The Fairfield: Just Keep Trimming, Just Keep Trimming...

Sunday: Added heaps more trim to the house. I finished the trim on the inside corners, and started on the outside corners, but then I ran out!! I have enough to do the tower corners, but there is still one long wall outside the kitchen to do. The cost of shipping to order one more piece is not worth it so I will have to bodgy something up with balsa wood.

In the process of putting the moulding on, I decided not to add the partial walls - the corner moulding looks good enough by itself, I think.






Whilst I was waiting for the trim to dry, I glued in the kitchen flooring and sealed it with Mod Podge.  I managed to mostly repair the hole I ripped in it too, whilst I was gluing which was good!

It was roughly at that point that I discovered I'd been too enthusiastic with the siding and had forgotten about the bits of the tower sides which are part of the attic walls, so I had to prise it off - that was Not Fun! I had resigned myself some time ago to the fact that this house is just a practice run for the "real" thing, lol, which is just as well, because it is a steep learning curve.

After that I got out the paints and stained the underside of the attic roof, and painted the underside of the tower roof piece.

Monday: Today I scored the underside of the attic roof on one section, with the intention for it to resemble planks. I then added a black wash to try and make the scoring stand out, although it wasn't terribly effectively. I re-scored the grooves with a tiny pointed scrap-booking chisel, which was more effective. It needs another black wash now, and then the balsa wood vertical beams cut and glued in place.

Tuesday: More trim! I finished the tower corners, so now all the corners are done except for the kitchen wall which I will have to make myself when I get some more 1mm balsa planks.

I trimmed all the tabs and holes on the roof pieces and fitted them, then trimmed off the remaining over hangs. Most pieces are warped to various extents which makes fitting problematic, but I am hoping that it will all add to the rustic, aged effect I am going for - which is why I didn't try too hard to prevent warping when I was painting them.

I then started experimenting with the gutters using 3mm balsa wood.

As you can see, there is still a LOT of work to do in the painting department! I still haven't decided whether to leave ALL the trim black, only some of it, or paint it all red!  I've been looking for examples on the internet, but there isn't much to see in this colour scheme, lol. Oh well, no need to decide right now.

The Fairfield: Construction Step 8 - Attic Floor in Place

Goodness, how long has it been since I completed the last step of the "official" (as according to the instruction sheet) construction process?!

I installed the ceiling of the bedroom and study some time ago. I cut the floor into two pieces for ease of handling, and have been contemplating the other half of the floor, which constitutes the library ceiling.  I would have liked to cut it back to be in line with the original wall placement, however I really want to put the double bookshelf I bought along the back, and sadly, it was just a bit too wide.

Therefore I added a small extension to the back wall, and stole some space from the hallway to make the library bigger. I worried that the teeny tiny occupants have to squeeze past the banister to get to the bedroom, but oh well, I'm a bit over fiddling with it!

When fiddling with it I cut too much off it, so I had to then re-glue two pieces back onto the floor, and then fill with wood filler and sand it back - and then repaint the ceiling section - BUT it is finally actually installed.

As you can see, I have the back wall of the tower installed too.

I think all that is left in terms of construction (i.e. anything that is not decorating the house shell) is installing the library wall, attaching the roof and building and installing the tower roof. Oh, and gluing in the porch roof.

Onwards and upwards!

The Fairfield: A bit of this, a bit of that...

Whilst waiting for bits of glue to dry, I finally finished the last of the papering inside the house - the last tiny bit in the bedroom, and back wall of the tower room, and I cut and fitted the flooring in the kitchen.  It doesn't actually look too bad. Maybe when I seal it and add some washes to age the room it will blend in reasonably well.  It all looks too clean and bright at the moment!

Yes, I did manage to tear the paper in front of the basement door, but I should be able to fix it when it is glued in.

Today, I undercoated the rest of the siding, and got the first two coats of Tuscan Red paint on. When it is dry tomorrow, I hope to be able to apply the crackle glaze and the final coat of red.

I also started playing around with the trim...

... and started trimming the overhang off the roof. I will add some more trim around the gutters, and I don't like the way the overhang interferes with the tower and partially obscures the gothic window.

Much better. Now I need to design a gable trim and have a go at making it.

The Fairfied: Almost the Last of the Siding

Whilst waiting for the siding I ordered to arrive, I undercoated the roof, the three partial walls and the exterior corner mouldings, and painted the remaining windows and door black, but then ran out of motivation.  Well, the siding arrived at last this week, and this being a long weekend, I could get stuck into finishing off the exterior of the house.  It's all done now, except for the little partial walls, which I am still debating whether I will add siding to or not.

I then began with the trim, adding tiny pieces of balsa to the inner corners to cover the siding seams. I fitted the porch roof too, to make sure it still fit OK.

I also put in an order for some corbel brackets for the roof a couple of days ago, which was a big decision. I just couldn't find any I liked in the right size, and that were actually affordable in the quantity I need.  I hope they look OK when they arrive! I am now agonising over gable trim - once again, I just can't find any which are suitable!  The gable pitch seems to be 60' and most ready-made trim are 45' or other. I've found several adjustable trims but I don't like them, AND they are really expensive.  I am coming to the conclusion that I am going to have to make something myself, which is a scary prospect.  What I really want is similar to these, including Otterine's Haunted Heritage, and of course, my muse, the Knox Mansion.

From Otterine.com

I found a tutorial for making your own gable trim in 1/144 scale, which I think would work OK upsizing to 1/24, so I may have to work up the courage and have a go.

The Fairfield: Exterior Paint II

Early this morning I applied the crackle medium to the house siding, and now I have painted the final coat of Tuscan Red over the top. I don't think it is cracking very effectively, probably because the paint seems very thin. You can see where the thicker strokes of paint are and that is where fine cracks are forming. There is still a lot of the black undercoat showing through, although that doesn't bother me, as I think it looks more worn and creepy that way :-)

In reality it isn't as bright as in the photos. I wish I wasn't waiting on the siding, I would love to have all the siding finished! Oh well, at least I can now install the French doors and a few of the windows.

Half the siding finished and painted. I will wait until it is all done before weathering.

Only minor cracking is evident after applying the crackle glaze. I suspect the paint is too thin to get a better result.

I've also been plugging away at the rocks on the chimney, but it's such a boring job that I can only glue a few pieces at a time before I feel guilty about the housework and leave.

The Fairfield: Exterior Paint & Chimney

Well, I got to the craft store on the weekend and although the usual brand of paint I buy didn't have any shades of suitable reds in stock (nearly all the reds were gone, how odd), I did find a Semco Tuscan Red which I thought might be acceptable.

After one thin coat over the black undercoat, I was a bit worried as it looked a little too bright for my liking, but once it had dried I was sold! It dried to a nice barn red, which I think will look great with the black trim.  I've used a mini chisel to go over the first coat and weather it lightly (sandpaper seems to just sand out the bumps of the siding planks). Later, I will paint it with crackle glaze medium and paint the final coat of red. It is quite a thin acrylic paint so I don't envisage the final coat completely covering the black undercoat, but I think that will look OK. I plan on adding lots of (dead?) ivy over the house, and some brown (dirt) washes, moss etc too, which will cover up a fair bit of it anyway.

First coat of red paint. Crackle glaze & a second coat to come.

Also, I finally decided to add rock to the chimney, rather than bricks. Cutting tiny 24th scale bricks seemed tedious, and I doubt my ability to lay them straight anyway, plus I figured rock would look more sinister in dark the attic. I started gluing the egg carton "rocks" on this morning. 

The Fairfield: Mood Board Exterior

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am torn about my original choice of distressed white for the siding.  My muse is this house:

But now I am wondering if something like this wouldn't be more imposing and scary-looking:

I love the black trim against the dark, Gothic red! I don't know if I would go really red, but maybe a faded red over the crackle glaze. Or a really deep, deep red.

I am also considering a Mansard roof instead of a whole new room on the tower, with one or more of the Victorian windows I abandoned early on in construction - they are similar to the ones in the roof of this house.

And, as you can see, I've been fiddling with the Juliet balcony railings again. Meh. I might have to try making something myself.

The Fairfield: Today I...

* Finished re-fitting the windows into the walls which have had siding added to them. I used a craft knife to carefully shave away excess siding around the holes.

* Undercoated the siding with matte black acrylic paint. I'm half-tempted to leave it that way, ha! I'm still not 100% sold on the white top coat over the crackle glaze. I like the crackle effect, and I've bought antique white paint to use, but still... I'd like something a little more sinister.

* Fixed the plaster around the kitchen door.

* Fixed the broken French door. For future reference, I cut the pin part off a push-pin and threaded it through the hole where the hinge fell out. It is slightly larger than the hinge pin so it shouldn't fall out again.

* Trimmed the end off the coach lamp for the front door and threaded the wire up through the hole in the floor I made yesterday, proving that the hole is big enough, yay. I coloured the white wire with a black texta where it runs up the inside wall of the entrance, so it shouldn't be too noticeable against the black wallpaper.

* Started staining the components for the stair case railing. I ordered two sets of rails - hand rails and bottom rails - but the dog has gotten to them and chewed them though the plastic packet :( He broke one set and has left teeth marks in the other, but hopefully I can work around it and the marks will just add character! I also can't find two of the three sets of down pipe kits I bought from Petite Properties - I think someone has knocked them onto the floor and he's eaten them too :(

The Fairfield: Main Bedroom I

Now that the siding has stalled, I am looking at finishing some of the room details. With the siding done on the bedroom gable, I can glue in the French door - and then install the fireplace, cornice and skirting boards. Now that I look at the photo, I need to fix that last piece of wallpaper too!  I still have a wire from the coach light at the front door to run under the bedroom door, so I can't glue it in just yet.

The bedroom so far.

A major issue I have with the room is that the four poster bed I've been playing around with, is almost too big for the room! It looks out of scale when I put it in there, and I can't fit any other pieces of furniture in there around it. Maybe a bedside table, but the Armoire definitely doesn't fit.

I was going to dress the bed something like the one below, but now I think I may have to cut the canopy off, to scale it down a little for the room?

I'm still umm-ing and ahh-ing about the fireplace, but I think I will go with the black Victorian I already have, and use the little lit grate that should fit into it.

As you see, I used the worn roses wallpaper in here, and the textured paper on the ceiling. I haven't yet definitely decided whether I will put another light on the mantel, or just stay with the double wall sconce. Lots to do!

The Fairfield: I played "chicken"...

...with the siding. And I lost :(


Over the last couple of days, I finished wallpapering the Library and both sides of the library dividing wall, and wallpapered the Work Room, using the Acorn paper. I only just had enough to do two and a half walls, so the fireplace wall is bare and I'll need to do something about that when I do the fireplace and mantel.

Then, I started on the siding. First, I cut and glued siding to most of the work room/office outside (back) wall. The thin siding definitely wants to lift up, even using Super-Tac glue, so it definitely needs weighting while it dries.

Yesterday I started on the siding on the kitchen/ library (left) wall. I did the main part of the wall, and today I filled in the sides of the bay window. At that point I had only three full sheets of siding left and some scraps!! Panic time.

I moved onto fitting and gluing on the return of the rear gable wall, and then left front wall and I made a start on the left hand side of the tower. At that point, I had two full sheets and some tiny scraps. Eeek!

I think I had originally planned to add fish scale shingles to the gable ends, so maybe that's why I haven't got as much as I thought I had, as I have continued the siding all the way up the gable ends.  I will add heaps of trim to make it less plain, although I am not a big fan of gingerbread, so it will likely be fairly formal-looking.

Anyway, today I started on the front gable wall, and got as far as the facade and the sides of the bay window, with just enough to do a little more of the left tower wall, before I ran out :( Pooh!  I'll need at least two more sheets, three or four to be on the safe side, so at least I'm not half of one sheet short, which would be seriously annoying, lol. Ah well, I guess I will start on the undercoating of the rest of the siding when the glue dries, while I wait a few weeks for my order to come in.

The left hand side kitchen/ library wall siding finished.

The front wall siding in progress. I need to finish the front of the bay window.

The rear wall siding and return finished. This was my first wall and you can see where I stuffed up the first joint between the siding panels. Ooops! But that's why I started at the back!

Still to do is:
* the top strip of the left hand tower wall,
* the front bay window,
* the front tower wall,
* the right hand side and rear of the tower secret room, and
* the three tiny returns on the open walls.

Before I place my order I had better check how am I going to go with the corner trim - it would be incredibly annoying to run out of it after I receive the siding when postage is so expensive!

The Fairfield: Work Room

This room keeps changing in my vision, from one extreme to another! I just can't decide until I get some furniture and things in there, but it will most likely be a sort of Sherlock Holmes-style laboratory/work space/apothecary.


I couldn't decide on the wallpaper. The one I had allocated, which I originally purchased for the living room, I used in the office, and I don't like the acorn paper I bought to use in the office! Meh, I  used it anyway, although it is a little "busy".  I have also used the textured ceiling paper I have in here too.

For the ceiling light, I have used this, which I originally had earmarked for the kitchen, but it has more of a vintage work room vibe:

I am now stuck on choosing a fireplace. I *think* I may rough plaster that whole fireplace wall and use a well-weathered rustic beam for the mantel, with perhaps a few tiles around the fireplace. I don't know, I can't decide. I could also use the one I made for the living room, and make/use a more ornate Victorian one for the living room.

The Acorn wallpaper in the work room.

I need to fix the chain on the lamp to the ceiling, and I may colour the wire black.

The Fairfield: The Office

In my original vision, the Office was going to be the Library, and the Work Room was going to be Office! Anyway, as things go along, things change. I still LOVE this inspiration picture I found however, so elements of this will be incorporated into the Office and Work Room.

I printed out a map of Middle Earth I found on the 'net, but with the window on the main wall in the War Room, it wouldn't fit, so I moved it to the Office.

I've now glued in the map, and wall-papered the rest of the room.

Although it isn't finished in this pic, I've also glued in the door and the timber framework. And, as you can see, the flooring is fitted, but not varnished. Can you believe the colour of the wallpaper when I ordered it was called olive? It looked like a lovely green on my monitor, but in real life it's an ugly brown. Oh well. I now notice I've also glued it in sideways - ooops!

Now I need to work on the fireplace. I bought two of these Victorian mantels:

However, it's not really fitting with my mood. I think making something more Art Deco might be more appropriate, like this:

There will be something mounted on the wall above the mantel, though I don't yet know what, possibly a mirror or a painting. This would certainly fit the mood:

I also need to decide whether I am going to put in some timber paneling along the bottom of the walls - I think that would look great. Then I'll need to make a decision about bookcases and whether they will be built-in or not, before I do the skirting.

I'm thinking of adding 1920s style accessories - vintage typewriter, vintage fan, library card file, industrial vintage lighting. Sort of a vintage office, war planning room vibe.

The Bunker from the TV show Supernatural.

Detail of the flooring from The Bunker.

I've bought this Monticello chair for the room, though I will need to find a suitable table for it to go at! I should have bought at least two, but funds prohibit it. Next time!