Around the Manor

I've been working on little projects here and there throughout the manor adding all those little bits that make a room come to life.  Let's start in the Breakfast Room . . .

I took out the cakes and desserts from the table and put in a proper English breakfast . . .

There is also a plate of croissants and a jar of jam, but unfortunately they wouldn't fit on the table.  Perhaps another day when toast isn't being served.  The breakfast was made by Linda of Little Dreamscapes on Etsy.

Next up is the kitchen.  I added a pantry cupboard, copper pots hanging on a board, a butter churn, pears in a wooden crate, and some preserves in jars.  The copper pots were made by JGetzan Miniatures.  All the other items were purchased from various shops on Etsy.  If you really want to know where an item was purchased from, leave me a comment.

In the scullery I've added bowls, a ceramic hen in a nest, a pitcher and a wicker basket.  It's coming along although there is still more to be done in this room.

In the servant's hall I moved in an antique hall tree.

And finally, Rosemary's room is finished . . .

Notice the lamp on the nightstand.  It was made by Ray Storey Lighting.

I loved the new wallpaper so much I decided to cover the panels on Rosemary's armoir!

Other than the new wine cabinet in the wine cellar, I think that's pretty much it for new things.  My goal now is to finish the exterior of the basements and finish the brick foundation on the manor.  Then it will be time to decorate for Christmas!

A New Cabinet for the Wine Cellar

 Since I haven't been able to find out who built this cabinet . . .

I decided to build my own.  It's not exactly alike, but it's close enough.  I started with a purchased base cabinet and then built the wine storage from 1/8" and 3/32 basswood.

My husband thinks I need to replace the brick floor with a gray slate floor.  I haven't been able to find a pattern I like, but when I do I'll slip it in and see how it looks.  Sometimes you just have to please the man paying the bills!

I'll be adding more wine bottles, cheese and the like over time.  This has been a fun room to work on.

Good Bye Reginauld

Lord Pennethorne put Reginauld on a train on Wednesday.  He is headed to Washington to be fitted for a proper butler's jacket by the talented Lillian Bass.  He is quite beside himself to be allowed the privilege of travelling by train.  He will be gone for some time so management of the household falls to Aoife who is quite up to the task.

Have a pleasant trip Reginauld!

A proper butler's jacket . . .

Partial Walls Be Gone!

Since I'm almost near the end of construction on the manor, I decided to tackle the last niggly bit that's been bothering me for ages!  Those partial walls in Rosemary's bedroom and the dining room.  The reason I've put it off for so long is that I had to remove everything from the manor in order to re-run electricity that ran down the outside of those partial walls.  That and I was worried about the ceilings caving in, but to my delight (and astonishment), they stayed in place.

I re-routed the wires to the left side, removed the globe fixtures in Rosemary's room and replaced them with a chandelier, and then continued the wires under the manor and sautered them in place.  I took the opportunity to re-wire the lamp in the main floor foyer as I wanted it to stay on for night time ambiance.

I also took the opportunity, since I was tearing apart Rosemary's room anyway, to replace the wallpaper (yet again!).  I didn't care for the bright pink wallpaper, choosing something a little more subdued, but still pink!  Since I was ripping out the partial wall at the back of the room, the wallpaper had to be redone or replaced anyway.

The dining room was much easier.  All I had to do was run my xacto knife a few times along the top and bottom, put a little pressure on that partial wall, and it came right out.  No fuss, no muss!

I'm still waiting on some new flooring for Rosemary's room, but other than that it is finally done!  I'm very happy with the results!

Rosemary's room before . . .

Rosemary's room after . . .

The Grand Dining Room before . . .

The Grand Dining Room after . . .

All that's left to do is finish the foundation at the back of the house, add trim, paint the exterior of the basements and add the decorative elements I purchased.  I'll still be adding bits and pieces here and there, but I'm looking forward to moving on to Darling Cottage . . .

Adding and Subtracting

It's a beautiful day outside today, but I felt like working on my dollhouse.  When the mood hits!

I built this cabinet today which came in kit form and was really easy to put together.  After I let the glue set for awhile, I stained it with Dark Walnut and then painted it with Antique Gold.  After the paint dried, I sanded it a bit to let the stain come through.  Then I glued in the plate holders, filled them with plates and hung it on the wall in the scullery.  Another project completed!

The cabinet on the right was purchased from
Heidi at Just Smaller on Etsy.

Isn't this dish rack the cutest thing?
I purchased it from Kathleen's Miniatures on Etsy.

After mulling it over for several months I decided to remove the partial walls in Rosemary's room and the dining room.  These partial walls made it really hard to get good pictures of these rooms which caused me no end of frustration.  Well no more!

Before . . .

After . . .

And since I was demo-ing Rosemary's room anyway, I decided it was a good time to redo the wallpaper.  I was never really happy with the previous pink wallpaper as I thought it "popped" too much drawing your eye to this room.  I also removed the two globe ceiling lights and will replace them with a chandelier in the center of the room.  Maybe the third times the charm?

There's not much to do in the dining room that some trim won't take care of.  I did have to re-route three ceiling fixture lights so that means I have to remove everything from the manor, tip the house over on it's side and sauter everything.  This isn't to big a deal because I have to wire the bedroom light anyway.

I also ordered some brick to finally finish the foundation on the back of the house.  I just have to figure out how to cover/hide the junction splices . . .

OOPS I did it again!

I promised myself I wasn't going to do it.  That I would be satisfied with having just one house.  I mean, it's huge so who needs another one . . . right?  Well, apparently I do!  I've had visions of lighter, brighter colors and the deal was sealed when I watched the new movie "Emma".  All those pinks and apple greens!  Be still my beating heart!

So I did it.  I bought another house!  With winter coming I thought it would be nice to have a project to work on.  The manor got me through last winter, so I'm sure building this one will do the same.  And I do enjoy the building and decorating bits!  Most of the time.

Here's a few snapshots of the movie . . .

Aren't the colors delicious?  I read an interview with the director "Autumn de Wilde" where she said she wanted the house to look like a dollhouse.  How sweet is that?

So with this delicious, cotton candy, yumminess swirling around in my head, this is the house I bought to bring it all to life . . .

The Lilly by Greenleaf Dollhouses

 And this is my inspiration for the exterior . . .

This house is in the Garden District of New Orleans
and was once owned by Anne Rice.

So my inspiration is from the movie "Emma" and from the Garden District of New Orleans.  Other than adding the upper balcony, I'm not planning on doing to much in the way of additions and basements.  My husband laughed at me.  I don't know why?!

The colors I'm thinking for the exterior are cream, gray and plum.  Yummy!