The Turret or Should that be Cupola?

Okay, so I've been calling the cupola a turret.  What's the difference you ask?  A cupola is a dome-like, functional and ornamental structure at the top of a roof that is pitched or flat.  A Turret comes from the Italian word torretta, or "little tower" or possibly from the Latin word turris, "tower".  Turrets project from the side of a building, jutting out with its bottom typically not reaching the ground but rather, hovering above it.

Turret on the side of a building.

Newark Castle, Port Glasgow (I needed to know more about those turretts!)  Wouldn't it be fun to recreate this castle in miniature?  Hmmmmm . . .

Cupola on the roof of a building.

I like the word turret better, as cupola reminds me of a little decorative feature in the middle of any roof.  Turret sounds much more sophisticated!

Anyhow, I worked on the turret today as I've been putting it off worried that I don't have enough of the Jen Hadfield Gold Chevron cardstock to complete it.  I cut out some templates, and sure enough, not enough cardstock.  So I jumped on Etsy and was fortunate enough to find one more sheet.  This cardstock is very hard to find as I don't think they make it anymore.  So with that on order, I got as far as I could with the cardstock I had.  I'll need two more panels and some trim to finish it and then I can add the stain to make it look like a copper roof.

Remember, I did that on the bay windows on the manor . . .

Thanks to Dollhouse Tutorials on YouTube for the great tutorial!

And here's my copper roof in progress on the turret . . .

Once my extra sheet of gold chevron cardstock arrives, I can finish the turret and then add the gel stain to make my copper roof!  The windows are painted and are ready to be installed, but first I have to decide how to finish the interior.  I'll be putting a bottom on the turret and attaching it to the addition, so maybe just painting it black will suffice.  But then again, maybe adding some trim to mimic beams and painting it all to look like wood would be kind of cool.  I'm channeling my inner Ara from Bentley House Minis.  Have you seen her channel on YouTube?  You should, she's amazingly talented and inspirational!

That's it for now except to show you the two new additions to our family.  Meet Elsie and Anna (Chihauhau mix).

Landscaping

Okay, so I digress . . . but I've been thinking more and more about the landscaping for the manor.  I've been looking at trees, but boy they can be expensive!  I found this tutorial on YouTube and decided that I would give it a go and make my own.  This young lady makes it look so easy!  I'm posting her video here because I don't want to loose it (pun intended!).  Stay tuned . . .

My New Project

I've been wanting to do this project for several years now and had started it about 12 years ago . . . and then we moved and downsized and I sold most of my houses.  Some I regret, like this one.  But no matter.  I found it on FB Marketplace and Brian drove me three and a half hours (one way) to pick it up.  I had also found one on ebay, but Brian wanted to take the day for a road trip anyway, so off we went!

Can you guess what house this is?  I'm pretty tickled that it's built already, and built well, although I'll miss that part of a new project.  There's still lots to do and I can't wait to get started, but not before I finish the addition to Pennethorne Manor.

So, have you guessed what house this is?  And can you guess what I'm going to do with it?  I'm not going to tell you but rather keep it a mystery.  You'll be able to tell as time goes on, or not, but either way the mystery will be solved!

Bricking the Basement and Sub-Basement

For the longest time I thought I would paint the basements the same color as the house and then add some pretty wood scrolls . . . and then I found this wallpaper on Etsy!  It has a brick pattern and a texture that makes it much more interesting and much more like brick.  I spent the morning attaching it to the basements and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  I do have to do some touch-ups here and there and then I might pull out my paint brushes making it look a little dirtier, like it's underground.

I have one more piece to put on the side, but I need Brian's help to hold up the side arm he attached to hold up the addition.  Speaking of the addition, it's coming along, albeit slowly.

So here are the bricked up basement foundation walls!

The basements before bricking began.

The basement and sub-basement.  The little door on the side is for storage.

Part way through bricking I realized I didn't like the foundation cracks, so I ripped it off and redid it.

Just before ripping off the paper to redo it.

The side looks pretty good.

Looking good.  Still some touch-ups, reattaching the door and working out how to make it look more like it's underground.  There's a dirty paint brush in my future.

A little hard to see, but the paper is textured.

Almost done!

My knees are killing me after spending most of the morning on the floor, but I'm happy with the results.  Now I have to go and clean up my huge mess and tackle the addition.  The bay window is going in come hell or high water!

Back from Travels and Addition Update

I'm home after travelling to Canada - back home - to Denver - and back home again.  My trip to Denver was a success and I was able to purchase a whole lot of wonderful bright and shiny crystals and more for my crystal shop which is in dire need of dusting!

Work on the manor addition is progressing, albeit slowly.  After a full day of rest and relaxation on Tuesday, I spent a few hours yesterday siding the secret room above the new library.  I also painted the exterior of all the windows and then stained the interiors, along with the breakfast room doors.  After running errands this morning, I was able to paint the exterior of the secret room and some corbels that will go along the roof line on the corners.

I've also been scouring Etsy for some wonderful little additions to the manor and will share them in another post.  And I'm still working out how to electrify the addition . . .

Did you know that crystals make great weights for drying shingles?  LOL!

I still haven't found a glue that doesn't make the shingles warp.  These shingles from Greenleaf are almost paper thin!

Rosette on the side of the secret room.

Waiting for the fish scale shingles to dry and playing with windows.

The new breakfast room doors are stained.

Up close view of the secret room window and turret windows.  The turret will be getting a copper roof.

Windows and breakfast room doors ready for their turn under the paint brush.

One of the addition windows all painted and ready to be installed.

Addition windows.  I'm thinking that secret room window needs to have a burgundy frame.  What do you think?

I'll be busy in my crystal shop tomorrow and Saturday so work on the addition comes to a screeching halt for a few days.  On Sunday we're heading out on a road trip.  You'll never guess what's coming!  Have a great weekend!

New Addition Updates

With most of the build done, I moved on to some wallpapering.  First I wallpapered the bay window as it's much easier to do now without it attached to the addition.  Then I repainted the window frames and glued them in place.  Next I set about wallpapering the new breakfast room.  I love this wallpaper!  I'm thinking about repapering the old breakfast room in the same paper, but will wait until things are a little further along before making a final decision.

A couple of the windows I ordered arrived and I tried them out in the openings.  They fit perfectly!  They'll be painted before being installed permanently.

I'm working out in my mind's eye how to do the electrical on the addition.  I think I pretty much have it worked out and will tackle it once I'm back from Denver.

I've also been working on finishing up a few niggly bits on the manor.  I had ordered more balustrade for the widow's walk on the turret and finally painted and installed it.  I've also been filling up the silver/porcelain room with silver and filling up the wine cellar.  I ordered 36 bottles of wine, but it only filled a little over a third of the cabinet!

I found some really cool textured paper for the outside of the basements and once it arrives (all the way from Greece!) I'll be tackling that project.  It will be nice to have the outside wrapped up and then I can move on to landscaping.

I leave for the Denver Rock and Mineral Show tomorrow, so I better get myself packed.  I'll be gone for about 5 days and when I return it will be full steam ahead on the addition!

The textured paper I found on Etsy that will cover the outside of the basements.

Wallpapering the bay window that attaches to the side of the new addition.

I'm glad I thought to wallpaper the ceiling in the bay window!

The wallpapered bay window.  Just need to insert the window frames.

The new breakfast room.  The curtains are from Monika at ECHminiatures on Etsy.

The bay window.  Up next flooring and trim.

The windows I ordered for the new addition.  I ordered different windows for the secret room and turret.

Still trying to figure out how to attach the bay window to the new addition.

An Addition to my Addition

So while I was brainstorming about the spiral staircase the other night, the thought came that it should lead up to a secret hiding place in the library.  Hence, you guessed it, an addition to my addition!

Brian thinks I've completely gone off the deep end, but it didn't take long to get him involved in the building.  Using my inspiration picture, I set about making a box that sits on top of the Allison Jr. addition.  Then Brian created the turret on top as I'm not great at figuring out angles.  And voila'!  An addition to my addition!

Here's the inspiration picture . . .

This could almost be a house all on its own!  It does look a little wonky, but it will look great once it's attached to the manor.  So whilst I'm waiting for glue to dry, I need to figure out how to attach the bay window to the side of the addition.  Hmmmm . . .

The addition to my addition.  The second floor library will lead up via a spiral staircase to this secret room.

I'm thinking of a copper roof on the turret.

From the bottom - the new breakfast room, library and secret room.

I need to figure out how to attach the bay window to the addition.

The secret room which will have access via a spiral staircase.

Good thing I thought to cut out for the windows!

Now to that bay window . . .