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.

Got the windows in!

It was quite an effort but they are now all in and I am working on the clapboarding.  You can't really see it much since it isn't painted yet.  Going all the way around the building will be a terrific job.   And then there is still the porch/balcony yet to make.

More "things I've made"

This is a table I made long ago, so long I can't recall.  But I do know that the two-color top I did in 1997-8 in an attempt to spruce it up a bit.
 The two sampler perfume bottles in the back there aren't quite to size I think but I have had them since forever and I am not getting rid of them now.

This was made thanks to Christiane Berridge's book shown earlier.  

It begins with 3 empty match boxes. 

I plan to make more of these and I am saving my match boxes accordingly.

 Here is that chair I was so very proud of when I made it back in the early 80's.

The trunk is just of paper and cardboard with ledgers from an old checkbook spine. 



You can see my writing on the sides, it all looks very crude just now but it was great fun to make at the time.

These are made from that awful stuff you get in Greenleaf furniture kits.  This one was found in a second-hand store.   There were bits for 9 chairs and I tacked them during a difficult time in my life.  I am happy with how they came out even though they have no distinction whatsoever.




These 2 (of 14)  with gold seats are House of Miniature chairs from kits that I made in that "difficult time". 
     I doubt I'd have ever gotten them made but for needing a terrific distraction back in 2006.
    There were so many I changed the rungs half are one way the other half another.
     I made so many for a home that has a lot of people sitting down to their dinner table regularly!

More Tavern Progress!

I really got some work done this past holiday weekend!   I got the front trim all done and painted.  I got baseboarding in 2 of the rooms and 8 of the 12 windows in and one of the 2 doors in - glued in that is.

I can hardly wait to work on the siding I plan to have on the outside!

 One of the rooms with it's window in place.
I have a lot of "undressed" beds. 

Yes, that is a chamber pot sitting in that bed-stand.

 This is one of the rooms that got base-boarding.

Cornices also must be put in.

Since the local supplier (Hobby Lobby) has no more baseboarding I'm going to have order a bunch more.

I also got the "game room" base-boarded.
I had to dust and clean the floors too.

Now I will spend this week working on the last four windows.  I have to cut out inner muntins, paint them, paint the outsides - I wish someone else could do the work part.

Red Dragon Tavern progress, finally!

It has been waaay too long since anything happened at the Red Dragon and now it is moving forward!
It finally has the doors put on, "fronted" so to speak!

I have put a rough brick paper one level around the base and above that will be plain clapboard probably painted brown.
The windows and doors will all be RED as well as any fascia and some porches that will be added to the first two stories.

Back to the right you can glimpse of bit of the Ness Bakery.

 There will be some advertise- ments on the sides of the Red Dragon and this is the first.

 Here is how it looks with the doors open. 
Much left to do but I am SO GLAD to finally have these doors on!!!!

Doors really cut down on the dust.  I could run my finger through the dust that has gathered on the floors of the Red Dragon.













I rearranged a bit and this may just end up being the new set up, who knows?  The famous Bouguereau painting is certainly featured this way!

 I got two pictures hung up but they didn't photograph to well, I'll try it again later when I get more done on this room.

You can really see the dust though under that pool table!

 I have decided that each of the four rooms will have a sofa or chaise in it, preferably in the bay.
I'm going to need to buy a couple more and/or make more.

Here are the doors and windows being painted, some of them.  There are 2 doors and 12 windows which need interior trim and window sills.  I am particular about the window sills and have to add them myself.

I can hardly wait to glue them in but it will take a while to get them completely ready.

More things I have made

This was from Christiane Berridge's wonderful book:  Victorian Dolls House Projects:  A Day in the Life.   The black pipe goes up and bends and goes to a wall.   I just love contraptions like these!
The sleeve board is my own design based on one I made full size for myself long ago.

I am not so sure about this harp.  It was a very cheap Christmas ornament that I played with but I am not sure it was much improved by my hands.  Still, I'm keeping it - just may move it back into a corner of a drawing room.

 This chair I made so long ago I can't recall when, the 1980's or earlier.  I have always been proud of it though the seat needs a bit of fixing.

The checkerboard was made when I was a teenager, never had any checkers for the poor thing. 

I found this green vase with sunflowers this past weekend at Hobby Lobby and couldn't resist it.
The book is an old cover and is about Civil War Battles.
The filigree dish is a bead cap I played with and  glued onto a large grommet.

One of my desks

This desk was also made in that year of reawakening to mini's, 1997.  It started with a need for a big desk in this style and a certain piece of wood I had for the top.  The drawers are fake but at the time I had no interest in drawers, I just need a big desk surface.

I still don't much care about drawers, I haven't reached the decorating point of filling them anyway.

I printed the letter in the "pencil sharpener" typewriter in 8 pt on the computer.

The blue china on the walls are bits from Amsterdam.  I was there in 1977 and picked them up because they were what I could afford at 17.  

I made this little "Blue viginette" to highlight my blue china/porcelain collection.   The tall vase I actually got in Paris in 1977 (couldn't afford a full-size piece of the beautiful stuff then).  
The ginger jar was a gift for a Dolls House World subscription back in the later 90's and the other two are nice beads I found at a Rendevous fair.
The table is obviously a turned bit and the top is from that cheap stuff Greenleaf makes kits of.