I have just today found your channel and I am so glad I did! About 12 years ago I got started on building dollhouses as a means of working through a really difficult time in my life. It was my husband's idea and i am afraid he lived to regret it. I went from my initial large house to add a music conservatory, then did a row of shops, five of them, and then added a second house. At some point he made his own little miniature sign for the front yard asking for donations. lol Then I stopped making dollhouses and went on to doll making. Now I am four years into trying to find a way to get on with life after losing my darling who started the whole dollhouse episode to help me when I needed it. I am only now beginning to feel like doing much of anything and I have been afraid any small skill I had developed 12 years ago had been lost for good. So--the hunt for helpful videos began a few days ago. Today I stumbled by accident on one of your older videos and was so completly enchanted with your whole "vibe". Your sweetness of spirit, Nigel, just everything about your presentation seemed to be exactly what I needed to buck up my courage to give it a try again. So I ordered a kit (I don't begin to have the talent--or tools--necessary to build from scratch) and I will be watching as many episodes as I can between now and delivery date.
Hello Linda, firstly, I want to thank you for watching my videos, and to welcome you to our ever growing "miniature family"! 🙏🙏🙏 I'll say at this point, that it doesn't matter how much of a gap you've had between working on houses, you never lose your skills! Once you get back into it, it really is amazing just how much knowledge and skill comes back to you in waves 😊 I'm saddened to hear of your loss of your nearest and dearest, but from what you've already told me, I am so very sure that he would be there in your thoughts, feeling happy for you, and pleased to see you working on your new build! Personally, I do this work every day. I can very easily be in my workshop from breakfast, right up to 6,7 even 8pm on occasions. Although it does take up most of my time because if I'm not working on a commission, then I'll be working on my own private collection. This is why I try and give as much detail as possible in my videos for other folk to see. I'm not one of these folk who do commissions, but keep the technical details from the customer! This is why I hopefully get to put their houses on UA-cam. As it not only helps give folk tips for doing things, it's also a permanent record for the client, so they can see how it was created! Anyway, I will stop ranting on now and get on with my work! I'm hoping to have the final part of this latest commission completed and the video uploaded any day now. I hope your lovely new house arrives soon, and you must let me know how you get on with your new "journey"! All the best to you my lovely 😊🙏
Hilarious Rachel 😂😂 and very relatable. Thank you for the giggle. I feel the same about lighting I would like a 101 on how to do it yourself. It's so difficult to know what to use and what to do xx
No budget. Wow!!!!! That’s going to interfere with your sleep for a bit!!! 😂😂😎 The car takes me back to somewhere in the ‘50s or ‘60s. Thanks for another pleasant slice of your time! ☮️❤️
Yes I know what you mean. I already had the same house, but mine is still waiting to be done. But it probably won't be as glamorous as the commission one 😁 hey ho!
Hi Richard just found your Channel it's great .Love watching all the progress .My name is Maria Geurts and keep doing what you are doing. Love from Cental Scotland . PS car is gorgeous x
Thank you Maria 🙏 and welcome to our "miniature family"! 😊 I lived in Scotland from the age of 15 for around 20 odd years. My family lived in a tiny village called Braco. Its near Stirling and also Gleneagles x
I am with Rachel on the stairs. I leave them out of most of my houses, lol! I've had to overcome many phobias, like fear of electrical, fear of power tools, fear of making a mistake (I am a perfectionist, lol), etc. I've enjoyed watching you from your first house til now and you are fearless!! Thanks for sharing how you do things in your houses, it's helped me so much in the last few years. And the car is GORGEOUS!!! I would love to ride around in that vehicle, hanging my elbow out the window and just enjoying life! Congratulations to you both, and hugs to all four of you. ❤❤❤❤
Yes Debra, I couldn't stop laughing for ages after reading Rachel's comment! 😂 I do love a challenge, so I just like to dive in and "welcome" anything I haven't done before 😁 so I suppose it could be called fearless. Although sometimes I think it's just madness! 😂
Your stairway skills leave me envious. Classic Ford from years gone by. That car would turn heads here, I imagine it will turn heads there, too! The new Ashcroft will be so much fun to watch as you choose items with an unlimited budget!! Thank you Richard! 😊
Thank you Beth 🙏 the stairs were quite a challenge because I had to make them up as I went along. But you just take things slowly and think about it before you move on 😊 Yes, I'm' really looking forward to seeing what the client wants in her house! 😁
Hi Richard. I’ve enjoyed all your videos so much. At the risk of causing even more anxiety, I have a comment about stair stringers. I noticed on your last video that there was a gap between the stairs and the wall which you had to fill with more pieces of wood. I did wonder if the kit manufacturer had left space for a stringer. I think it was a Julie Warren video which originally alerted me to this - the stringer is another piece of wood which runs up alongside the stair on the side which meets the wall. I’ve since done this myself. It wasn’t too much of a fiddle and I felt it added a lot to the look of the staircase. Also gives a continuous border as the stringer meets the skirting at the top and bottom. I could have used plain wood but found a stockist that sells deep skirting board which worked well. I hope you don’t mind - I rarely comment on UA-cam but thought this might interesting to you.
Hi Lynn. Many thanks for your observations 🙏 and yes, I agree with you completely. But when this house came to me in pieces, all of the small items weren't there. The owners had only the body and a handful of separate steps, so I just had to make it up myself. And although I never mentioned why there was a gap for the stringer (that wasn't included in the kit) I just decided to completely cover the under stair because I could see all the desperate steps and it looked unpleasing in my eye. Then I found the little rounded piece of wood to use as a stringer. So the finished effect looked quite tidy 😊 But it's always a really good thing to hear all comments, as like you say, we are ALL definitely learning constantly! I live/eat/breathe dollhouses, so I'm always learning 😁
Your superpower is getting so much done in the time, and getting each house finished so quickly. My husband bought me my dollshouse kit in 1996 and I’m only just starting to wallpaper the inside! I had no idea how much work would be involved. Mind you if I could stop changing my mind it would help 😂
@@lynncarleton8999 it's so easy to leave projects on the shelf here and there. But this is what I do almost every single day. Sometimes it even surprises me, how much you can get done each day! 😊
Hello Richard, the house is looking great, I'm sure the owner is going to love it. What a fantastic opportunity to do a dolls house with no budget 🤯 you're going to have an amazing time doing it, and I can't wait to watch the videos. That car was gorgeous 😍 Hope you are all keeping well, Best wishes to You, John and the kitties from Yorkshire 😊
Hi Richard, Thanks for passing on your tips of the trade. I wouldn’t know where to start or how to start wiring up a dollhouse but I’m definitely not up to that stage yet. When it comes time I’ll know who to ask. Wink wink. Cheers Robyn ❤
How exciting to be undertaking another commission of an Ashcroft Hall, I hope the client will be as happy with theirs as I am with mine. Look forward to watching the progress.
Yes I'm very excited, as it's one of my own clients, so I've been able to go a bit mad with it! 😁 It's just made it a bit more exciting as there's basically no budget. And I've been told to "go to town" with it! So that is where I will go 😂
@@user-ut6ms4of8i yes, believe me when I say it's giving me sleepless nights! I even enquired about sleeping pills from the doctor, but they won't entertain my request! 😁 But it's been great fun collaborating and deciding how to go with the decor. And I thought I couldn't get any more excited than I normally am on a daily basis! 😂
Hi Richard, Thanks for all of your tips. I have an old dollhouse, which my daughter rescued. It is missing the newel posts (I think they were never installed in the first place) and the railing along the second floor landing. Besides the strips of wood detail underneath the Balusters, is there any other tips you can share? Or may be someday can you show us how you actually make/installed the railing with the Newel posts. I have watched your videos, it seems like they magically get done. This newbie would deeply appreciate it. Thank you! 😊
Hi, thank you for your comments 🙏 I do apologise for not filming how I actually put the stairs together. I'm terrible really, I'm always "apologetic" when filming, and keep thinking folk will get bored if I go on too much, instead of just showing them my progress 😏 silly really. But as far as the straight, flat runs of balustrades, I found that it was MUCH easier to measure and glue the spindles into the banisters first. Then place them down between the newel posts in one go. When i was first learning, I would glue the spindles to the floor first, between the newel posts. But then it was a fight to get them all into the banisters!
The house is coming on now The car was really nice bet John boy loved driving it and wow no budget bet you will have sleepless nights looking forward to seeing it Thanks for the tips again.
Oh he loved being behind the wheel! And yes, I already had another sleepless night last night! My mind keeps decorating more and more in my next commission! 😂
Beautiful work, Richard. Patience is a virtue with miniatures. No budget?? Oh be still my heart LOL That classic car John was driving is such a beauty. Again, thank you for another video where I learned something! Hooray! LOL Enjoying your videos with a cuppa in Virginia, USA, sitting near the top of a mountain. Cheers!
I’m learning a lot watching you Rich so thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, I love that blue tiled paper, might get some of it, and oh my gosh a dolls house commission with no budget wow, I’m looking forward to seeing that one too, I have a question, I’ve got some glass tiles for my next doll house project, what is the best thing to use for grouting them or do they need to be grouted?, and isn’t that car a beauty, tfs x Julie
You're very welcome as always Julie 🙏 as far as the tiles go. It depends on the finished look you are going for. And if they are painted glass or see through. I just use a fine powder tile grout, or you can get a white powder grout, and when you mix it, you can tint the grout to a chosen colour. Or, I've seen glass tiles touching each other, so no grout needed. But like I say, it's just what ever look you want to achieve 😊 x
Hi Rich, another lovely informative video, thank you. What change did you make to the middle floor layout? did you make the staircase wall further over into the bedroom for more room around the stairs? I'm on that bit now but that staircase is very long and steep; I'm concerned about the children falling down it!
You are very welcome 🙏 in my head I had already moved the middle wall to make the landing bigger (and visualised an old desk and chair etc) but I was restricted to what the client wanted. As in all commissions, you can't always do what you think is best 😏
Richard did you know if your making a sofa or chair from scratch. You can use those plastic plugs for feet under neath the sofa. And chair. You all so can use them for a coffee table legs.
Of course the dome must screw off. Don’t mind me! How did John boy feel driving from the ‘passenger’ side in that American car? I wouldn’t even attempt to drive a British car. Accident waiting to happen!
Yes all the lights in that design, do unscrew so you can change the bulbs! John boy only drove the car down the street, to turn around so he could drive it into the driveway, but I think he liked driving it 😁
Many thanks 🙏 I've uploaded around 12 videos now about the art deco build, so I don't know what you've seen up to. But I am filming more installments because of adding two extra floors, that aren't in the original single kit
Such beautiful houses in the background. I love the contrast of the white stair rails with the brown . What an amazing car.
Yes I still have to begin work on the castle, hopefully one day! But I'm never short of things to do, that's for sure! 😁
I have just today found your channel and I am so glad I did! About 12 years ago I got started on building dollhouses as a means of working through a really difficult time in my life. It was my husband's idea and i am afraid he lived to regret it. I went from my initial large house to add a music conservatory, then did a row of shops, five of them, and then added a second house. At some point he made his own little miniature sign for the front yard asking for donations. lol Then I stopped making dollhouses and went on to doll making. Now I am four years into trying to find a way to get on with life after losing my darling who started the whole dollhouse episode to help me when I needed it. I am only now beginning to feel like doing much of anything and I have been afraid any small skill I had developed 12 years ago had been lost for good. So--the hunt for helpful videos began a few days ago. Today I stumbled by accident on one of your older videos and was so completly enchanted with your whole "vibe". Your sweetness of spirit, Nigel, just everything about your presentation seemed to be exactly what I needed to buck up my courage to give it a try again. So I ordered a kit (I don't begin to have the talent--or tools--necessary to build from scratch) and I will be watching as many episodes as I can between now and delivery date.
Hello Linda, firstly, I want to thank you for watching my videos, and to welcome you to our ever growing "miniature family"! 🙏🙏🙏
I'll say at this point, that it doesn't matter how much of a gap you've had between working on houses, you never lose your skills! Once you get back into it, it really is amazing just how much knowledge and skill comes back to you in waves 😊
I'm saddened to hear of your loss of your nearest and dearest, but from what you've already told me, I am so very sure that he would be there in your thoughts, feeling happy for you, and pleased to see you working on your new build!
Personally, I do this work every day. I can very easily be in my workshop from breakfast, right up to 6,7 even 8pm on occasions. Although it does take up most of my time because if I'm not working on a commission, then I'll be working on my own private collection. This is why I try and give as much detail as possible in my videos for other folk to see. I'm not one of these folk who do commissions, but keep the technical details from the customer! This is why I hopefully get to put their houses on UA-cam. As it not only helps give folk tips for doing things, it's also a permanent record for the client, so they can see how it was created!
Anyway, I will stop ranting on now and get on with my work! I'm hoping to have the final part of this latest commission completed and the video uploaded any day now. I hope your lovely new house arrives soon, and you must let me know how you get on with your new "journey"! All the best to you my lovely 😊🙏
Hilarious Rachel 😂😂 and very relatable. Thank you for the giggle. I feel the same about lighting I would like a 101 on how to do it yourself. It's so difficult to know what to use and what to do xx
I couldn't stop laughing for ages! My next video will include doing one method of lighting 😊 xx
❤😊
No budget. Wow!!!!! That’s going to interfere with your sleep for a bit!!! 😂😂😎 The car takes me back to somewhere in the ‘50s or ‘60s. Thanks for another pleasant slice of your time! ☮️❤️
Another lovely video, thank you. I have also made the same mistake with the carpet lol, Tracey
Another fun and informative video x
Thank you, you're very welcome 🙏 x
I will be pretending that new commission is mine, as I watch you joyfully getting to work on this dream project!
Yes I know what you mean. I already had the same house, but mine is still waiting to be done. But it probably won't be as glamorous as the commission one 😁 hey ho!
Hi Richard just found your Channel it's great .Love watching all the progress .My name is Maria Geurts and keep doing what you are doing. Love from Cental Scotland .
PS car is gorgeous x
Thank you Maria 🙏 and welcome to our "miniature family"! 😊 I lived in Scotland from the age of 15 for around 20 odd years. My family lived in a tiny village called Braco. Its near Stirling and also Gleneagles x
I am with Rachel on the stairs. I leave them out of most of my houses, lol! I've had to overcome many phobias, like fear of electrical, fear of power tools, fear of making a mistake (I am a perfectionist, lol), etc. I've enjoyed watching you from your first house til now and you are fearless!! Thanks for sharing how you do things in your houses, it's helped me so much in the last few years. And the car is GORGEOUS!!! I would love to ride around in that vehicle, hanging my elbow out the window and just enjoying life! Congratulations to you both, and hugs to all four of you. ❤❤❤❤
Yes Debra, I couldn't stop laughing for ages after reading Rachel's comment! 😂
I do love a challenge, so I just like to dive in and "welcome" anything I haven't done before 😁 so I suppose it could be called fearless. Although sometimes I think it's just madness! 😂
Ooh how did I miss this 1? Brew time😂❤
Your stairway skills leave me envious. Classic Ford from years gone by. That car would turn heads here, I imagine it will turn heads there, too! The new Ashcroft will be so much fun to watch as you choose items with an unlimited budget!! Thank you Richard! 😊
Thank you Beth 🙏 the stairs were quite a challenge because I had to make them up as I went along. But you just take things slowly and think about it before you move on 😊
Yes, I'm' really looking forward to seeing what the client wants in her house! 😁
Love that new car!
I know, it was amazing to ride around in it! 😁
Hi Richard. I’ve enjoyed all your videos so much. At the risk of causing even more anxiety, I have a comment about stair stringers. I noticed on your last video that there was a gap between the stairs and the wall which you had to fill with more pieces of wood. I did wonder if the kit manufacturer had left space for a stringer. I think it was a Julie Warren video which originally alerted me to this - the stringer is another piece of wood which runs up alongside the stair on the side which meets the wall. I’ve since done this myself. It wasn’t too much of a fiddle and I felt it added a lot to the look of the staircase. Also gives a continuous border as the stringer meets the skirting at the top and bottom. I could have used plain wood but found a stockist that sells deep skirting board which worked well. I hope you don’t mind - I rarely comment on UA-cam but thought this might interesting to you.
Hi Lynn. Many thanks for your observations 🙏 and yes, I agree with you completely. But when this house came to me in pieces, all of the small items weren't there. The owners had only the body and a handful of separate steps, so I just had to make it up myself. And although I never mentioned why there was a gap for the stringer (that wasn't included in the kit) I just decided to completely cover the under stair because I could see all the desperate steps and it looked unpleasing in my eye. Then I found the little rounded piece of wood to use as a stringer. So the finished effect looked quite tidy 😊
But it's always a really good thing to hear all comments, as like you say, we are ALL definitely learning constantly! I live/eat/breathe dollhouses, so I'm always learning 😁
Your superpower is getting so much done in the time, and getting each house finished so quickly. My husband bought me my dollshouse kit in 1996 and I’m only just starting to wallpaper the inside! I had no idea how much work would be involved. Mind you if I could stop changing my mind it would help 😂
@@lynncarleton8999 it's so easy to leave projects on the shelf here and there. But this is what I do almost every single day. Sometimes it even surprises me, how much you can get done each day! 😊
Hello Richard, the house is looking great, I'm sure the owner is going to love it. What a fantastic opportunity to do a dolls house with no budget 🤯 you're going to have an amazing time doing it, and I can't wait to watch the videos.
That car was gorgeous 😍
Hope you are all keeping well, Best wishes to You, John and the kitties from Yorkshire 😊
Thanks Diane 🙏 and yes, I can't wait for my next commission. I'm sure it's going to be another lovely journey like all the others have been! 🙏😊
Wow, no budget??!!! You're going to have so much fun with that house!!! Can't wait to see what you do!
I know! I can't wait either!!! 😂
Hi Richard, Thanks for passing on your tips of the trade. I wouldn’t know where to start or how to start wiring up a dollhouse but I’m definitely not up to that stage yet. When it comes time I’ll know who to ask. Wink wink. Cheers Robyn ❤
How exciting to be undertaking another commission of an Ashcroft Hall, I hope the client will be as happy with theirs as I am with mine. Look forward to watching the progress.
Yes I'm very excited, as it's one of my own clients, so I've been able to go a bit mad with it! 😁 It's just made it a bit more exciting as there's basically no budget. And I've been told to "go to town" with it! So that is where I will go 😂
Goodness me, you wont be able to sleep with all the ideas going around in your head@@RichMiniatures
@@user-ut6ms4of8i yes, believe me when I say it's giving me sleepless nights! I even enquired about sleeping pills from the doctor, but they won't entertain my request! 😁
But it's been great fun collaborating and deciding how to go with the decor. And I thought I couldn't get any more excited than I normally am on a daily basis! 😂
Hi Richard, Thanks for all of your tips. I have an old dollhouse, which my daughter rescued. It is missing the newel posts (I think they were never installed in the first place) and the railing along the second floor landing. Besides the strips of wood detail underneath the Balusters, is there any other tips you can share? Or may be someday can you show us how you actually make/installed the railing with the Newel posts. I have watched your videos, it seems like they magically get done. This newbie would deeply appreciate it. Thank you! 😊
Hi, thank you for your comments 🙏
I do apologise for not filming how I actually put the stairs together. I'm terrible really, I'm always "apologetic" when filming, and keep thinking folk will get bored if I go on too much, instead of just showing them my progress 😏 silly really. But as far as the straight, flat runs of balustrades, I found that it was MUCH easier to measure and glue the spindles into the banisters first. Then place them down between the newel posts in one go. When i was first learning, I would glue the spindles to the floor first, between the newel posts. But then it was a fight to get them all into the banisters!
The house is coming on now The car was really nice bet John boy loved driving it and wow no budget bet you will have sleepless nights looking forward to seeing it Thanks for the tips again.
Oh he loved being behind the wheel! And yes, I already had another sleepless night last night! My mind keeps decorating more and more in my next commission! 😂
Beautiful work, Richard. Patience is a virtue with miniatures. No budget?? Oh be still my heart LOL That classic car John was driving is such a beauty. Again, thank you for another video where I learned something! Hooray! LOL Enjoying your videos with a cuppa in Virginia, USA, sitting near the top of a mountain. Cheers!
Thank you 🙏 sadly the owners have decided to wait a while before the house begins. But I had another client waiting. So another commission on the way!
I’m learning a lot watching you Rich so thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, I love that blue tiled paper, might get some of it, and oh my gosh a dolls house commission with no budget wow, I’m looking forward to seeing that one too, I have a question, I’ve got some glass tiles for my next doll house project, what is the best thing to use for grouting them or do they need to be grouted?, and isn’t that car a beauty, tfs x Julie
You're very welcome as always Julie 🙏 as far as the tiles go. It depends on the finished look you are going for. And if they are painted glass or see through. I just use a fine powder tile grout, or you can get a white powder grout, and when you mix it, you can tint the grout to a chosen colour. Or, I've seen glass tiles touching each other, so no grout needed. But like I say, it's just what ever look you want to achieve 😊 x
Your videos are my therapy. 😁
Awww bless you! Thank you Connie 🙏🙏🙏
Once the fixture is superglued to the ceiling how do you access it if you have to replace the lightbulb? Does the dome screw off?
Yep, all the domes screw off so you can replace bulbs 😊
Hi Rich, another lovely informative video, thank you. What change did you make to the middle floor layout? did you make the staircase wall further over into the bedroom for more room around the stairs? I'm on that bit now but that staircase is very long and steep; I'm concerned about the children falling down it!
You are very welcome 🙏 in my head I had already moved the middle wall to make the landing bigger (and visualised an old desk and chair etc) but I was restricted to what the client wanted. As in all commissions, you can't always do what you think is best 😏
Richard did you know if your making a sofa or chair from scratch. You can use those plastic plugs for feet under neath the sofa. And chair. You all so can use them for a coffee table legs.
Of course the dome must screw off. Don’t mind me!
How did John boy feel driving from the ‘passenger’ side in that American car? I wouldn’t even attempt to drive a British car. Accident waiting to happen!
Yes all the lights in that design, do unscrew so you can change the bulbs! John boy only drove the car down the street, to turn around so he could drive it into the driveway, but I think he liked driving it 😁
I love watching you. Did you finish the art deco? If so I missed it somehow.
Many thanks 🙏 I've uploaded around 12 videos now about the art deco build, so I don't know what you've seen up to. But I am filming more installments because of adding two extra floors, that aren't in the original single kit
What can you do with windows plexiglass yellowing over time to make the clear again?
Personally I would replace them!
Hello Richard nice to see you again
Hope you are keeping well Carol 🙏
Lo ve it leRning from you jie ye o budget wish lol