This is the inspiration for the dollhouse, the Silas Robbins house in Connecticut. It is in the Second Empire style that I am unquestionably obsessed with. It's French architecture at it's absolute best, with a Baroque style mansard roof, a center tower, and iron trim on the roof. Mario (a mechanical engineer) is going to build it from the ground up using primarily 3/8 birch plywood. Then I (the quintessential domestic goddess) am going to wire it and decorate it with the help of the kids and other family members along the way. We hope to teach the kids many valuable skills and life lessons whilst working on this incredible project. I am setting a completely unrealistic goal of two years to complete it.