From Tiny House to Building a Mansion!

My kids are away in Florida, enjoying cool breezes and plenty of pool time. I'd love to say I'm getting caught up on important projects. But... I'm not really. I work on things little by little, but I have also been getting more of something else done. Sleeping. Not the best sleep, but I'll take what I can get! 

Despite my extra sleep, I haven't been totally lazy all this time. On the contrary. I'm working on a miniature coffee set, trying to get my little free library built, and I built a mansion! 

Hahaha! Seriously though, I did build the Kidcraft Majestic Mansion. My mother ordered it for the girls' Christmas present. And I figured that there was no time like the present to get it put together. Hiding it would be hard regardless and my husband won't have much time off of work for the holidays. So chances were good that I was going to have to do it myself anyhow. 

Plus, I had to open the damaged box to make sure that nothing inside was also damaged. There was a really large hold in one side that concerned me. But as it turns out, they are really good at packaging these pieces inside! There was enough Styrofoam to keep everything in place. Smaller pieces were also inside little boxes. Each board piece was wrapped in a foam cushion. The only piece that I found broken was the last thing I had to put together - the bed. Yes, this comes with furniture too. And even then, all I had to do was glue it or just screw it back together.

This was a massive undertaking. From start to completion, it took me about 4 hours. There were times that I required my husbands assistance. Whether because I needed extra hands, or because I didn't have enough strength in my own hands to get something fastened well enough. I was really happy that some of the screws had colored tops. This makes them blend in more with the building. Adds to that realistic look, you know? 

At one point, my husband came up with this idea to hold these pieces together while we grabbed the last piece to slide in place. Every time we tried attaching them, they kept spreading too far apart. Again, not a one person job!

This is where I had the main frame of the house done. So many cute rooms. The elevator was the first thing you build. That was another one of those moments of needing extra hands. 

I think they don't include a photo of the finished product in the instruction manual on purpose. For the sole reason that you would feel overwhelmed. I had finished that main portion above and looked over to see how many pieces were left, thinking that I was almost done! Nope... Maybe only halfway finished. I still had the roof, I had the side addition, and then I had furniture. Some of the furniture requires assembly.

The little garage doors open up. The elevator goes up and down. My husband made a joke about the elevator not reaching the nursery. No stairs, no elevator, no entrance? My thing to him was, why is the nursery in the attic to begin with?! Cute as it is... 

Some helpful hints: I had to look it up online to get photos of a completed one so that I knew how some of the pieces were supposed to work. In the diagram, it didn't look right. I also needed my technical brained husband to interpret some of it. And yes, I even put some pieces on incorrectly and had to re-do them. Like the roofing. Curved edges have to face down and out. And the middle section required me holding it tightly in place while my husband installed as the wood was slightly warping? We had a struggle with that one. You will also need to have a Phillips head screwdriver. They do provide the Allen wrenches. The wood is solid, or of good quality for a toy. 

Some of the furniture included is made of plastic. Most of it was wood. Pre-built and even had some material attached to make it more realistic. 

My mini-me is giving you size comparisons from here on out. She is your average Barbie size. Much of the furniture included is too small these kinds of dolls.

Some work just fine, though. And I think the ones that didn't will be great for smaller dolls. Like Skipper, Miraculous, Chelsea - you get the picture, right? My daughters have lots of those kind of dolls too. So I'm sure they will make it all work.

And I'm quite certain they will have some modifications in mind to make it more personal. Be it in new wallpaper, flooring or even in painting the wood! I know one thing is sure. They are going to love having another house to play with! Their other one has too many tenants currently occupying it.

Yes, my husband has asked me about serving an eviction notice soon. I am putting it through the legal system - aka my head - for further consideration. Though the new thought has been that when the Tiny House becomes vacant again, it might serve as a playroom for all of us.