I guess this will be a thread of me building a dollhouse for my kid. Here's a sped up video of me cutting some little stair stringers.

On the very last cut off these a little corner chipped off. Not a huge deal, I'll be able to put it against a wall.

I'm caught up on other projects, so I'm back to this. Here I'm checking if the dimensions of it are good to be able to get your hands in there and move toys around before I start building.

It's a bit dark in there. There will be windows in the real one, so it won't be as bad, but maybe I should splurge on a light?

The attic I'm not worried about. The opening is on a slope, so it should be fine wrt light and being accessible to little toddler hands.

Panel glue-up. This will be the side walls. Embarrassing mistake, I bought the wrong wood. I meant to get poplar, and got maple. I'm my defense they can look pretty similar rough sawn, it was with the poplar, and I was even charged for poplar.

I even thought it seemed a bit hard and heavy for poplar, but didn't question it, but knew as soon as I cut into it. So anyway, it's going to be maple now.

The house will be intentionally rough looking on the outside and painted on the inside, so the wood species isn't that important. But poplar is kinda fuzzy and maple is hard and smooth, so it'll be a little more work to get the outside looking how I want it.

The front wall

I just realized I never mentioned in this this thread, this is based on a style of log houses that Metis people were building in the late 1800s - early 1900s. https://twitter.com/BeadSpiller/status/1315710609606889473?s=19

I got interested in these houses a few years ago and started planning to build this as a scale model, before I ever had a kid. Now it's going to be my kid's dollhouse.

Cutting dovetails

A satisfying thing about this project is that it's supposed to look rough on the outside and will be painted on the inside, so I can relax about little flaws as long as everything fits together

The last thing I made was a cedar box. The wood was so soft and dented so easily, so I had to be delicate with it. Nice to be able to just chop this thing up and not worry about it.

A little gappy and rough, but again it's supposed to look rough on the outside, so it's fine. I'm rushing these a bit.

Starting to look like a house!

It has a floor! When I first planned this I wanted to do a real scale model, including the types of joinery that would have been used in these log houses. But this is a toy for a toddler, so it had to be sturdy, and if be nervous about thin little joints like that.

So instead of floor boards on top of joists, this floor is just a sheet of MDF that fits in grooves in the walls. The gables will be solid plywood, the roof will be MDF, no rafters. These were going to have more complex joinery before, it'll be quicker and stronger this way.

What I never want to become is some weird adult who makes dollhouses that kids aren't allowed to play with. Shopping for dollhouse stuff recently makes me think those people are definitely out there.

Gluing up some staircase parts. I was going to make a little video showing me cutting up all the tiny joinery, but I don't really have time for that. Less than a week until Christmas.

More staircase-like

It's coming together, but it might have to be a New Years present

I cut the log grooves on the router table, then roughed it up with a rasp and chisel. This is one thing that would have been easier with poplar, maple is a lot harder.

A coat of paint on the inside. The front wall is glued to the back wall. I'm finishing the inside parts before I glue up the rest.

I was staying up too late working on it every night, and got to a point where I was making little mistakes because I was tired and rushing, and also not enjoying it as much anymore. It won't be done for xmas, so it feels good to slow down and stop trying to make that happen.

Sneak peek at the outside. I'm second guessing the choice to make it look all run down on the outside, because my kid is 2.5 and might just think it's ugly. I planned on it looking more dilapidated than this, I toned it down a bit. The inside will be nice and modern.

I think I would have loved it as a kid, but I also spent a lot more time in rural areas than she does, and would have understood that esthetic a bit more

Since it's not going to be a Christmas present anymore, I decided to just show her. She likes it! But now she wants to help with it. I'll try to think of some little tasks she can help with.

I have doorknob options, because my Wish order was so late I thought it wasn't coming and ordered another set of doorknobs. Which one should I use? The door will be a black panel inside a walnut frame.

The one on the right is the Wish one, and it's actually much better quality than the one I got from a Canadian dollhouse supply place. But my grandparents' farm house had glass doorknobs like that, so I kinda like them.

Tiny window joinery

A small door. I'm going to finish it before gluing it up.

Window and door parts sorted for finishing. I was going to have 1 or 2 more windows on the lower floor, and I'm really glad I skipped them.

Ruby got to help today! She was really excited about it.

When we painted this part, Ruby said "I was worried I wouldn't get to paint" and she was so happy to be doing it There's part of the inside of the roof that needs another coat, so I'll get her to paint that too.

Excessively masked so Ruby can help. She wants to help with everything I make, and it's hard to give up any control to a 2.5 year old when I've put so much work into it. But she was so proud of the little piece she painted, it'll be a more meaningful gift if she works on it.

All the parts are built, now it's just a little bit of finishing, assembly, and accessories