Cheap Greenleaf Dollhouse

The product shipped and arrived as promised. The instructions for this kit are (at times) complex. The quality of the wood for this dollhouse is VERY poor. I can't emphasize that enough. They use some kind of particle board, that breaks with little pressure and can be hard to sand without the top layer falling off. I finished the frame of the house this weekend and have had to use A LOT of wood filler. Working through those issues isn't a big deal if you enjoy building doll houses. I've been working on it for 4 weeks and see it taking another 3 weeks. In the end it is sturdy and should last a long time.

Great kit.... all parts pre-cut... instructions are the only weak point. Greenhouse could do a much better job with the instructions...

When finished, this doll house is very beautiful and detailed. BUT, I do not recommend it for younger children. It is very fragile and not really intended for play. When I first opened the box I was very surprised by how flimsy and weak the wood was. I thought it would have been more substantial. If you want something just for looks then this is great. If you want something for your girls to play with, I'd look for something else. This doll house is going into storage for a few years until my daughters are old enough to appreciate and respect it. Finally, this is one heck of a project, so make sure you have a lot of time on your hands and patience.

This doll house is more of a hobbie toy than anything else. I'd suggest parents not to purchase it unless you have the time to build it, fix it up and not let a child under the age of 6 play with it or it'll break. I bought this doll house for my daughter at Christmas a few years back and I'm still trying to finish it. She at the age of 6 at that time picked it out. It takes many days to ship in and it gets delivered to your door. She recieved it on Christmas not fully finished because I didn't have no idea that it'd take so long to work on. Today I finished it and she is 8 years old. I'm just one person though who works and has hardly the time to work on my own personal hobbies and interests but if you are a parent who can actually sit around and tinker with small parts, glue, paint, and the such then you'll probably be able to finish it in just a few weeks possibly even sooner :) I had my daughter help me at the end, it was very educational for her to follow directions and learn how things like this are put together.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful 4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting floorplan, December 10, 2006 By Cynthia Snowden (Placitas, New Mexico) - See all my reviews(REAL NAME)  I built this doll house about 13 years ago; it was a lot of fun. From the beginning it was to be an English house; I referred to several books on old English houses for ideas. I made several alterations in the exterior, used "slate" shingles, omitted the rather corny balcony -- anyway, it was a beauty and was eventually donated to a local arts group who auctioned it twice [the first winner having donated it back], the second time for $2000 - probably far less than I had in it, for it was fully and nicely furnished. This is a large doll house, and constructing it, decorating and furnishing it took several months of all my spare time. Note: the kit uses 1/4" plywood, not the heavier wood of the more expensive houses. I ended up using an entire [small] room for the construction that became full of adhesives [I used Liquid Nails], taping compound [for the stucco], paint, stain, and so on. I had thin glass cut for the windows, and pounded lead solder, cut it and glued it on to make "real" leaded glass. All items, for instance baseboards and the woodwork around the doors, and all components of the stairways, if you want them to look nice, will have to be bought separately, so it's good to have a doll house shop nearby. Because of the unusual and interesting floorplan, this…

This is an excellent project. I love making dollhouses and this seller is at the top of my list. I couldn't ask for more!

This house is designed to be glued together. Tabs fit into slots and are held with wood glue, so you don't need nails. You will need instructions, which didn't come with the kit I bought on Amazon. The seller said contact the mfr and they were able to email them to us. We got the kit on a Friday & the mfr wasn't open 'til Monday, so we'd figured the main structure out by the time we got the instructions, but it was nice to have the ornamental pieces labelled.The plastic sheet that had the window pieces was missing.Again, the seller said contact the mfr, who offered to replace it for $6. We passed. Wefound a great miniature dollhouse communityonline for advice and used their photos to put the structure together.It's a full scale house (1"=1'), which is nice because regular dollhouse furniture will fit. There's no siding, but my daughter preferred that because it was easier for her to paint. It's a nice size house with large rooms. The porches and trim detail give it a lot of character. It was relatively quick to assemble (with instructions it would be very easy). The roof is the most time consuming because we're glueing a couple rows of shingles on at a time (3 or 4 shingles at a time) to keep them from warping.Overall an excellent house. I give it a 4 because I wish the shingles were a little thicker to prevent warping & make installation easier. I give the mfr a 2 for not including the instructions and trying to sell us the missing window panes instead of replacing…

This is a lovely dollhouse. I own one. I can only wish that the product description would clearly state that it is half scale. That is, it's scaled to represent "real life" at one twenty-forth of real life scale. 1/24th scale is also referred to as half scale.I hope this helps, 'cos it seems to me that someone not aware of this fact could be in for a shock.

I don't know if they didn't when you got yours, but all the ones I've seen say they need to be put together and painted. You just use regular house paint and primer that you'd use on your walls. I don't know if hiring someone to do it was teaching the kid a good lesson; had it been fully assembled, they are still fragile and children need to beware of this. I've done these before, and you need small tools, ie Dremel drill, small pliers, manicure scissors, small wirecutters, and so on. Even as is, the child can still learn a lot be learning to measure, how to sand, and how to be careful with her things; which children don't learn unless they have to put effort into it. It's a gorgeous dollhouse, but what I read said nothing about being assembled or including paint.

I built this house for a friend. In the end, after about 5 or 6 weeks, it looked spectacular. The caveat is in the detail. For a finished look, you need siding, shingles (or other roofing), paint, glue, etc. The kit is $150; plan on another $300.00 if you want a finished exterior. If you buy a lighting kit and a moderate amount of basic furniture, well, you get the idea. This is a fine project, but not a small project.

I have a "plum pudding" model of this brand. I did mine at Think Small by Rosebud, 3209 N Clark st, Chicago 773-477-1920. There's no online store and it's not the easiest to find online, either. I reprint this info for you b/c I've read the instructions for these, and am more than grateful to have infinite help in the last Chicago dollhouse store and workshop.This is my second house, and it's 20 times better with working dorbell, inside and outside lights, genuine cherry and mohogany flooring, working neon bar signs. Eventually, I'll have a working TV set. I spend a lot of time there, and these are the nicest people who bend over backwards to help. It's a great social opportunity to hang out with neighbors or your kids. I've met a lot of nice people over there.These are very tough and strong 3/8 plywood and MDF houses, and while they cost more than say the lower-quality Greenleaf stuff, you also get much better materials. Think Small only sells this brand, as after 200 houses, you learn that thinner materials split if you drill holes for wiring. Their prices are more than fair at online prices, but without shipping. When I bought mine, I looked for three days at various sites, and never did find better prices for anything cheaper than Think Small offered.I build my house there, and they help with tools and experienced knowledge, make cuts for extra windows and doors for me (no charge), and can easily match furniture,flooring and wallpaper stuff to it, as the house is…