Best laid plans.....

OK, OK.... so you knew I wouldn't be able to resist the lure of the kit.  I really thought I'd be able to stay focused and concentrate on clearing all my orders before even unpacking one of the boxes, let alone make a start on the dry build.

But, you know how it is.  I'd been hard at work all morning, then had to wait for at least 30 minutes for some painted items to dry, and rather than get on with something else I thought... "Why not clear off the worktop and see how the ground floor will go together?"

I love it when I ask myself questions like that, as the answer will invariably be....
"Excellent idea.... I need to measure up for flooring anyway....!"

So that was why I did a very quick dry run of the main building components this afternoon.  I was so pushed for time that I didn't even use masking tape to hold the walls together but it was enough to give me an idea of the overall size and layout.

This is the ground floor, with a lovely big shop display area. The windows and doors are pre-assembled, which is good in that I don't have to mess around with lots of little bits of wood to make them up, but bad in that it's a right pain trying to paint them with the glazing in situ. Or so I thought until I discovered that the glazing in the windows and the top fanlight of the door can be slid out to facilitate painting.  It's those thoughtful features which delight the impatient doll's house kit builder.

Annoyingly though, the glazing panels in the door are not removeable so I'll have to work around those.

You can also see the stairs on the right, which go up to the first floor, which has a door to allow access.I had only intended to see what the ground floor looked like, but something about the placement of the staircase set alarm bells ringing, so I quickly dismantled it and set about doing the the first floor.


The alarm bells were set off because I already have some lovely cabinets for Emilie's workroom, which incorporate a corner unit.  However, there is only one suitable corner for it, and that corner is right where the door is.


Buggrit.


I have no time today to see if there are any simple-to-make adjustments which would save me from having to rejig the entire staircase/door scenario.  Of course I could just make up the kit exactly as it should be and effectively block up the door by placing the corner unit in front of it but something about that solution unsettles me.  

I'm not averse to dummy doors and have used them many times when space has been at a premium and/or to achieve a trompe l'oeil effect.  However, the external staircase is an integral feature so I'm loath to lose it.  I suppose I could fit a door somewhere else on an inside wall to suggest an 'out of sight' internal corridor connecting the workroom to the exterior door.  


I'll have to wait until I have the time to do a proper dry build, with masking tape so that the whole thing holds together long enough to check out the possibilities.


So, the first problem has already been identified and I'm sure it won't be the last.  However, these things are sent to try us, and it's not the fault of the kit that I don't like the upstairs door where it is.  I'll just have to do some lateral thinking.....