A firm foundation ... or not

The outside of the house has been painted. The chimney was in great shape; it didn't need painting, just a gentle cleaning. The green and white are both interior, satin finish latex house paint. The front door got a coat of red paint, as did the front and back steps (missing from this picture). If you look carefully at the bottom edge of the house, you'll see a rough edge where bits of plywood chipped off, probably when the house was slid across the rug or bumped in moving. (Poke the photo for a larger view.) Before the house was painted, this bothered me. I looked for ways to cover it up.I thought about making faux foundation boards by painting stones on 1 x 1/8" basswood strips and tacking or gluing them around the base. I kept the stones more cartoon-like than realistic to fit with the somewhat unrealistic nature of the house itself. Doors and windows are not to scale, although the overall look is very pleasing. (The realism will come with the contents.)

But -- now that the house is painted and the paint camouflaged the chips and sealed them, so they won't split any more, I think I'm going to leave it as is. I can repaint the strips to use them elsewhere. Of course that means I have to add corner trim at the bottom; when I replaced the broken trim, I left space for the foundation boards. No problem that a little time and paint won't cure.

I bought a 2' x 4' piece of quarter inch plywood to use as a base. It will extend a couple of inches beyond the base of the house and give some protection to the porches, which are just stuck on and vulnerable. I was thinking to put faux grass on it, but now I'm thinking to paint it with the same green as the roof. Cartoon grass for a cartoon house, eh? The house won't be attached to the base. It's big enough and heavy enough to be difficult to move as it stands alone. And the couple of inches will be enough room to display some quilts outside. :)