Stairs and Living Room Design

Dollhouse building took an unexpected turn this past week.  I've made several design changes to the house structure to increase load-bearing support.  Today I'm focusing on the entry/living space progress and looking back at how I came up with the new layout.  I've also got some new laser cut pieces to share.


Originally the plan was for an open-concept entry/living area.  You might remember my original mock-up of the space.  I liked how the entry hall expanded the size of the living room, which would really help when taking photos.

To begin I started designing a fireplace and shelving unit shell for the right wall.  I really liked the idea of having a place to display decorative items.  I printed out my vector design on paper and placed two cardboard window mullions on either side to visualize the scale.  Printing out my project designs on paper first always helps me save on materials in the long run.

I proceeded to laser cut the shell out of 1/8 MDF.
The first design had a couple of issues.  The etching for the shelves extended too far and the depth of the unit wasn't quite right.

I made it again and this time got the shelves to slide in and out.

I also worked on stair designs.  This was quite challenging.  It was important to take into consideration the wall height plus the ceiling thickness to determine the overall height.  The stairs also had to fit within the two archways.  A lot of dollhouse stairs are very steep.  I looked at my Houseworks set and opted to add an extra 2 steps to make the rise a bit more gradual.  I took the overall height and divided by a possible number of steps, making sure to subtract a 3/32" section at the top where my top tread would rest.  To visualize it I digitally drew it out with little-stacked rectangles.

I decided to make the first floor stairs with space for the archway.  I thought this might add some support to both the stairs and the second floor.  The tread design features pre-made holes for square spindles.

(As per usual this took a couple of design trials)

With the fireplace unit and the stairs cut I sat down and really looked at my space.  That's when I realized it just wasn't going to work.  I knew once I cut the stair opening into the second floor there just wouldn't be enough support to hold up the 2nd and 3rd floors properly.  It already had a bit of a sag in the middle and I'd be losing even more anchoring points with the opening.  I'll admit this probably wouldn't have been an issue if I was using thicker MDF.

The image below shows what the space looked like before (although shown with a newer stair design).

And this is what I came up with instead.

A wall now divides the entry and living spaces.  It allows the second floor to be supported even with a stairway opening cut. 

To keep the entry hall from feeling too closed in I've picked a set of stairs that are open underneath.  I think I'll add trim and maybe a bottom piece along the underside. 

The new layout has grown on me.  I really like the side point of view better now.  It's nice to be able to see the fireplace and the hallway leading to the kitchen.

I will need to re-work my fireplace design a bit more now.  The space between the archways is much smaller.  I can either have the fireplace on its own or a fireplace with narrow shelves.
I'm still deciding what to put on the opposite wall where the fireplace was going to originally go.  I could do bookcases or I could do Restoration Hardware style cabinets.

Most of the laser cutting is done for now and I'm going to focus on other areas for a few weeks.  I have a lot of the window trim and plexi cut and ready.  I've also picked where to have my interior doors and have cut the openings.  Summer months mean lots of travelling to the lake so my hope is to spend that time away enjoying the sunshine and learning my new 3D design software.  I've been waiting to watch the online course videos.

I look forward to sharing the rest of my room plans and how I'm assembling my windows soon.  Hope all your mini projects are going well!