The Study, the roof and the front of the house

I've been busy !!!....😁 So let's see what I've been up to for the last 2 months.  I think we will begin with the Study and how I made the little books. Then we will look at the furniture in the room.

The book at the bottom of the photo is Romeo and Juliet with printed pages on the left are the inside pages Its about 2.5 cm

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on the left is a book block, the middle photo is a botanical insert of a book and on the right a collection of books to be made up

I still have loads to be made but I have enough at the moment to go into the book cabinet below

Next is my favourite buy for the house so far....my replica of a  Charles Dickens desk and I also bought the Charles Dickens chair too, well why not....lol you can't have one without the other, they were expensive but totally worth it as they fit perfectly within the period of the house.  It was quite a red mahogany when I bought it and I wanted it to be dark like the book cabinet so I darkened it with alcohol inks it's now much better looking, the chair got the same treatment. I love this little desk it has so many opening drawers and they all go the full depth of the desk. So more books needed I think to fill all these little drawers

before

after 😁

the chair, desk, and quill pens I made from real feathers and ink wells. A few accounting ledgers and a notebook and pencil

More books and horse bookends on the mantlepiece and 2 packs of playing cards....so cute !

The fireplace is still to be finished.

I also wanted a world globe for the Study and this one looks just right and it spins and the wheels roll too 😲

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Now onto the roof.  Such a long job but I just did a bit every day until it was finished so here's how it was done.

Mountboard cut into 1-inch squares and placed individually in rows starting at the bottom and working to the top. A few mistakes cutting some to fit the dormers but I got there in the end.

                             the whole roof has more than 700 tiles I lost count after that and thought what the hell!!   😂                                    

I distressed the tiles with Acrylic paint and added a trim top and bottom the green tape holding it firm while it dries

I used some Duck tape to make the leading round the Dormers it looks really good

a few pics with the fronts on and off. At this stage they are only placed no hinges on yet. These doors only cover from the ground level up .....the basement front and gardens sit in front below the main door entrance these are not fitted yet as I've still to complete them.

the front door

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A few little extra things I did this month.

I bought these little porcelain vases and filled them with yellow roses for the Morning room and the other vase is in the bathroom

a dressing table set, really tiny

Another tool I've wanted for a long time is a mini electric Potters wheel. I've only had a we play with it so far and made these 2 little pots but the clay I used was old and too dry so I have bought some new stuff and will have another go this week ...watch out for more updates on this.

That's all the updates so far I'll try and get another done before the end of November and hopefully, the basement front and garden will be started by then, and if I get a chance a few wee pots and some chimneys.

Hope everyone is well, keep safe till next time

Vera XX

Oriental bed, a chair and a new window

Hi everyone, another we update to let you see how far on I am with Dalton Manor.

I am now working on the top floor rooms, the music room has been moved to the other end of the house and I have made the Lord of the Manor's ( don't have a name for him yet) bedroom with an Oriental theme, I still have some wall decor to go in here and also the fireplace and curtains to be completed. Georgian's loved all things Oriental and French and often had 2 or 3 rooms decorated in this manner. On the left of the photo, you can see the small Chinese table with gold decoration on top of the black lacquered finish. Black and gold is a typical Oriental style for this era. On the table is a wig/hat stand.

 Next door to this bedroom will be the Master's study/library which is an open area at the top of the stairs.

How the bed was dressed starting with the mattress

Then I made the sheet from fine cotton lawn

The bedspread was made with satin brocade and gold ribbon for an Oriental look and finished with some black cord. 

I made some tassels using a fork and sewing thread and added them to the bedposts 

Just some Oriental wall decor to add now and a few accessories

The Study / Library area still to be decorated and furnished

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Getting back to the Lady Charlotte and her boudoir

I needed a dressing table and mirror and, as always I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I bought a mahogany one and painted it white the mirror was a separate buy and was a cheap plastic colour so it too got a makeover to fit the dressing table

the little stool was the same colour so it got painted too and re-upholstered

 

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Last week I had a go at making a winged back chair, so armed with all the materials and my UHU glue I got started. It wasn't too difficult but not really the chair I was hoping it would be when finished....why you might ask..... well it's too Victorian looking and my house as you know is a Georgian mansion so style-wise it just doesn't fit so although I was quite pleased with it, the chair will now be going into the Victorian house instead

the basic shape made with foam board

the back and sides of the chair were covered in wadding and then upholstered with cotton fabric.

the inside back and seat are made separately and glued on

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Also last week I decided to put a window on the back stairs. The original build for the house did not have a window here but I decided it needed one so rather than cut a hole in the back wall I made a false window with a picture inserted to give the illusion of looking onto a rather grand garden

The curtains are made from lilac Silk and Guipure lace. Although very expensive, Silk is the best fabric to use for miniatures as it drapes nicely and is not bulky

Another task completed ....we are getting there slowly

The room next to the Master's bedroom which I am making into a study/library reading room is the last remaining room to be decorated. I have ideas for it but at the moment I think I will carry on making some curtains for the rest of the rooms. 

Next time I hope to have all the fire surrounds in place and hopefully the curtains as well.

Thanks for your visit today hope you enjoyed seeing how far on I am with the house. 

See you next time

XX