The instructions are a bit hard to decipher, but most things are pretty self explanatory. I agree, the ruler with the millimeters on it is definitely helpful. Also, waiting for the glue to dry for me is the most frustrating part of putting it together. I found that wood glue works well for the overall build of the house, but most of the inside stuff I use Elmer's glue all (but I cheat with the fabrics and use hot glue). I feel as though I have tried literally every brand/kind of glue out there and this seems to do the best for me, plus it dries clear.

I also have a small space heater at my work space to help speed up the drying process, it's a total game changer!! I LOVE to craft and while there are certain crafts I like to do to get out of my head, this one I've found can cause a little frustration and be kind of challenging, but the end result is so worth it!! My girls LOVE looking at the progress I make and playing with the little items as I go. It's been a fun project/activity for all of us.

This came with everything that was needed and was a lot of fun to put together. It requires a lot of patience and ability to work with the very small items. I would say that young children may not enjoy this since it takes some time (though they will enjoy the finished product). Also if you don't like paper crafts you won't like this because there is a lot of folding, gluing, etc.

Some tools I recommend buying if you don't have them: needle nose pliers, tweezers, crafting glue that is quick dry and forms a secure bond (i.e., not regular school glue), and fabric scissors.

One problem I had was the instructions. It is clear it was directly translated from whatever language it was written in originally and as a result some clarity is lost. Most of the time I could figure out what was going on since there are pictures, but sometimes I had no idea what they were trying to convey.

Also the lights - the lights themselves worked (i.e. - equipment was not defective), but trying to get it so that all of the lights actually come on together was impossible. One of the wires is just too short. The lighting instructions weren't helpful at all and very difficult to understand. The end result is the lights don't work on my house. I will update if I learn some new information and able to get it running.

This is my favorite DIY kit so far. Had my eye on this kit since finishing my first one, but wanted to gain experience building these before trying this one. Glad I did because this kit is the hardest one to assemble so far (this is my fifth kit), with a lot more pieces to put together than my previous kits, along with more electrical work (which I personally found the hardest part to do), while the contents were smaller and therefore harder to work, so I don't recommend this for a first-timer, and it's definitely not for children. Literally everything has to be put together yourself, and, since the product is 1:24 scale, plenty of dexterity in one's hands, as well as decent eyesight, is required -along with plenty of time and patience, too.

The instructions are in English, but the measurements are in centimeters rather than inches, so you would need a small ruler that measures in cm. The materials are quite delicate (just glossy paper, beads, thin wood, etc.), and only comes with just enough to make the necessary pieces, so there's not much room for mistakes; it helps to use recycled material from previous DIY kits if this isn't your first one. While the overall fragility of the pieces can be frustrating to work with, it also provides the opportunity to personalize the colors if you want to -since I am personally not a fan of pink, I used my own cloth/paint and printed out my own posters to customize the colors and turn it into a more modern loft rather than a princess-like one for girls (although I would recommend making the house as is if you're not willing to spend a much longer time strategizing and working on the "redecorating" process, since the original pink is quite cute) -so it's good to have as much backup material as you can find even if you assemble the kit as is. You will need some precision scissors (nail scissors in my case) to cut the small paper pieces, as well as a light-duty box cutter to slice the tiny fruit bars and outline the "glass," which is just plastic material. Silicone glue is the best to keep the pieces together, although a regular glue stick would work on the regular paper pieces, such as the "floor."

The finished product stands approximately 6 inches in height, 9 1/2 inches in width, and 8 in diameter, which is the perfect size for a decoration and doesn't take up extra space. Best of all is that the package comes with a dust cover, which saves time and money looking to buy a separate one. While much too small and delicate to be an actual dollhouse for children to play with (this is more of a decoration for adults), the size of the house is the perfect place to house small figurines inside, which makes this the perfect little accessory for one's room.

The kit also includes a music movement -that plays the tune Carrying You from the Studio Ghibli movie Castle in the Sky -to attach to the back (covered up by the kitchen drawer), although I purchased a different one that plays a song more to my liking (make sure it's a wind-up, not one that cranks, if you want to choose your own melody) to customize my kit further; included inside the box is a cute postcard with a picture of the completed product. Batteries needed for the lights are AAA.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this product, and purchased it again to customize a second loft, since the design is very nice.

(Even though I customized the colors/used my own fabric, as well as added figurines and got creative with the bed and kitchen island, I included pictures as an example, since the overall layout of the kit is exactly as it should be, and used the materials provided in the kit).

This is a really fun project if building dollhouses is your thing. I couldn't rate it 5 stars due to the instructions manual being in mostly Chinese and very hard to work with, be prepared for that!

I love this product. It turned out beautifully. The only thing to watch out for is to make sure you take time to read the instructions and label the material. Also, my railing came broken and the pieces don't fit