The Dressmaker's Cottage: Exterior Cladding, Stucco and Stone Chimney

With the roof mostly done, it's time for the outside of the house to get some attention :-)

Caroline used pre-mixed concrete on the main part of her cottage, and cladding on the bump out.  I couldn't find pre-mixed concrete here in Australia, so I was thinking of using the same Jo Sonja Texture Paste on the outside as I used on the dormer windows, until I came across a couple of different techniques for stucco-effects on Pinterest.

One of them was to use Gesso mixed with table salt!  Since I have both on had I figured I would give it a go, although I was a little dubious about the salt not dissolving into the Gesso.

Well, it didn't!  I guess Gesso doesn't have enough water in it to dissolve the salt?  I mixed it up in a disposable container, adding enough salt until it looked about right - I have no idea what the ratio ended up being.

Then I painted it on using a thick brush.

I'm quite happy with it, I think it turned out quite well!  I went over it with a second coat when it dried, just in the spots that seemed to need it.

Next, the cladding on the bump out!  I was going to buy pre-made cladding, but I had a couple of packets of balsa wood slats in my stash (Auszac ECObalsa from Spotlight) , so I decided to just cut them to size instead (definitely the cheaper option!).

I cut each slat into quarters, and then cut them to size to fit on the sewing room walls, over lapping them at the bottom on each slat.  I wasn't too particular with their placement, as I am going for a weathered shabby-chic look!

I used extra pieces to trim out the edges of the cladding.  The windows are pre-made frames which I bought on eBay so I cut the holes in the walls to size.  I could then just push them in to place after I finished the cladding.

Here is the cottage with the beginnings of the sewing room bump-out roof temporarily in place:  It's looking a bit more cottage-y!

Time for the chimney.  Caroline placed hers in the middle of the side wall, but that wasn't going to line up with where I want to put my fireplace, so I moved it further towards the back of the cottage.

I built the basic frame from foamboard, glued to the exterior.  Caroline used ready-mixed concrete on her chimney, but I decided I wanted a stone-effect.  I have used egg carton stones in the past, and liked them, so I used them here too.  I just ripped the carton into rough shapes and glued them on like a puzzle with tacky glue.

Once I was finished and the glue was dry, I sealed the "stones" with a good layer of ModPodge before I grouted them with off-white grout.

When the grout is fully dry, I will paint them to resemble sandstone, in beige and yellow acrylics with off-white highlights.