My left side small panel is a little beat up and that is because I realized I had put the interior edge trim on the wrong side, after the glue had dried so I had to pry it all apart. The wide side of the panel, from the edge to the windows, is the side that is hinged so I had to turn my panel around or it wouldn't fit right and you would be able to see the side walls through the windows.
The mistake happened because this dollhouse is a little confusing with which direction the rooms should go. The box photo does not match the illustrations so you have to be VERY careful. It doesn't matter if you build your dollhouse with the staircase to the left or right but it does matter how you hinge your panels. The direction of the staircase will affect the positioning of your panels, so you have to dry fit as much as possible to make sure they are facing in the right direction.
Guiding yourself with pictures for this, will be very confusing as all the pictures are different, including mines. Since this dollhouse was a re-release I am thinking that someone mistakenly inverted the dollhouse box and website photos and so they do not match the older illustrations. Like I said before, it doesn't matter which direction you build your dollhouse because it will not affect assembly or outcome but you do have to make sure that your panels are facing in the right direction so that you finish the right interior and exterior sides correctly.
Here are a few tips:
1. Both front panels have no front or back sides before assembly. They can be turned on either side to face in the correct direction.
2. The large panel MUST be placed on the front of the large dollhouse rooms. This is the only way that the door will face the right room. The panels MUST join together when closed along each rooms partitions edge. Notice there is one side of the dollhouse with large rooms and one side with smaller rooms. This is why there is one large panel for the large rooms and one small panel for the small rooms.
3. The magnet and magnet plate go on the large panel.
4. The large panel is the only panel with edge trim along the side where it meets with the small panel when closed. This trim holds the small panel in place when both panels are closed. This edge trim also hides the gap between the two panels when they are closed.
5. The hinge side of the panels is the side that is widest between the edge and windows. If you look at the panels, you will realize that one side is wider to where the windows begin, this is the side that must have the hinges.
6. Leave your panel hinging and assembling for AFTER your entire dollhouse is finished. That way you can dry fit your panels and notice which side faces the exterior and interior and finish them accordingly. Do not try to finish and assemble these panels before your dollhouse. You do not want to have to take all of the interior trim apart if you end up with them facing in the wrong direction.
7. Best way to dry fit hinged panels is with temporary hinges made of masking tape. Fry fit hinge both panels at the same time so you understand how they are suppose to open and close. Mark with a pencil which side is interior and exterior, so you don't make my mistake later on and forget.
Even though my panel is a little roughed up, I was able to salvage and repair it good enough to where the beat up is not very noticeable. I could have called Greenleaf Dollhouses and had them send me a new panel and interior trim, at no cost, but I didn't want to put a hold on the assembly while waiting for the mail. I am enjoying working on this dollhouse and I am on a roll right now. Since this dollhouse is for me, I can live with the little imperfections.
Now that the right panel is hinged and I am working on touching it up and making it look right, I decided to place the dollhouse on it's legged base. I added glue to the base and placed the dollhouse on top. I then clamped where I could with binder clips and used the two pound weights on the back area where I couldn't use the clips.
I am going to say it again, be careful with this structure. I still need to put trim around the edges where the dollhouse meets the base for added support and a more finished look but regardless of the trim supports, physics makes this structure wobbly. Large, lightweight, object on top of thin legs = potential tip over.
Though the structure will not break apart unless it suffers a substantial fall, it CAN tip over if not handled properly. Always open your panels with one hand supporting the structure by the roof. This is a lightweight dollhouse and easy to handle but the magnet is strong so you will need to use force to open your panel and this force can tip over your dollhouse if you do not use one hand to stabilize it.
