More friends have joined - welcome

A huge welcome to Norma, Contrastes-Rosa, Gleise and Alice.  It is wonderful to have the support of friends here on this new blog, and to have your encouragement as I try to complete the Fairfield right to the finish by the Sydney fair at the beginning of May.

My quarter scale Cottage Stores

My friend Norma has a great blog called  makeminemini  and I am hoping to see her French project at the fair as well - there we are Norma, a bit of a challenge.  Let me know whether you'd like to share a table with me.

Rosa Maria also has a beautiful blog contrastes-rosamaria full of lovely things.  She is makes beautiful things.

Gleise, you don't show a blog - if you have one could you please let me know?  Alice just started her blog Wisteria Lodge - An Edwardian restoration last year but she is making great progress on her Edwardian house and is obviously a very artistic person.

So thank you all for joining here, and I hope you will enjoy reading about my progress with the Fairfield and offer lots of suggestions - I'm not just saying that, I do appreciate suggestions!  And as you know I love receiving comments too because it is so encouraging to have feedback.

Progress in the kitchen at least

I didn't get half as much done as I hoped today.  The kitchen kit came with Lydia Pickett 'leafy green tile' wallpaper by the Betterleys, which had been copied and reduced for the doors on the cupboards.  At first I wasn't sure whether I would use this because it would commit me to green for the room but it is just too pretty not to use. As I said yesterday, I had decided to paint the kitchen and today I painted the walls and the interior side of the kitchen bay window pieces with a pale green and the effect was - quite awful to be frank!  I gave it a couple more coats and it looked better but was too dark.  So I lightened it and did a few more coats of paint.  Finally the coverage is reasonable but not as good as I would like.  And it is still darker than I would like too but since there's not going to be too much of it showing I won't keep adding more and more layers.

The floor in the kit is also tiled with a Lydia Picket wallpaper, and I will order some and decide whether to use it in my kitchen.

While each coat on the walls was drying I worked on the kitchen cabinets.  Several coats of paint on the upper unit and it is ready - at least as far as I can go until I put the display items in the shelves.

I spray painted the clear plastic sink with white and left it to dry while I did the counter tops. I gave these a coat of light green, then sponged them with a medium then a darker shade of the same colour, Wedgewood Blue and light ivory.  I then dabbed at them with a small stiff-bristled brush with the different colours until I was happy with the results.  When they were dry I did a coat of flat varnish.

The sink could then be inserted into the sink benchtop and that is ready to attach to the sink module when I add the items to the small shelves on the end and put the little railings around them.  I won't put them on first because that will make it difficult to add things into the shelves.  In this photo the top is just sitting on the unit.

The oven graphic needed a bit of cut and paste to fit into the area I had on the front of the stove unit but it worked out well.  I stuck the stove graphic on the benchtop and then found I had done it with the benchtop the wrong way around so I was very pleased indeed that I had varnished the top.  It made it easier to remove the graphic, though it still looks a bit worse for wear.  It now just needs a tiled back between it and the top cupboards.

I spent a fair bit of time considering what I would do with the tall unit that has the fridge in it.  I wasn't sure whether to use the paper supplied to front the fridge or to paint it white to match the sink and oven front.  In the end I decided to go with the paper supplied.  I covered up the shelves on the left except for the lowest one with a bit of balsa, and cut and will cut and glue some left-over trim to make a door frame on it.

It doesn't look much in that photo but when the pieces are put together they look much better

And it will look even better with the trim on the wood between the fridge and the wall units, the knobs on the cupboards etc.

To break things up a bit I decided to work on one of the half scale furniture kits I have collected.  This one is a simple hutch from MJ Miniatures that I bought some time ago, when there was a sale of half scale items.  I thought there might be a possibility of using it in the Fairfield somewhere, even if not in the kitchen.

It actually fits really well in the corner beside the bay window, though that is where I had planned to put a pantry to replace the one I have removed from the tall unit with the fridge.

Looking at the room with the bay window dry fitted again, and the sink unit in place it occurred to me that the nice little shelves on the end will be difficult to see when the small wall is in place at the end of the kitchen.  I have put a bit of an overhang on the sink unit benchtop, to make full use of the area available, and was thinking that it would be a good spot to put a kitchen bin or something.  But perhaps if the shelves are too hard to see when the walls are on, I might need to trim the benchtop level with the sink module.  My poor mini lady won't be happy about losing the work area I know, but the shelves need to be seen!

Meanwhile, yesterday I started cladding the front right side wall as well.  But more about that soon!  Hope you tell me what you think of the kitchen - and maybe you might be able to tell me where I can find some really nice, good quality and realistic half-scale accessories such as a toaster, blender, coffee machine, modern kettle etc to jazz up the kitchen.  Hope to hear from lots of you!

Left side 1st floor added & kitchen kit-bashed

Thursday, 22nd February
Adding the left side 1st floor required some work on the tabs and slots.  In the last post I showed you how the slot near the door to the rear bedroom required extending about 1/2".  All the tabs also needed a bit of sharpening up at the corners where they meet the floor, so that they would sit right into the slot.

Here you can see the 2 halves of the floor joined, glued and taped to hold them in place while the glue dried.

Before I left for yet another back treatment I played around a bit with the kitchen kit.  Here is the photo that came with the kit, of the layout as it was designed.

I wanted to have a layout with the sink in the bay window so that I can put a small table and a couple of chairs in the open side of the room.  Or maybe have the sink on the open side and put a table and chairs in the bay window.

I certainly feel that such a feature needs to be used to its fullest advantage.  Can't you just imagine sitting in the window eating breakfast, or washing up and looking out at the garden from the window?

I dry fitted the bay window just to see the effect and to see how long I could cut the counter top for the sink unit.

It was pleasing that the module doesn't extend higher than the window opening though I'll probably have to leave off the splashback.

The counter top was originally cut at an angle on one end, to fit with the stove module in a corner layout.  I cut off part of the angled end and added it to the top of the angle to make it a square end. It still needs some trimming and sanding to even it up, and a bit of wood filler to smooth out the join so that it isn't visible.

To achieve the L-shape I need in the corner, I started by removing the left side of the tall unit.  This left me with just the pantry and the fridge.  The oven will now go under the cooktop on the stove module, which will take a bit of juggling.

For the top cupboards, which were too long to fit on the wall, I removed the wine rack and a cupboard with a plain door on the right side

This unit will now butt up against the pantry section of the tall unit.  Which of course makes most of the shelves unusable (and they will be covered up) but there is no other option with this layout.  I will make up a pantry unit to go in another part of the kitchen, probably in the corner where the bay window wall meets the front wall of the house.

I will experiment with a couple of tones of green, some cream and blue, sponging them on to see if I can get a finish something like the one on my own RL bench tops.

Ready to wallpaper now

Wednesday 20th February, 2013

Well it has been a little while since I've posted.  I had a wonderful time with Val visiting (see Snippets from my Studio for more about this) and we did make a half-scale writing cabinet from scratch while she was here, using a pattern from 1inchminis by Kris and halving the measurements. Mine will fit perfectly between the chimney and the wall in the living room of the Fairfield.  I haven't glued the front on the cabinet yet because I need to fill the shelves but here is a photo of Val's (on the left) and mine (on the right).  It also needs knobs on the drawers and door, and a varnish finish over the lot.

I am so appreciative that Val was willing to come halfway across Australia to spend time with me.  We had lots of fun doing minis together and visiting places for mini supplies.

After her visit I started back on the Fairfield.  I am determined that I will not start on anything else until this house is finished.  You heard right - and it will be a record if I manage to do this lol.  I want it to be completely constructed and decorated and landscaped.  Now if that's not a commitment, nothing is!  Not necessarily furnished, that will have to happen as I find the things I need - but I am buying as much as I can when I see something appropriate.

So, what have I been doing? I hear you ask.

Monday 19^th February 2013

Saturday night – I finally started construction Yaaaaay!  Not much to show for it, just the central wall at first....

Then when that was reasonably dry, I added the front right wall.  And left it to dry overnight.

On Sunday it would be time to add the fireplaces but first I wanted to finish the insides while I could still access them easily.  So I rolled some Creative PaperClay into a thin strip, cut it to the height of the fireplace and scribed horizontal lines on it, then marked vertical lines for bricks.  Then I took the strip and  lined lined the fireplace, making sure that the clay was reasonably sharply creased at the corners.   This process was repeated for each of the fireplaces. The lines had to be re-scribed a bit, and once the clay is properly dry I will do them again and sand the clay a bit before I paint it. 

On Sunday I could do the next step, which was to insert the chimney assembly down through the first floor.  The side wall is added to this, and I glued it together and left that to dry, clamping it for a good connection.

The first floor is then fitted into the main assembly, and the chimney glued to the base and the first floor.  After leaving the glue to dry as it is shown below, I clamped it together with 2 lengths of clamp: the shorter one  to keep the first  floor in good contact with the chimney where it was tending to sag a bit, and the longer one to keep the base of the chimney in good contact with the ground floor, where it was tending to try and leave a gap.

In the periods where I was waiting for the glue to dry I continued with (yet another) coat of paint and/or wood filler on the edges of the window frames and trims, the windowsills and the brackets.   I think this will go on forever!

Today the kit for the kitchen arrived from Judith (In Some Small Way).  It is a kit that she and Susan of sdk miniatures designed for people who were buying the Lydia Pickett furniture in half scale and were disappointed  when no half scale Pickett Hill was released.  It has the 'flavour' of  Pickett Hill without being a copy.  But it doesn't fit in the kitchen of the Fairfield just as it is, so I've done a fair bit of kit bashing to get it to fit.  Unfortunately I forgot about the door into the kitchen from the outside so I need to do even more kit bashing unless I change my mind about the layout.  I won't do it until I have a good think about it all.

Wednesday, 19th February

I've continued with those frames, windowsills and brackets.  They feel as though it will never end, but I am slowly getting to the end.  I suppose it's the price of being so fussy - I fill and sand, gesso and sand, undercoat and then paint.  Lots of light sanding.  But at least most of the grain is covered and most of the edges are smooth.  

Today I would have jumped for joy if my back wasn't so sore - the order of halfscale wallpaper arrived!!! So that means I can wallpaper the stair wall and go on with assembling the left side of the house.  And have a break from the endless painting of trim too :)  I have slowed down because I can't sit for long in the chair with my back being so sore, but even so there are a lot of trim pieces.  I know I'll be happy to have them finished though when the time comes to add them, and not have to take the time off to do them then.  I'll finish up the trim pieces before I go on with the papering.

Thursday, 20th February
I did more of the trim yesterday but by then my back had had enough.  Tonight I papered the side of the staircase that will show in the foyer

 I wanted to make the stairs a little bit special - they are so boring as they are.  So I put a piece of stripwood straight below the bannisters.  It's hard to see it in the photo because it's painted cream the same as the bannisters.  Underneath the stripwood I put a piece of edging like I did in the John F Craig house, to represent the carving often seen on stairscases.  I probably shouldn't have wallpapered underneath it, I realize now, because carving wouldn't have it.  I can't do a lot about it now though, except paint over it.  that will make it more difficult to see in the foyer, but will be more realistic.

I want to make a broom cupboard under the stairs, so instead of putting the support piece straight under the rear of the stairs I have cut it into two pieces, at the height of a door.  I've painted both sides of both pieces and will glue the small piece to the back of the stairs.  For now, the two pieces will be taped together to give support to the staircase until it is glued into place.  Then the 'door' will be taken out and glued open or hinged, so that the contents of the cupboard can be seen.

I wallpapered the kitchen/rear wall of the foyer, and it looks really pretty.  I did take a photo but it's blurry.   Then I fitted the first floor over the stairs and and slid that wall temporarily into place.  The floor doesn't fit properly though.  As you can see if you look closely at this photo, the slot in the central wall needs to be extended in order for the tab to fit around the existing tab coming from the right floor.

That means of course that the floors don't meet at the front either.  It's too late tonight to do anything more about it, so I'll leave it until tomorrow.  It will also need a very firm hand to force the two halves together and to hold them there.  I'd suggest you buy a small rubber mallet if you are building this kit.  I'll buy one tomorrow.

I'm very happy with the way the house is looking.  Each step makes a big difference, as usual.  I have a pretty wallpaper to do the main bedroom and might do that tomorrow, I think.  All the hallways will be done in the green, and I think I might do the living room in the same paper.  If it is not too much.

No comments yet - what do you think?

Floors done…...but have I made a mistake?

Thursday 1^st February 2013

Quite a bit of progress today.

I finally feel that things are moving past the preparation stage – yaaaaay!  There was still a lot of preparation: last night I painted the interior walls and ceilings with gesso, today I sanded them off and gave them another coat.  The walls that were interior walls I was then able to sand off again and give two more coats of gesso.   The ceilings then received their first coat of white paint.  It’s just ordinary flat house paint like you’d use on walls.  I have a 1L tin of it and find it covers quite well.  I really like to have a good white surface on which to wallpaper – the white shows up the colours of the wallpaper better, and having a good smooth surface means that the wallpaper has a better finish.

After some experimenting with different browns I’ve also decided on the colour for the flooring of the house.  I want to have them quite dark and I’m using paint, not stain, in burnt umber. I did the ground floor tonight, and also the stair treads ready to glue onto the staircase.  I painted the risers and the bannisters on the staircase in light ivory.

  

For the interior I only have a couple of the wallpapers so far, 

Kitchen: Robin Betterley ‘Green Leafy Tile’

Bedroom 1: Robin Betterley ‘Cottage Rose’

I do have more on order, including the paper I want to use for the hallways.   

I’ve still not decided on the final colour scheme for the exterior.  I am drawn towards browns but also towards greens……

Here are the greens, though they don't really show up properly on this sample.

I was thinking that the weatherboard could be in the lightest green (sage green mixed with white) that is second from the bottom - it could actually be a bit darker than it is here. 

The railings on the verandah in the darkest shade (dark forest green), 2nd down.

The window ledges in sage green, which is the bottom colour.  And maybe the trim that's on some of the outside window pieces too.

The trim and little brackets in light ivory, which is the top colour but isn't as white as it looks here. 

The roof shingles in burnt umber

What do you think? Does it need another contrast colour?  Should the weatherboards (siding) be the darker green and the railings a different colour?

Sunday 3^rd  February 2013

Floors done…...but have I made a mistake?

We had lunch at the nursing home with my mother again today.  She booked the activities room and they set up a nice table there for us and our meals were served there.  We had the place to ourselves and spent several hours there, having an enjoyable time. Then we had a birthday tea at home and some birthday cake.  White  mud cake - my favourite.  Yum!

In the afternoon I varnished the floors.  I’d painted the rest of them on Friday, then sanded them off and given them a second coat on Saturday night.  They aren’t perfectly even in colour but they’ll be okay once walls are erected and furniture is in. You can see a glimpse of the tower floor in the photo below.

The staircase looks really nice now it’s all put together with the treads painted in the burnt umber, then varnished.  I used Jo Sonja’s satin finish varnish.

On Saturday night I also painted a whole lot of skirting boards in the light ivory.  I would have preferred to have had all the woodwork in the burnt umber but I had gone ahead and done the interior window and door frames in gesso and the burnt umber didn’t go well over that.  I should have thought about that first and just filled them with wood filler then painted them.  Another thing that occurred to me is that the reason I had ordered the flooring for this house was because I want to light it, and having the flooring makes it so easy to hide the wiring.  So now I need to decide whether to still light it or not.  I have been looking online for half scale lights and haven’t found much of a range locally, but if I do light the house, it will mean fitting the flooring around all the little nooks and crannies that this house has.  I think I’ll have to do more research on the Greenleaf forum and see what other people have done.