I put the house together, I wind up with ripped bits at the tops and bottoms of the walls, where the MDF slots into the grooves. I should be able to cover this up with skirting boards and cornices etc, so I'm hoping that won't be too much of a problem, but we'll see!

Is there anything else that could go wrong, or that I need to be aware of now that I've done this? I'm a bit stressed out about it, because while I definitely think that the dolls house was worth the money, I've also spent rather a lot on decorating it, and if I've really messed it up I will feel like I have thrown ££ down the drain!

Bit of a long post, but I'm just trying to get my worries out 'on paper'! Any help, advice or comfort you can offer would be much appreciated! Thanks guys

[fizzlizz]

Hi I'm no expert, but I would think as long as your wall papers all line up once your house is together and they look okay, it shouldn't be a problem. I personally, would have made the house up first before decorating it, but I have also read that others do it before hand. So think s it just a matter of preference. Hope this helps.

[jeanmtweddle]

I built my first house before decorating and the 2nd one afterwards. When I came to put the 2nd one together the mdf had swollen and I had to do a lot of sanding to get the panels into the grooves. A lot of people decorate first and have no problems and by the sounds of it you have already checked that your panels will fit into the grooves so I'm sure you will be fine.

[Trixie]

Hi Rootyboots... Welcome to the forum (I don't think I have yet) and well done so far on your Mountfield, it looks great so far.

DON'T PANIC! You have obviously been researching the hows and whens.. there is no right or wrong way to decorating your dolls house... personally I found it more logical and easier to decorate my 2 houses while flat.. though be carefull if papering more than 1 wall in a room.. lay the panels side by side to match up pattern (I didn't do this in the bathroom in Primrose ).. also as Mountfield is 2 rooms deep, it may be a good idea to write on each panel what colour/paper it is to be (you don't want mismatched papers/colour scheme ) as my houses are only 1 room deep I found it easier to recognise which panel was which.

Also remember there is usually always someone on here for help and advise

[coodencat]

Hi RB I agree with Jean If all pieces fit into grooves etc is ok. The only thing is if you are putting coving/skirting in unless you have left that part undecorated you will have to glue over it so your faults will be covered as you say . But that in itself is no problem have done that anyway.
Everyone works in different ways is best to find which way works for you. .
tc carol

[rootyboots]

Thanks guys - I feel reassured! When I told the people in my local dolls house shop that I'd pre-decorated they seemed so horrified that I was scared I'd really made a boo-boo!

It does all seem to slot together, still... As I said, there's some wallpaper rumple-age, and where I've used plastic tile sheets, I have had to peel up the bottom edge and cut about a centimetre off because those boards wouldn't fit in the grooves until I did! Other than that, hopefully all is well.

It's very comforting to know that other people have done it this way, too. My ultimate nightmare is that when I put it all together, the papers don't line up! Especially the outside of the house... I'm fairly confident I've done it all level, but until it's all put together I think I will continue to angst about it! If it does all work out then I suppose all the decorating will have been worth it as it will look like a 'real house!

When it's all put together I shall put some pictures up! Either that or cry and get back on here to tell you how I've messed up and beg for more advice! Here's hoping...

Thanks again for the reassurance, guys, I'll let you know how I get on.

[St.Vale]

I'm sure it will all work out for you Rootyboots, as said others do theirs that way and everyone has their own way of doing things. Most of my houses come in ready build as I have issues with my hands but I always decorate the outside first, as for me, that leads me to the inside and time to think about what I want. I generally buy main bits of furntiure as and when I find them that I want and they generally give me the ideas of colour schemes to work with within the rooms, so I work completely the other way round but as said we are all different!

[Dolly donut]

i prefer to decorate after the build. lik Val i do the outside first......mainly because its my favourite bit. when i do the inside i just put the house on a high surface so i am not bending all the time. i would try to do ceilings before the build though, but only if they were going to be ornate or more than one colour

[jinglepupskye]

After I did the dry build of my house I went round all the rooms drawing lines at the top and bottom of each wall and ceiling where they fitted together. That meant that when it was dismantled I knew exactly which areas were covered as it was put together and I could paper between the lines.

[juliec]

Hiya,

im on my first house as well! what i did was fully assemble it, mark the edges of all walls /floors etc decide what was going where and label it all.

then took it apart , papered the main walls reassembled it, cut flooring to fit.

took it apart and had a melt down!!

im now slowly doing it a little at a time.

Lighting is easy with the socket strip method, i was totally terrified but tonight i managed to light the basement all by myself!

goodluck, enjoy and have fun.