Dollhouse Blogs

Sunday 23 October 2011

Great Room back doors and Update pictures.

Hello everyone. I hope you're all having a great weekend.

I spent all day yesterday packing and unpacking furniture. Some of the rooms are almost finished so I need to start looking into artwork. In other rooms, there are certain projects I have in mind but I wanted to see them with the furniture in place before I begin. Also, I made sure my inventory sheets are up to date. At this time I'm missing about 10 pieces of "vital" furniture.

Now, I love putting furniture in the house and seeing the rooms "complete". However, I have 177 pieces of furniture for the manor. It takes hours to unpack everything, dust them, fix any ungled parts put them in place...and it takes even longer to pack everything up again. But here are some pictures for your enjoyment.
Entrance and Grand Staircase


Great Room (Drawing Room side)



Great Room (Game Room side) missing arches in the windows over the doors.


Kitchen missing plate drying rack over the back sink


Dining room missing door to Loggia


 The other project I worked on was the Great Room doors to the back yard. As with the windows I decided to make all the doors of the manor from scratch. I wanted them a bit larger and taller then what is commercially available.


These will be non working. Since they are at the back of the Great Room it would be hard to get to them.
I took a 3 inch wide piece of lumber for the bottom half of the door, cut one piece to the width of both doors, and then I used 1/2 " lumber cut to 8" to make the vertical sides of each  door and glued them on with carpenters glue and gel super glue
The bottom picture shows the back of the doors. I just added smaller pieces of lumber in the center and at each end to hold the window panes and the top piece of the door in place. Then I attached molding strips inside each frame and I made more linen fold pieces for the bottom frame of the door

When the door was dry I painted it antique gold, then faux finished it with oil paint and liquin. Then I placed one door handle,  notched out a piece of the door where the keyhole goes and painted it black.
The doorhandles came with matching keys, so I used one to block the keyhole on the other door...I think, realistically, only one side should have a working keyhole. Finally I glued on the doorknobs with a bit of "The Ultimate" glue and gel super glue, applied with a toothpick. And Voila

You can see it in place in the pictures of the Great Room earlier in the post, Game Room side

And that dear friends was my weekend thus far. Today I'm startuing work on a parquet floor for the Gallery.

I have made a list of the remaining interior projects I have to get to:
11 Doors
29 Windows
Bedroom wood floors
Paneling in Gallery, Master Bedroom, Boy's Bedroom and Library
Library Bookcases
Kitchen Plate Drying Rack
Music Room columns and caryatides
Carved overmantels for Library and Master Bedroom
Room divisions for entire Attic  (Nursery, Bathroom, Sewing Room, Studio, Housekeeper's Bedroom)
Chandeliers, Sconces and fireplaces
Clock Tower
and of course front opening panels, which must be bricked, and the thousand of slate shingles for the roof.

And I'm sure I forgot some...My goal is to finish the interior of the house for my birthday May 2nd, and the exterior for end of summer 2012.

And now I'm going to get back to work. I will try to post mid-week about the gallery floor and I will take the time to talk about the story about the house...year, location, family...Just so you will all have an idea of my vision.

I wish you all a great week and once again, thank you for your feedback and your very kind encouragement...if I don't feel overwhelemed by what is left to do it is becaus eyou all help keep me positive and wanting to do more and better. I can't wait to see the progress of all your projects.

Best wishes, my friends,
Giac

25 comments:

  1. It is just BEAUTIFUL! You have done spectacular job with the design and architectural details for this house. I really enjoyed seeing the furniture in the rooms. It makes it come to life and tells me how perfect the scale is.

    I am sure there are still hundreds of things you will want to add. Like a massive number of framed pictures and paintings. That will also warm and give a certain ambiance to each room. Thank you for sharing these photos.

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  2. This roundup of photos highlighting all your great work!
    Are you a perfectionist chronic?!
    Now I am ashamed to have attacked the lock on the door of the cottage, without having made ​​the hole for the key :-(
    However, if you continue at this rate, you may have time to finish work on your birthday (so you do not have specified the year ...)
    Mini hugs my friend and a good Sunday to you too,
    Flora

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  3. Oooh what is this a beautiful house. I'm dreaming that I live here........
    Very great work Giac. Thank you for sharing.
    I can't wait for the next pictures.

    gr.Heleni

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  4. Wow This house just gets better and better. You are doing fantastic work on it.I love watching this house.
    Hugs Maria

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  5. Hola me acabo de hacer seguidora, tenes trabajos MAGNÍFICOS!
    Un abarzo

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  6. A-MA-ZING !!! Giac, it's incredible! even now, without all the teeny tiny thingies that Victorian people used to collect and fill houses with, your work is amazing. Your attention to details and use of colours is wonderful. You are a true source of ispiration. Buona serata/giornata, Rosanna

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  7. This looks incredible! I agree with everything said by the posters before me!
    I think it is very lovely to see the furniture in! It gives the feeling someone just walked out of the room seconds ago.

    Did you plan everything ahead before you started all the buildingwork, and did you allready know for certain what kind of furniture you needed? I would find that so difficult, but you have a very clear vision and acurate style.

    I can see a lavish bouquet of flowers on the table in the hal! Are you going to make/buy flowers for it?
    It makes my imagination run wild, as do the other pictures! You are going so fast with the building process, and yet you work very detailed and precise! Even making your own windows and door, wich must be quite time consuming.
    You are, like Rosanna said, a source of inspiration!

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  8. You are amazing Gaic!!!

    You leave nothing out, I love, love, love the kitchen, you have thought of every thing. The furniture looks beautiful in the rooms, it brings it all together.

    That list scares me.

    Have a good week, Fiona

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  9. What can I say ... Drop Dead Gorgeous!!

    As has been said, the detail is amazing.

    Cheers,

    Tom

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  10. Wow! Your house is fabulous. I am amazed at the richness of detail. Congratulations for such a talent!
    Hugs

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  11. 177 pièces de mobilier , c'est impressionnant .C'est génial de mettre en place les meubles , c'est un plaisir immense de voir que ton travail est récompensé .Tes meubles sont vraiment dans le style de ta maison et comme Catherine , des tableaux de Maîtres ,des tapis mettront de la couleur dans ta maison .
    Bravo !

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  12. Hi Giac,
    The rooms look wonderfull with the furniture in it! I really like the hallway...wouldn't it look great with X-mas decorations was the first thing that came up to me! I'm also a big fan of kitchens...your looks really nice.
    Thanks

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  13. Hey, Giac!

    I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes to play with their furniture before the house is finished! I've 'lost' a few things here and there, too! Where do they go? (Usually, they turn up, eventually). Wow, the manor takes on a whole new life with the furniture in place! Giac, it is incredible!

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  14. O wow, you have collected so much furniture already! The house is starting to come alive with the pieces put in. Love it!
    The double doors look great as well.

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  15. I love everything about your house!!!!! You do wonderful work, I am curious about your house's history and the people that live in there, I am sure it is going to be quite interesting.

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  16. ¡ MARAVILLOSO ! , BEAUTIFUL ! Amazing job!!
    Congratulations!.
    Saludos desde España

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  17. Una decoración muy elegante. Los muebles increíblemente bellos. Los detalles perfectos. Un saludo, Eva

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  18. This is just wonderful. You've come a very long way with this in such a short time and I love your dining room furniture. It's just perfect!

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  19. Hello everyone,
    Thank you so much for your wondeful comments. It means a lot to me and I appreciate you all taking the time.
    I'm a bit of a perfectionnist in that details are very important to me. I really want people to look at the rooms and have that moment of doubt when you're not sure if it is real or miniature.
    I started buying the furniture for the house 6 years ago. I had files with pictures and measurements of each piece of furniture I wanted for each room. Even today, if I happen to fall in love with a piece, I will only buy it after I have figured out exactly where it will go.
    When I drew up plans for the house each room was built around the furniture. For instance, I like things to be very symetrical, but the nook and back doors in the Great Room are off center because the corners of the room were the best spots to show off the Bar and my Chinoiserie Secretary.
    I will most likely try to make some accessories, like flowers, but if they don't come out as nice as I'd like I will buy them. I'll try almost anything at least once!
    Each time I look at the Entrance and the Great Room I think Christmas as well...maybe i'll decorate next year...or maybe just a tree this Christmas.
    I say it each time, I am thrilled that such talented people who's work I respect and admire so much approve and appreciate my efforts.
    Thank you my friends.
    Have a great day,and I send you all my best,
    Giac

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  20. Wow, Giac! WOW! That's all I can say! It looks so fantastic with the furniture in place! I really admire your careful planning around the furniture... I have been more likely to buy a gorgeous piece and THEN decide maybe I need ANOTHER house to put it in! LOL! Your work is beautiful and the SCALE is absolutely perfect.... another thing that is extremely hard to get right! Keep up the GREAT work!

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  21. Giac, your house looks stunning, the furniture really brings it to life, well done on all your work to date! I love Christmas too, but it hadn't occured to me to put it in my dolls house, there's an idea! will think about that one!

    regards
    Andy x

    (ps. do I spot another Lego fan?)

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  22. You are very talented. Your house and your work is amazing. Compliments!
    Maria

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  23. Good Morning Giac!
    You still amaze and delight! I am so impressed every time I read your blog. Your ability to figure out all the complicated things you attempt is truly a talent.
    One can better appreciate the size of this project from the great photos of the furnished spaces that you have posted. The scale of the rooms looks very good.
    I look forward to seeing the upper floors and also hearing about the "egg carton" slate you teased us with.
    Warm regards!
    Ray

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  24. I've only just found your blog by a friend and a fellow follower! Your work leaves me speechless, it's outstanding as it is phenomenal!

    Your shopping list of needs and wants is humongous! :o))lol

    So talented and a true perfectionist too! :o)

    Michelle :o)

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  25. Hello everyone,
    Thank you so much for all your kind words. I always say the same thing, but it's sincere, I really appreciate your comments and the fact that you take the time to write them.
    I hope the manor continues to please everyone.
    Ray, I will most likely start testing shingle techiques soon...truth be told I've been putting it off like the plague!
    Andy, I am THE Lego fan...I swear if I didn't have miniatures I'd be playing with lego' all day long...when you're as big as I am people think twice before makng fun.
    Have a great week all, i look forward to visiting your own works of art,
    Giac

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