Sir Peter and I have been discussing the way forward with this potential shop unit...
and we have decided to go with another Dolls House Emporium kit that I've also had for a number of years, The Retreat ~ again, I don't know if DHE still make this kit.
Whereas the Summer House kit had a much smaller footprint than the shop box, The Retreat is slightly larger being about 16mm wider...
and also overhanging at the back.
I don't think that either of these overhangs matter, to be honest. I will sit the kit so that it overhangs at the sides equally and is flush with the front. Hopefully I will be able to find a piece of moulding 8mm deep to smooth out the look of the transition from the upper shop to the lower. Failing that I should think that I could combine some pieces to create the correct depth.
The Retreat comes with a deck area to which the front panel is attached ~ it lifts away rather than being hinged. I must admit that initially I was tempted to make use of it.
In the end, though, I've decided not to include it ~ not least because of the awkwardness of opening the ground floor unit. I also think it looks rather clumsy. I will hinge the front panel to the side instead.
The top floor has a nice amount of floorspace...
but not so much headroom! Still, the space in the eaves can be used for built-in display shelves and storage cabinets.
And talking of headroom, the stair arrangement leaves much to be desired! I think I will have to make the stairwell opening a tad larger.
There are more headroom issues coming up to the top floor. I think the only way to solve this will probably be to put in a dormer window ~ which will have the added benefit of letting in more natural light, as there is only a small round window at the front. I will put a matching dormer on the other side as well.
The stairs supplied with the kit really bother me, as to my mind they look more like a ladder and are rather steep ~ not at all suitable for a shop! I know that some folk just don't bother with visible stairs but I find that that really bothers me, too! I'm sure that Sir Peter and the guys will be able to come up with a good solution 😉
As the post title suggests, there has been some destruction going on in my craft shed as well as decision-making LOL I decided to remove all the trimmings from the shop box and start off with a blank canvas. As I mentioned in the previous post, the finish was not very good and it all looked somewhat flimsy!
There is still some prep work to be done before I can even start sanding the shop box. There are sections of paper to be removed so that I can start with a nice smooth surface to work on. I will have to lightly wet the paper and hope that it peels off without too much hassle. I am also going to take the front off and clean up the hinges, as well as fit a new catch at the side.
So there is lots of basic work still to be done ~ I'd better have a site meeting with Sir Peter and the guys!
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