I *really* want a dollhouse.

I *had* a nice one from when I was a teen, right? My Grandmother got it for me at an Estate sale and it was epic.

My mother has, from what I can gather, tossed it. Or doesn't know where it is.

Anywho, I came up with the idea to create a Haunted Dollhouse from The Bloggess. (If you read her stuff. I don't agree with her PERSONALLY..but she is great fun and entertainment..so I love her.)

I have been on eBay stocking up on AWESOME furniture and knick-knacks.

The problem? I don't yet have a dollhouse. I have read that putting one together (the one I want) takes 35-40 hours. You can buy one built; but it's $750. $750.

Plus, we live in a small, one bedroom apartment while we save for a REAL house. And have two cats. So, you know they will probably get into wherever I decide to put it. :(

Has anyone else ever made one? Or have one? I just want to know if buying one already built would be worth the extra $300. Because trust me, I know nothing about putting one together- nor do I have a place to put it.

I suppose I should just wait until we buy a house so I have extra space. But being responsible is NO fun. :)

*a place to put it while building it.

maybe you should check out craigslist in your area, they could definitely be found less than $700!! Many in our area are $100-$400 --sometimes they might have a little damage or have been played with hard, but easier than building yourself

for example here are a couple in Seattle area:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/atq/4165592411.html

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/tag/4164176828.html

-Amanda from Seattle

So, that's a GENIUS IDEA I should have thought of.

THANK YOU! :)

My dad built one for me when I was a kid, we sold it many years ago, but I always kept the furniture....and I finally got rid of most of the furniture at yard sales when my mom died, but I did keep a few of the best pieces of furniture :-) I have always thought I might just do a single room little display one day.

-Amanda from Seattle

Those two could be made over into AMAZING Haunted Dollhouses.

Craigslist, or ebay or around here (down South) i've seen a number of them at "antique" stores (which seems to be a euphemism for "where we put our junk for the tourists looking for a bargain in old furniture"). Some of the antiques are truly antiques, and a lot of it is junk. Depends on the store. One of our fellow boxers runs a really classy one, which is not a junk store. Then again, there are a few here in my town that really are, despite the sign.

~tigs

And even if you get one already made, you can still paint and paper and redo the roof with different shingles, change the shutters and all sorts of things to it yourself

-Amanda from Seattle

LOVE the second option!

Anywho, I came up with the idea to create a Haunted Dollhouse from The Bloggess. (If you read her stuff. I don't agree with her PERSONALLY..but she is great fun and entertainment..so I love her.)

Does that mean your haunted house will not involve unusual taxidermy?

HAHAH. No, no- it will not! :)

I just realized this thread is a year old, but I stumbled on it while looking for destressing type boards (Hobbies are destressing...right?)
Anyways...for future reference, we have found cardboard to be the perfect solution to maybe and temporary and experimental projects. We have made cardboard dollhouses. They came out awesome. Cardboard, cardstock and recycled dollhouse 'stuff' too. And if you get tired of it, or the cats destroy it, or the kids trip on it and flatten it, it can just be recycled and you'll still cherish that whole creativity process.
I've seen people wallpaper bookcases and old DVD/Cd carousels to look like dollhouses, too. But I still vote for cardboard since it's free and plentiful...old shipping boxes work well.

My husband used cardboard to build shelving for all of my cloth and yarn. Amazing, gets it off the ground and visible...and it's free. :-) The shelves have been up for almost 2 years, by the way, so it isn't as temporary a fix as it sounds.

ETA: And with cardboard, you can experiment with all sorts of hidden entries and secret passages; it's all free. And cardboard is a little more flexible than wood. Good luck!!! Now I want to build a haunted dollhouse for my vampire obsessed nieces...