Construction is messy

The construction crew has been back at work on Ariel/Sapiens.   The halls needed to be deeper and it was decided that there will be bathrooms, plural.  
I must admit I was very inspired by Hambleton Hall's bathroom (http://hambletonhall.blogspot.com/) and I hope to have one very like it, in spirit at least.

Here is a view of an enlarged, well, deepened hall one papered, one yet to be.



























And the whole edifice now is 54" wide.  I made many other big decisions this past weekend too such as the height of the top half and how the front will look.  There is still A LOT of construction ahead.   It well may end up as 60" wide, maybe. 

Items made while camping

After that stay in the fine Victorian home we camped for a week - here is our tent under a tree.   I brought a plastic bin filled with mini-making stuff and made several items....

 From a DHW magazine I made 4 lap desks.
I also used a fan to make the small table.

Yes, I painted them and did all of it at our camp table under our fly.








I made an abacus and a small slate board too.

I made two wall-pockets using filigree bits and mat-board.

 And best of all I used my Ruthberg book to make these washstands out of matboard and 1/8" square basswood for the legs.   The legs were shaped with an x-acto.

I call these the Tres Amigos.
They are all going in the Red Dragon Tavern upstairs rooms.

Back to the "Simple" layout

Tried one of those new dynamic views and have decided simpler is better.

I've been on vacation and on our way to camping we spent a night in a B & B.  It was a beautiful old home in Ohio and here are some of my pictures.  I have visited many but this is the first time I got to stay & sleep in an historic home.  It was also my first live seeing of black squirrels!  They had a family of them out back.

This fireplace was in the front hall which I found interesting.
The detail of the woodwork is kind of amazing. 

 Again the height of the pocket doors made me realize my doors in Ariel have to be taller.

The proportions of the whole house were fascinating to me and very helpful when working on dollhouses.
The relative height of the lamp for instance to the ceiling.  When there it was perfect, but in looking at this picture, much as you see a dollhouse room, it seems so low and so small.

I have decided my stairs somewhere have just GOT to have lamps on them like these.     
This picture looks into the dining room from the front hall.

 The built-in library shelves had the most interesting system for adjustable shelves that I have ever seen.   The cabinet on the right stood in front of one of 3 sets of pocket doors!

The exquisite dining room with a southern exposure.  I love the loftiness of the ceilings!
It felt huge and airy in there!   That ceiling medallion really stood out with the two-tone coloring used. 

 A small view of the "butler's panty" I think it once was but it would have made for a marvelous breakfast room for a private family. 

Another fireplace you just want to copy in mini - if you could.

























Hearth detail.

 Looking upstairs.

 On the lower left of this picture of the staircase, built into them were 2 drawers!  I thought that a wonderful idea.

 Opposite the fireplace in the front hall was this built-in hat rack!!   The settee there obscures it but it was original to the house too.  Fabulously detailed woodwork.

The front hall looking towards the entrance with it's stained glass.  The hall was about 12 feet wide, I "foot-measured" it.

 Another bit of hearth detail I found fascinating.  This fireplace was upstairs in our bedroom.

 Our room, which I think is the nicest, most elaborate bedroom I ever slept in.

Here is how it looked as night fell.

 The hinges on the doors were just awesome!

 This is a view of the upper hallway so simple and yet so wonderful.