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!

Wine Cellar

The chandelier I ordered for the wine cellar finally arrived so I was able to finish it yesterday.  I had purchased the brick printable from Etsy which I printed out and then spray-glued it to card stock.  Then I used Mod Podge to glue it to the walls and floor.  I used foam board to make the vaulted ceiling.  I also had all the wiring coming down the side of the wall on the right, so I created a faux wall out of foam board, sliced a channel down the center and covered it with the brick paper.  It fit over and concealed the wires perfectly.

I have a buffet table with drawers on order (which finally shipped yesterday) and will be making the storage cubicles myself.  That will be a challenge but hopefully they'll turn out.  I'll also be making some floor to ceiling wine storage.  I'm also toying with the idea of putting in a wrought iron gate near the back to store the really expensive wine and champagne.

With the wine cellar done the manor is pretty well finished as far as building and decorating go.  Now it's just painting the exterior of the basements and adding a bunch of decorative trim.  From here forward it's a matter of filling up the spaces with all the do-dads that make a house a home!

The Upstairs

The Downstairs

Home Again!

The Pennethorne Family have arrived back in America from their summer in England visiting Lord Pennethorne's old aunt from whom he is to inherit.  They brought with them their new cook, Edalene Baker.  She is a custom doll by Lillian Bass of Lilli's Littles and I'm so happy with her!

Aoife is showing Edalene her bedroom.

Edalene is taking a few minutes to unpack and freshen up before Aoife shows her to the kitchen.

Edalene is properly astonished of the beautiful kitchen which she is to call her own!

Edalene didn't waste any time in getting a few things together to make dinner.

Edalene is quite overwhelmed at not only being in America, but in having such a wonderful work space!

Edalene is taking stock of the pantry and ice box.  A proper grocery list must be prepared!

Reginauld is acquainting Edalene with the rules and regulations of the manor.  All things considered, it is a very pleasant place to work and live.

Reginauld and Aoife are quite pleased that Edalene has joined the staff.  They are not at all disappointed in giving up their kitchen duties.

After discussion of Edalene's duties, they all go about their business.

The Family is En Route

The manor is bustling with help hired from the local village to open the manor back up for the impending arrival of the Pennethornes from England with their new cook Miss Edalene Baker.  They are due to arrive next week and there is much to do!

Edalene (Eda) is English but is a French trained chef and pâtissier.  She is in her 50s (she won't say exactly) and has worked in some of the greatest houses in Europe.  She comes with excellent references and the Pennethornes had the pleasure of enjoying several of the meals she prepared for her former employers.  You could say she was "stolen" away with the promise of living in America.

Reginauld and Aoife are excited to have a cook in the manor because neither one of them are that skilled in the kitchen.  However, Edalene will be met with scrutiny!

Edalene was created by the fabulous Lillian Bass of Lilli's Littles.  She took my ideas and brought them to life right to the gray hairs on Edalene's head!

A teaser . . . more to come when she arrives.  I do hope she likes the kitchen!

Servant's Bedrooms

The servant's rooms are now pretty well finished.  I had asked a friend of mine (who's an amazing quilter!) if she would make quilts for my servant's beds.  She kindly said yes and so I sent off some fabric to her.  She sent back four of the most beautiful mini-quilts I've ever seen!  Look closely at the detail . . .

Aoife's room.

Aoife's bed.

Pretty headboard on Aoife's bed.

Aoife's room.

The cook's bed.

Beautiful detail on the quilt.

The cook's room.

Reginauld's bed.

Detail on Reginauld's quilt.

Reginauld's room.

Other than adding all the personal touches, these rooms are finito!

Storage for the Wine Cellar

I've been looking at options for storing wine and such in the wine cellar and came across these two pieces.  Trouble is, I can't find the source for either of them.  Do you have any ideas?

I also like this, but I'm afraid it's real scale.  I'm thinking of building one to 1/12th scale . . .  I'm not sure how deep to make it so I may have to buy some wine bottles for sizing.  That, or I may drink myself into a stupor and forget the whole thing!  LOL!  (Note: I'm not a drinker . . . ;-})

 Anyway, if you can help I'd appreciate it!

What's Watts?

This post is mostly for my own information as I always seem forget how many light bulbs a transformer can hold and I wanted this to be readily available whenever I had to ask the question.  Hope you find it useful too!

Count the number of light bulbs you have connected (that's light bulb, not light fixtures - a 5 light chandelier counts as 5; a flourette or spotlight count as 3).  Look at the front of your transformer and find the OUTPUT watts (not input).  A 5 watt transformer will handle 8-10 bulbs; 10 watts 17 bulbs; 20 watts 34 bulbs; 40 watts 65 bulbs.  If you have too many bulbs you will need to get a larger transformer. 

 Here's a great link for troubleshooting tape wiring.

Here's a great link for wiring your dollhouse.

Junction Splice (attached to dollhouse).
Lead wire (white) plugs in to junction splice and is then screwed to the transformer.

The above photo shows a 40 watt transformer.  I have two of them that run most of the lights in the manor and the basements, and then three 10 watt transformers that run the chandeliers, outside lights and basement night lights.  That's a lot of lights!

I chose to run hard wire in the manor and I'm so glad I did.  It is fun to run the wire and then solder it to the tape wire that runs under the manor and under the sub-basement.  I've had tape wire in previous houses and it caused me much consternation.  Whenever it was humid out the lights would falter and if I had a light that didn't work it was a nightmare to figure out how to fix it.  With hard wire, lighting my dollhouse has been a breeze!

And as a side note - if you plan on wiring your dollhouse, be sure to run your wire (either hard wire or tape wire) to the side of your house.  It will be much easier to disguise.

Have fun and if you have any questions I'd be happy to help if I can.

Kitchen and Butler's Pantry Updates and the Wine Cellar

The major work in the kitchen is done.  Now it's just a matter of stocking it and adding all those homey touches.  I have purchased a few items and played with them today.  It's such a joy just to play house!

The ovens were busy today baking bread and pie!

Fried egg sandwiches for lunch today!

Cauliflower and Cabbage!

 

I've started work on the wine cellar and it's going well except it's quite a task getting the vaulted ceiling just right.  I've ordered a light fixture and as soon as it arrives I'll be able to install it along with the ceiling.  I wasn't sure at first about the faux brick, but it doesn't look too bad.  I purchased it from Etsy, downloaded it, printed it and used spray glue to affix it to cardstock.  The ceiling I glued to foam board so that I could put the cuts in it to "bend" it into a vaulted position.  Next up is filling it with storage for wine and champagne!

The walls are in and the flooring is ready to be installed.

I used a flashlight here so you could see the ceiling.

Using a flashlight gives it an eerie feeling!

I also finished the butler's pantry and it's turned out quite nice.  I've ordered another light to hang over the cabinet at the back of the room because it's so dark back there.  Other than that all that's needed are all the "valuables".

I also finished the sub-basement stairwell.  The back stairs are a bit wonky as it was hard to get the pitch just right way back in there, but if you don't look too closely, it's not too noticeable.

The door goes into the butler's pantry.

I'm participating in a sofa build from a House of Miniatures kit this weekend.  If you hear a loud scream, it's probably me!

Take care and stay safe!