[WIP-MOC] My House

[antp]

Hello,

As announced on the thread where I published the MOC of my apartment, with my girlfriend we bought a house last year, so it is a good reason for a new MOC.

In December I started building it.

Unlike the two apartments, I won't post photos of the "real" rooms, only the Lego version.

There is a ground floor, two upper floors, a basement and a garden.

I'll start with the ground floor, here is the blueprint:

As I did for the apartment, I made a base with two layers of plates. I re-used the DBG plates bought back then, with the addition of a few large 8x16 LBG that I got since then, as there is more surface.

First layer, second layer:

The hole is for the stairs to the basement.

Then I notice that I made it too narrow, I change it, ready to start... then I see that it is too wide Fix it again, now it is good:

I started with the inside walls:

Some of the apartment furniture will be re-used (my furniture) but I'll have to make those from my girlfriend and those we bought for the house.

The first one I made is a Kallax from Ikea 3x4 black with white drawers/doors.

I made three proof-of-concept :

and went on with the one in the middle (requiring me to buy additional "white glass" parts).

Then I made the stairs to the upper floor and the door for the basement stairs:

Opened the box of the second set 31070 bought for parts a while ago just to get the blue slope 65

Knowing that this blue is only temporary: it is an old vynil that we plan to replace. That leaves a large choice of colors... https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=60481#T=C but I'm afraid we'll go with something close to dark than, which of course does not exist. I just have to hope that Lego releases that part, or I'll do it in tan or brown.
The slope 75 exists in all these colors.

On that photo tiles in front are still missing. I chose to turn the parts (snot) as the inverted slope 45 used under the stairs were too high. That way they are just fine for the scale that I use.

The living room, without and with the furniture:

The couch and the table were taken from the previous apartment (the real ones as well as the Lego versions )

Since the first version made years ago, I did not modify that couch a lot. Now that there are more dark orange parts, maybe some day I could try to improve it.

The wall behind the TV is raspberry-color. I hesitate between magenta and plain red for the Lego version, but magenta looks way too pink.

In January I continued with the doors, front window and Ikea Bestå cabinets above the couch:

I made the doors brick-built like in my first apartment (rather than using Lego doors like in my second apartment) as I find them closer to the real ones (but they should have three small windows instead of two), and also because they wouldn't be high enough otherwise.

That also allows to make brick-build frame, that will be more visible. For now they are white but later they will be replaced by black (when we'll have time to paint them in very-dark-gray in the real house).

The main entrance door normally has 5 small sanded windows, but after a few trials I prefer this version even if the count is not right.

I still had to replace 1x1 technic brick holding the rolling shutter by tan versions, pending a Bricklink order.

[antp]

In the second half of January, I started the dining room, with a long bench along the wall (with drawers from Ikea kitchen under it) and a cabinet in the corner:

Just for reference, the cabinets of the dining room and the kitchen are from the Voxtorp range from Ikea: https://www.ikea.com/be/fr/rooms/kitchen/voxtorp-cuisine-gris-fonce-pub1c2d79cd

The table was the easiest: 3 parts only (120x120 cm, nice for the 6x6 tile, a little skewed on the picture, in reality it looks fine).

In the middle, replacing a wall that was torn down, we built a central unit separating the dining room from the kitchen. On the kitchen side there are a lot of drawers in it, on the dining room side the surface has an overhang of about 30 cm that can be used as table too; I still have to make the Lego version of the chairs that we put there (and the chairs around the square table).

The plates of the surface are attached via their tubes for an half-stud offset, I made a few tests before the current system.

Next step, the cabinets of the kitchen side, still in the same style, I'll have just enough with the bunch of 2x3 dbg tiles ordered previously from BL. Sadly the Scala 3x6 tile does not exist in dbg (and is quite rare anyway), it will look less good with the 2x3 But I'm already happy that these exist for the 60cm-wide cabinets.

I also finished the facade of the ground floor:

As said previously, I still have to replace the black 1x1 technic bricks by the tan version.

The dark green line is there because on the real facade there is a large green stripe between the two floors.

On the inside the window and the door should be white, but it is a little complicated to have two different colors there...

It is also while doing the photo that I see that I didn't put a door handle on the inside

[Clone OPatra]

Nice going so far! I really like your Kallax build, and the one you chose (in the middle of that picture) is definitely the one I would've said most evokes the design. Great attention to detail and I look forward to seeing it come together further.

[antp]

Thanks :)

Here is the latest update available (from two weeks ago), the kitchen cabinets are finished:

For the microwave oven that is inside these cabinets I wanted to use silver-metallic plates in addition to the 1x2 and 1x1 tiles that I used, but these are hard to find

One of these days, with two 2x2 corner plates (existed in only one set) I should be able to make it... it is on my BL wanted list. Maybe we'll have already another microwave oven at that moment

The two columns on the left are for the freezer and fridge (that do not use the full height: the space above is used as regular cabinets), ideally for matching the real door panels I would need 3x4 tiles but that does not exist yet.

The slightly open door is the dishwasher.

The backside:

Then I modified the part on the right to add the sink:

The 1x10 plate on the front of the surface is held by inverted slopes 3x2 & 3x1 inside the dishwasher (hence the interest of having it opened rather than closed; and in real life it is open like that rather than closed).

Now I have to make the stove+oven on the right (which is not integrated with the rest of the kitchen).

[antp]

End of January we repainted the wall of the hallway in dark red, so I updated the Lego version. As I was expecting that color change, I had not yet made the whole wall. So it was a good opportunity for finishing it (or nearly: I used all my 1x4 dark red bricks, so I'll wait for a future arrival to finish that corner).

The horizontal frame is a mirror, at the moment of the photo I did yet had the part (arrived since).

Ditto for the wall under the stairs (wall of the basement), I'll have to get more parts of that color (strange color for a wall, but as it is low priority on the to-do list of the house it will keep that color for some time).

The part in "classic red" along the stairs kept that color because we did not plan to paint it in dark red, but rather dark grey, so it still had its old color at that moment.

On the living room side, I also finished the wall:

The yellow thing is a sardine box for cats: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B06XPD2GPV/ref=pe_3044141_185740131_TE_item

After that I continued the kitchen & dining room side, many new small details:

The chairs are done: high chairs (bar stools) for the central area, and the regular chairs of the square table. About that table, we ordered a new one with a size more suitable to the room and prettier, but not as easy to replicate in Lego as this one was

I added the stove and the small spice rack on its left.

I finally found a solution for the windows above the double glass door. It was visible on the photos at the beginning of my message, but it is more visible here.

Later we repainted the frame between the living room and the dining room (very dark grey nearly black instead of white), so I updated the Lego version immediately

In the corner of the photo one can also see the hallway wall (along the stairs) repainted in dark grey.

On the last photo one can also see (more or less) that on the living room I replaced the white "trophy" statue by a tan "microfigure", its height is a better match (and the actual color is between the two).

There are also finally 2x3 black tiles on the front of the TV bench.

[Sam Sinister]

I hope to seethe design once it is finished. Good luck.

[AquaSazers]

This is great work. I'm excited to see how it keeps progressing.

[antp]

Thanks :)

I didn't really like the double glass door using old 1x4x5 doors: these doors are not tall enough for the scale used here, so I made brick-built doors like for the others:

(so the window above is less accurate to the real one, but we can't have everything)

The doors are attached to the floor, using Technic bricks put on their side (and there are studs on the floor there)

The lights on the right on a vertical bar is something that I don't know how to call in English, decorative ball lights on a string. Here it looks like spots on a fixed bar, but I'm not sure how else to make that... I tried 1x1 round plates (hollow version, with hole) on a string but it was worse

On the left in the background you can see the hood/extractor above the stove. I'm waiting for a Bricklink order to replace the yellow part by a grey one. It is the perfect part for a hood, but unfortunately it does not exist in LBG; the old grey will be good enough.

Attaching the hood:

I added the trash cans and a red stepladder that is usually put there:

The blue bar represents a water pipe that is there (which we still have to hide by making a box around it) with its red valve.

I also started to build the WC (picture for later) and the desk in the veranda:

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by antp

[antp]

So here is the WC:

Seeing how small is that room, it is not easy to take a good picture.

Afterwards I'm not sure that the 2-stud wide wall for the door is useful, as most of it is taken by the door frame (which has for now a different color inside, but it is only temporary until repainted). Maybe I'll make that room a little bigger later then, allowing to put a the toilet brush at the side of the WC

On the left on the ground there is the replica of a mosaic in the tiles. The 1x1 tile quarter round in grey must be replaced by dark green. After some thinking that's the best solution I found for representing that mosaic (which is much more elaborate than that); being a square turned at 45 degrees does not make it easier. With a thicker ground I could have used plates and tiles on their side, like what is sometimes used for this kind of mosaic.

Above the WC there is the mini-attic where we store Christmas decorations:

I still have to replace the hinge by a part of the right color, or find how to make a thinner door.

As I received a Bricklink order I could improve the stove with a 1x4 brick with printed buttons and put the hood/extractor of the right color:

Edited March 28, 2021 by antp

[antp]

Continuation of the veranda, with the rear of the house (garden side) and the door (with the cat flap).

In the veranda the water heater is visible.

One side of the inside is already furbished, with the desk seen previously:

On the ground, the cat food dispenser and the water fountain, already seen in the previous apartment.

 

[antp]

Last photos before building outside grey walls:

Continuation of the veranda:

The black round thing on the ground is the Roomba (whose charging base is there)

Continuation of the rear facade, adding the gutter:

The vertical pipe (whose start is already there under the gutter) will be added at the same time as the garden, well later.

The roof will be done later in the year, when I'll have the needed parts. Same for the last row of bricks of the hallway.

But that does not prevent me from continuing. So I did the intermediate floor (landing?) between ground floor and upper floor:

(the cubic thing is the cat litter box)

I also started the base of the next floor, to be sure that all is correctly aligned. There will be parts under that base to raise it. I chose to limit the height of the walls of the ground floor, having to cheat for some windows, so the contents of the rooms stay well visible, as we have rather high ceilings.

On the photo there is an alignment error, but it was fixed afterwards

A future Bricklink order will provide me the missing panels for outside grey walls.

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by antp

[antp]

More progress, the banister and the upper part of the entrance/hallway are done:

With the first landing module:

I also spent many hours to make the bow-window of the room on the street side (front). I did three tests:

And in the end I used a technique based on hinge bricks rotated by 90° (bricks that are not visible here, I took the photo from the wrong side )

Lucikly these hinge bricks were used in tan in a few recent sets, so I can easily get them.

Less luck for the upper part, https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3938#T=C or https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6134#T=C
used in tan only in a few sets around 2001-2004 : that will cost me a few euros for the ten parts needed; until I find a better price if they make the part again I'll probably use the light grey version.

[Shiva]

Thank you for the updates :)

Yeah, maybe better to wait if they come in the right colour someday again. I hope that most of the 10 you need, that most is 6134, they seem cheaper to get.

[antp]

Yes, fortunately 6134 works better than 3938 for me, as it is cheaper.

[antp]

And so here is what it looks like once more integrated:

The front:

(in addition to the hinge bricks previously mentioned, I would also have to get dark green jumpers instead of the regular green ones)

So I started that floor, here is the blueprint:

The baseboards are in place:

Some baseboards are white because we haven't yet painted all of them (lack of time, and some are not very visible when furniture is in front of them)

[antp]

Adding furniture in the rooms

Parental room (for me & my girlfriend) with the bed, the two dressers and a display case:

The dressers come from the previous apartment (they are the same ones), I just added on top the new items that are now on them (the heart is a jewellery box). But since then I've re-made them slightly differently.

For the bed, at first I re-used the one from the previous apartment and replaced the blanket (as we do not use the blue one used back then).

But I noticed that it was too narrow (probably because I had to cheat in the first apartment so all would fit in the room) so I re-made it wider with a simpler technique.

The blanket with colored lines is from Little Marcel, similar to this one: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61K371sM5UL._AC_UL320_.jpg

In the other room, the wardrobe from the previous apartment, with some stuff above it. The pirate map on the wall is representing a world map poster:

On the left you can still see the narrower previous/old bed mentioned above.

[Shiva]

Cheers for the update :)

[antp]

And here is another one

The exercise bike that is in the parental room:

It the same model as this one, but in another colour scheme: http://www.stationveloservices.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/cb1c06c8b9d926d0582d7c609c808c86.jpg

The other room, for the child of my girlfriend:

The bed with the desk under it is an older version of this Ikea model: https://www.ikea.com/fr/fr/p/smastad-lit-mezzanine-blanc-gris-avec-bureau-avec-4-tiroirs-s09392126/

I've re-done the "bookcase" part under the bed as I did not like that version, photos to come for the next update.

There isn't much light in these photos, as there is not much natural light coming to the desk where I build, there will be better ones when all is done.

[Shiva]

Småstad ain't bad looking :)

[antp]

On 6/7/2021 at 6:37 PM, antp said:

I've re-done the "bookcase" part under the bed as I did not like that version, photos to come for the next update.

So here is the new version:

And with everything in the room:

I've also replaced the hinge bricks of the bow-window by a tan version that I got from B&P. Only the upper part of the hinge is not tan (I used LBG), but it is not so shocking, I don't really have to buy the expensive tan version.

I also finished the upper part of the wall above the windows and added the curtain bars.

Depending on the purist level, some consider that the hose rigid can be cut at the right length. I needed two of 6L, rather than completely cut them I cut only have of the diameter allowing to bend it, making the whole build more rigid.

In reality the two curtain bars touch each other, their end having be cut with a bevelled edge, I'll maybe do the same here so it would look better.

The next room is the dressing room (walk-in closed) of the other room (the small room between the two sleeping rooms). Here is the main part of furniture for it:

In reality it is made from Ikea PAX, a common choice for walk-in closet.

I just have to fill it with 1x1 and 1x2 plates representing folded clothes and towels.

[antp]

Progress from the last two weeks, continuation of the the walk-in closed and tiling the floor of the room:

Next, the WC, the bathroom and the small hallway linking both. I also started the shower area:

That small hallway is an old terrace (common in old houses) that was covered with a transparent roof like the veranda of the ground floor.

For the black tiling of the floor, I'll have to wait a few months to finish it: I'm waiting for a bulk order that includes (among others) 1x2 black tiles, I don't have many left and I won't buy new ones knowing I'll get these later.

The finished room, with the TV mounted on a wall support:

The WC:

Windows on the garden side:

The lime green is there only because we haven't yet repainted that part. It was also the color of the bathroom before it was completely redone.

For the glass of the 1x4x4 frame, as it was extremely rare (cf this article of New Elementary), until Lego releases it in a regular set I made it myself by cutting a random rigid plastic sheet. The frosted effect is a plus, as it matches the real window.

For the other windows, I still have to get white 1x1 brackets to replace the grey ones.
The rear facade:

The old gray color used here is close to the color of the ciment of the garden-side facade, so it is a good opportunity to use these old parts. Some day we'll repaint it, as it is not so pretty as color.

I see that I forgot to take a picture after having done the doors of the WC and that small hallway.

Details of the dressing, finished afterwards:

With some Plate Modified 2 x 3 with Hole attached to bars to depict the clothes on hangers :)
(I finished that part only more recently as I was waiting for parts in new colors for that)

Notice also on these pictures the technique to get two walls of different colors joining in a convex corner: I was satisfied finding something that fits perfectly

Edited June 27, 2021 by antp

[Shiva]

Nice updates :)

IRL house's plan, is it a quite old house, that has been modified over the years?

[antp]

Indeed, it is a house from the late 30s. Not so many changes done in the past years:

- on the ground floor, the veranda was previously a covered courtyard (i.e. originally not fully closed, but already with a transparent roof)

- the small hallway between the bathroom and WC was originaly an open terrace that was covered

- the last floor (not yet started nor pictured) was an attic that was insulated and modified into an additional room, with windows added in the roof.

After we bought the house last year, we made some additional changes, that were described in the Lego build:

- removing the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, where we put a central unit

- the walk-in closed between the two rooms

The overall shape of the house did really change.

On the official plans from the construction, it was build as a 2-apartment house: one per level, with kitchen + dining room + sleeping room + WC, as back then there was no bath room or living room, but I'm not sure if the house was ever used in that way or it has always been a single unit with the upper floor "kitchen" being the bathroom.

Edited June 29, 2021 by antp

[Shiva]

Cheers :) Hmm, no bathroom at all? shared shower somewhere?

[antp]

Back then there was just a sink it seems. I guess that showers and bath tubs arrived in homes only a few years later, at least for the average home.