Four Poster Bed

I previously mentioned the four poster bed which came with the bedroom suite I didn't order (it was substituted for a larger four poster bed which I did order); well, after tackling the rest of the suite, I got started on the bed.

Bed: Before

Bed: Before

First I carefully peeled the fabric bedding and trim away from the frame, and put it away for safe keeping. I may dye the bedding and glue it back on, however I think I will do something different with the canopy.

During

I sanded it back as best I could and then painted it black, like the rest of the furniture.  Whilst I was waiting for the paint to dry enough to do some distressing, I decided to play around with the bedding. I grabbed a red fabric marker and coloured in the top part of the bedding.

Painted and waiting for distressing.

Painted and waiting for distressing.

You can still see the floral pattern through the red marker, but I am liking the blood red against the black so far.  I'd like to use something more tattered and threadbare as the canopy, so that it looks a but like cobwebs. I'm not sure how I can achieve that - I thought about tea-dying some cheesecloth but I think the cheesecloth would be too large a scale. Maybe an old, worn handkerchief might have the right drape? Regardless, I certainly prefer it without the ruffled valance around the bottom, so that will be staying off.

I'm loving this miniature bed I found on Pinterest. And here's a real-life four poster:

The Fairfield: It's Here!

Woot!  It finally arrived this morning by courier - my Greenleaf Fairfield half scale dollhouse kit.

Now the exciting bit - unpacking it!  Followed by the mundane bit of checking the panels off and undercoating everything.

The Fairfield: Windows

I think I spent almost a whole day yesterday - on and off - trying to decide which windows to buy for the rest of the build. I have the three timber Victorian single windows and the two French Doors, which are all now stained and waxed (although I have not added the mullions to the French doors yet), and these will all go on the second floor.  The French doors will be 1) off the bedroom over the bay window with a Juliet balcony and 2) off the "other" room (which is generally used as a bathroom in other builds) and onto the main balcony (ie the roof of the porch). I was going to turn this room into a servant's bedroom but I think I may remove the dividing wall now and make it a sitting area with weapons and armour and such.

I couldn't decide what to do about the double windows on the first floor though. Most other people opting for the half scale Victorian windows have just swapped out the double windows for two singles - because Houseworks don't make double windows at half scale - but I didn't really like that for some reason.  But making the kit windows from scratch scared me, so I wanted to put in pre-made windows... but couldn't find what I wanted.

I finally found these Georgian style doubles at Maple Street in the UK. They seem to be unavailable everywhere else so I presume they have been discontinued. I ordered three from the website, but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they email to tell me that they are out of stock!  In which case, I will have to give in and buy more single Victorian windows.

In all my browsing looking at windows on other minis, I came across several houses with aged stone finishes and fell in love!  The look really appealed to me, though I doubt I have the artistic skill to carry off painting the effect successfully :(  In the end I decided that I'd like to make the turret section of the house out of 'stone', to make a real feature of it.  If that works OK I'll consider doing that on  the rest of the house.  Not sure yet if I will go with the egg carton method or opt for the (much more expensive) mortar and stencil approach. Either way, I had already decided to do the base and porch in flagstones, so will carry that same finish up the turret. I may also make the verandah post supports out of stone too, and finish them off on top with a dowel?  A bit like this verandah:

Nevertheless, in my searching I also came across these plastic Grandt Line Gothic windows.  Wouldn't they look great in the second floor of the turret? With little narrow arrow-slit windows in the secret room instead of the round portholes.
 

The main issues with these Gothic windows is that they are plastic instead of timber, so they can't be stained to match the other windows. If they are only in the stone turret however, I can probably get away with just painting them to blend in with the stone? Hmn.  Anyway, I've ordered a couple from the US and we'll see what happens!

Bedroom Suite

I should have known better than to leave well-enough alone! I didn't mind the distressed, painted finish I ended up with on the bedroom suite so I left it to dry for a couple of days before I waxed it today... which then rubbed off more of the paint than I had anticipated! Argh. So annoyed with myself. It made a big difference on the wardrobe in particular.

It's hard to take photos of black things...

 The other pieces in the set were better sanded - and less fiddled with! - than the wardrobe and they fared much better and I was able to buff the wax reasonably well.  The armoire however... well, it still looks flat and waxy and I don't like to rub it any more for fear of taking off nearly all the paint :(  You live and learn though I suppose, plus half the reason I didn't mind fiddling around with the set is that I suspect it is much smaller than 1:24 scale? I have read that different manufacturers of minis sometimes differ in sizing, so maybe this is one of them. I'd certainly like the bed to be bigger, but I haven't started on it yet.

Before.. and after.

 In other news, I have received some more accessories that I couldn't resist ordering along with building components.  I love these minis: a little skull, skull candle and book and a palmistry chart with a crystal ball. Cute!

As well, I got a few thing from the Lemax Spooky Town range which were on sale after Halloween: a packet of crows and vultures, a packet of rats and snakes, tombstones, cats and skulls and a couple of  'bare' willow trees.  I plan to have a small family graveyard next to the house when I finish the landscaping.

The Fairfield: More Components Arrive

On Friday the latest of the building components I have ordered arrived. The stair kit, the other two interior doors, the two sets of French doors, the porch spindles and hand rail, roof finials and the black Victorian railing. I love the railing but I'm worried it's way too big for the scale. I guess we'll see.

I have still to order the porch posts, as I am wondering whether I should go with plaster columns instead of the traditional turned wooden posts? They are much more expensive to buy but would add more to the character of the house I think? Regardless, I haven't decided how I want to finish off the porch and railings yet, so I'll leave them for the time being.

So today it was time to stain the new doors, and then wax them with Black Antiquing Wax.  They turned out nicely - I love the warm patina that you can only get with wax. Plus, I think it might look more realistic on the house than a shiny lacquered finish.

While I was waiting between coats, I started fiddling around with the bedroom suite I mentioned a few posts ago.  The original finish on the suite - a four poster bed, armoire, dressing table and mirror, two bedside tables and another mirror - is lacquer over a pale timber. Very boring and conservative.

I experimented with staining and various methods of ageing on this armoire before I finally settled on just lightly sanding, painting them black and distressing them lightly with an emery board. When they are completely dry I will also wax them with the black antiquing wax.

I was hoping to achieve a more realistic finish than this but the difficulties of working with such tiny pieces which have already been finished got a bit beyond my current collection of tools! Never mind, I hope that once they are in the bedroom and surrounded with other peices they will blend in OK. I ended up distressing the armoire too much so I painted over it again and will make it a bit more chippy tomorrow before I wax it. I hope it comes up better than it looks at the moment!

The next challenge is the four poster bed. It has bedding and a fabric drape attached to it, but I think they are just glued on and I can carefully peel them off.  The floral fabric used on it is not to my taste at all, lol. Once I have painted and distressed the bed, I will experiment with either making new bedding or perhaps using fabric paint to upcycle the existing bedding and glue it back on.

The Fairfield: Mood Board Library

I really wish  that the dollhouse had double height ceilings! I considered adding an extra inch or two to the height of the first and second floors but realistically, this is probably making things unnecessarily difficult for myself. Sigh.

Anyway, although the library won't be nearly as grand as I had hoped, I'm thinking:

* Floor to ceiling shelving, and perhaps a chandelier

* A grand fireplace, red velvet chairs and a spiral staircase

* And wood panelling everywhere.

The Fairfield: Thoughts on the Kitchen

I know I should be looking at building components and lighting before anything else, but I was browsing and I suddenly came across this:

...and my heart went BOOM! Love at first sight.

Seriously, how cool is this Braxton Payne Walk-in Colonial Oven?  It even comes with an option for "burning embers"!  Can't you just see my little cauldron hanging from one of the hooks? OK, so it isn't very Victorian, but it's my dollhouse and I think it's awesome ;-)

It's about 5 inches long though, so it is probably going to require some alterations to fit it in since one wall is a door and hallway, one is a window and the other is the stairs. I think at this stage I will omit the kitchen door, and add another window (two?) along the hallway so the front porch doesn't look so odd, and put the oven along the back wall where the door is supposed to go.

I was also vaguely considering putting in a bay window off the kitchen instead of the rectangular bump-out, but I think that would look pretty incongruous with the stone oven - back to the drawing board there.

I've also had the thought that I'd like to put a door on the 'pantry' under the back of the stairs, and make it look like the door to a cellar/ dungeon. To that effect I'd like to have opaque glass in the door and a yellowed light hanging inside... and a lock on the door ;-)  Creepy, n'est pas?  In order to do that though, I'm going to have to keep the wall next to the stairs, so that will probably mean narrowing the stair kit that I have ordered so that it fits into the existing stair space. Could be interesting! I might need some power tools.

The stove has also made me rethink the light I was considering for in here. I'm now thinking a lamp only with no overhead lighting? Maybe a candle or oil lamp on the mantle of the oven?  I'll have to give that some consideration.

In regards to a sink, I have fallen in love with these 1920's porcelain sinks, though sadly I can only find them in 1:12 scale so far :(  Phoenix Models does a stoneware sink kit which might be suitable, theme-wise, but it's not nearly as nice (and it depends on my painting too as it comes as bare metal).

Also loving this black rack, I can see it with copper pans hanging from it.

The Fairfield: Let the painting begin!

I couldn't decided whether I wanted to paint or stain the doors and windows, but when I remembered that I had a tube of wood stain gel in the garage, leftover from years ago, I thought I'd give it a go.  The colour is called "Wenge" which is so dark it's almost black - too dark for the project I bought it for which is why it was still sitting in the garage.

As it's a gel, it's very thick and the parts are very small, so I watered it down on a plate until it was a paintable consistency and used a carft brush to brush it on.  Then after 5-10 minutes I started gently rubbing it off to try and get an uneven, distressed finish.

As you can see, they still have a long way to go before they are finished!  At this point, I am loving the colour but I want to distress the finish more.  Two options are to 1) apply a crackle finish with paint (not sure which colour) or 2) wax the pieces to give more depth.

I am leaning towards black antiquing wax at this stage, as I think I would like the use the crackle medium on the siding paintwork.  Anyway, I've ordered some black furniture wax and I'll have a go on the interior door to see how it comes up.

The Fairfield: First Components Arrive!

The components I ordered last week have arrived, and they are tiny. I can see I'm going to need a steady hand with these little babies.

I've got:
The front door - Houseworks Victorian Oval Door (#H6002)
 

One interior door - Houseworks 6 panel (#H6007):

 

Three windows - Houseworks Victorian Windows (#H5042):

And one packet of porch spindles - Houseworks #H7009 (They didn't have the rails or posts in stock).


I really wanted to get different doors for the bedroom and library but I then realised that the ceilings are too low to allow for them which is a pity. So I've ordered another two interior doors the same as the one I got today.

Plus I have definitely decided to add a balcony to the second floor over the roof of the front porch.  In addition, I'm going to turn the double windows in the bedroom into a Juliet balcony.  Thus I have also ordered two French Doors, two more packets of porch spindles and handrails for the upstairs balcony, and a stair kit for the interior.

I had planned on having the Library in the second floor "front" room and the bedroom in the "back" room until I realised that the back room doesn't have a window. I could add one of course, but not having a window is an advantage when I want to fill the walls with bookshelves.

 I've also been Googling  many (many) images of Victorian houses and at that time, decoration was really a case of "the more the merrier" so I've been considering ways to add more character to the exterior. Weird bumps-outs and odd shapes seems to be the norm! Not so easy for me on my first venture though, but I thought that a little Juliet balcony with the compulsory pointy, black, Victorian iron-work fence around it would add a little more 'charm'.

It took me ages but I finally found someone online selling black (plastic) 'iron work' railings which I have ordered. I may substitute some of it for the railings on the main balcony too, but we'll see.

As for the rest of the windows in the house, I just can't decide whether to keep them as per the kit, swap them out for more Victorian windows (Houseworks don't appear to make the double sash Victorian windows in 1:24 scale which is annoying), or turn them into something else like bay windows.

Anyway, for now, it's onto the staining of the parts I do have!

Supernatural

I did it... I've bought another miniature which I won't/ can't use until the house is finished. Ahem.

I just couldn't resist though!  I'm rewatching Season 8 of Supernatural at the moment - before I start Season 9 - and the car which is featured in the series has just been released as a 1:48 scale miniature.

It's a black, 1967 Chevrolet Impala 4 Door Sports Sedan.  Previously, miniatures of the 1967 Chevy Impala were only of the 2 door model, so not totally accurate to the series. This new one however, is super cool.

Can't you just see it parked outside an old, decrepit house that the Winchester brothers are investigating?

The Fairfield: Mood Board Interiors

As I mentioned with the exterior, I'm going for the mood of an old, (seemingly) abandoned Victorian lady. I want the interior to be dark and moody, although I am unsure at this stage as to how sinister I want it to feel. I'm thinking of using mainly grey, black, burgundy and very dark timbers.

Wallpapers I like so far include these three:

The flooring will probably be black walnut timber, and I may floor the kitchen with flagstones:

The ceilings will probably be embossed with lots of detail in the main rooms. Certainly there will be ceiling roses:

At this stage I have read several tutorials on using paint washes to age dollhouse interiors, so I intend to have a go at that around the edges of the walls and floors as well.

The Fairfield: Mood Board Exterior Colours

The ideas I have for exterior of the house are so far - pretty much - confined to "Victorian" and "distressed".  I want it to look very old, but can't decide on whether it should look forboding/ creepy or not. I know I don't want it to look like a Halloween caricature, which is making me very unsure about colours.

So far, I am thinking dark roof shingles (black? dark grey?) with moss, and light grey, aged shingles.  I would like it to look rather ramshackle but I don't if I have the skill to carry that off, e.g. broken porch railing, sagging roof tiles, peeling paint.

The only things I have decided upon is that there will be siding of some description, and I want the base to be faux stone, which I will make out of egg cartons or egg shells, which I will probably carry up onto the porch and the front steps. I also want gargoyles!

These are some of my inspiration pictures, from my Pinterest board.

Old, abandoned, faded:

 Awesome aging on the facade. Loving the arched Gothic window over the porch and the roof trim:

More awesome aging on the siding. Love the trim along the roof peak and turret:

Very weathered. Possibly too caricature-like for my liking, but I'm loving the dead tumbleweeds:

I love how the turret in the photo is slightly out of focus. Also love the ivy. Very similar to the Fairfield:

I will eventually landcape a little around the base, I've ordered a couple of small bare willow trees from the Lemax Spooky Town range and some headstones - I see maybe using one, half-buried an overgrown garden.

The Fairfield: First Purchases

OK, so I haven't even received the dollhouse kit yet and I've bought teeny tiny things for the interior! I couldn't resist, and I really wanted to get a feel for the size of the 1:24 scale items. Boy, are they small! So cute though.

 


I ordered two black resin fireplaces, a wand and cauldron (it's that time of year with Halloween at the end of the month, so there is an abundance of these things around the web), a mortar and pestle, three tiny potion jars, nine books and a four poster bed.  In actuality, they must have been out of the beds I ordered and they've subsituted it with an entire bedroom suite, including a poster bed. Nice idea, but it's *very* tame and not at all what I want to use.  However, it will give me an opportunity to play around with hacking - I will have a go at sanding, repainting and distressing the items to see what happens, not to mention how difficult it is with such itsy bitsy items.

Looking at these photos I'm thinking that I'm going to need to get a better macro lens for my camera - any excuse for a camera-related Christmas present, lol.
 

I've also ordered a new front door, three windows and an interior door. I'd order everything I need at once, but everything is so expensive, so I am going to have to do it in installments. These items will at least give me a chance to play with stains and paint finishes.

The Fairfield: Thoughts on Lighting

If I'm going to electrify the house, I'm going to have to do that very early on, so I'm going to have to think about how many and where they will be.

After browsing many lights on many sites, I know for sure that I want a black coach light at the front door, but other than that, I'm undecided.  I'm loving the look of the wall-mounted candle-style lights, and hurricane lamps. I'm also leaning towards wall lighting only, with non-working, ornate chandeliers, so that the lighting is dimmer and therefore a little spookier.

There will also be four working fireplaces.

Parlour:  Ornate chandelier. Hurricane table lamp? Picture light sconce over fireplace?

Hallway (downstairs):  None? Single wall sconce?

Kitchen: Single hanging light; hurricane or gas lamp style.

Dining: Chandelier. Candles on fireplace mantel x 2.

Bedroom: Candles over fireplace. Chandelier.

Library: Picture light over fireplace. Double wall lights either side. Floor lamp?

Hallway (upstairs):  Single wall sconce.

Bathroom: Not sure if this needs lighting at all, but if so, probably just a single candle wall sconce.

Attic:  I would love single, bare-bulb hanging lights like those at the Lighting Bug, but I haven't any in 1:24 scale yet.

The Fairfield: Initial Thoughts

So, my initial thoughts after browsing many other people's versions of the Fairfield are:

1.  To replace - at a very minimum - the stair case with a pre-fabricated set. This is my first kit dollhouse and it seems a little past me to build my own from the teeny tiny parts, and make it look good.   Plus I really dislike the banister rails with the kit.

2. Replace the porch railing. Again, I don't like the one with the kit.

3. Replace the front door. Most people have also replaced the windows with pre-fab Houseworks windows, although on initial searching it seems like that is going to be an expensive option with eleven windows and two external doors. Still, they look much nicer and are no doubt easier to install.

4. I really like the look of the upper porch converted to a deck, if for no other reason than the opportunity for extra decorations and ornate railings. Haven't yet decided to do that or not. If I do, I will have French doors out onto the deck.

5. I don't like the fact that there is no staircase to the attic. Several people have added a second staircase above the first one, but I'd like my attic to be a little bit more dusty and creepy than standard, so it seems to me that the residents of my house wouldn't have a grand entrance to it.  I'm loving the idea of a rusty spiral staircase in the back of the house somewhere. Possibly up the centre of the turret?  Speaking of which:

6. I want a door to the secret turret room. Probably through a secret door, possibly an armoire/wardrobe, a la Narnia.

7. I want it electrified. That could be interesting as I've never done anything like that before! You can't set the mood properly without lighting though.

Inspired!

Some background to begin with I suppose ;-)

I recently 'renovated' my daughters' dollhouse which was made by my father-in-law several years ago. It's a *very* simple approx. 1:12 scale house made from timber with four rooms, and I simply repainted it to begin with. Then I thought it might be nice to add some extra decorations, and through some quick Googling I immediately discovered the world of miniatures! I added carpet, tiles and wallpaper to the house and we bought several tiny decorations such as a clock and vases. So cute!

There was no point in going over the top though, as this house is played with regularly, and not very gently, but I harboured some thoughts of perhaps making a dollhouse for myself, although that seemed a little silly ;-)

A few months later, and Halloween pictures start popping up on my Pinterest home page, including a Haunted Dollhouse! I believe I may have "squeee'd" when I saw it. My love of all things spooky and creepy, combined with miniatures? AWESOME. Then, after several days of following Pinterest dollhouse links all over the 'net, I came across the Haunted Dollhouse created by The Bloggess, containing dozens and dozens of miniature props from her favourite books and movies, and my heart went WHUMP! Love at first sight.

 So. Long story short, there's a half-scale Greenleaf Fairfield dollhouse kit with my name on it, en route from the US as I type. Clearly, it is coming by sea, as the ETA is approximately the end of November. Meh. But it saves on shipping. However, in the interim, Operation Planning and Mood Boards are "go".