Sunday 12 February 2012

Scullery

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a good week. Things at work are back to normal for the moment. It was really crazy, but I spent my free time working on he scullery to try and forget about the office.


Since Dewell Manor's kitchen is 24 inches by 20 inches,  I decided to take one area and build a proper scullery.

The first Item I put together was the Dish rack.

I started by drilling evenly spaced holes on some leftover pieces of lumber I had lying around. I then cut dowels to the height I wanted the dish rack, in this case enough for 3 levels.
When the dowels were through the supports, I spaced them using a 1 1/4 inch piece of wood and glued them into place

 Next, I put together the top and side of the dish rack box and glued in the dowel pieces when it was dry
I glued on the second side piece. For the back piece, I glued pieces of 1/8 inch x 1/16 inch lumber at the same level as the horizontal supports. Next, I took more dowels and glued them to line  up with the front piece. In the next picture, you see me adding another 1/8 , 1/16 inch piece of lumber to help support the dishes.


While the rack dried, I made the cup rack

This is just another piece of lumber 1/4 wide with holes drilled through. instead of using dowels for the cup pegs, I cut off the tips of cocktail toothpicks that had a nice detail. I made 2 of these, glued them onto 2 supports and added shelves, corbels, and 2 small dowels do look like supports for the top shelf.

Next came the sinks
I have 2 porcelain sinks in the kitchen, so I decided the scullery would have 2 other sinks. The first one is a wood sink victorians used to wash china (porcelain sinks would chip the dishes) and the second is a copper sink used for messy preperation (cleaning fish and washing pots and pans).

Both sinks are simple wood boxes on wood supports.
 I used embossing metal sheets for the copper sink. This is a fairly soft sheet of copper. It is easy enough to cut with a utility knife and very easy to fold. I first made a smaller wood box to fit into the sink. I glued down the bottom piece of metal, and then folded a strip around the sides which went over the top of the smaller box. (see above picture) I cut thin strips of the metal and glued those over the top of the copper sink to cover any wood you could see.
 In the above picture, I dropped the copper sink into the woood piece and covered the gap with 1/4 x1/8 molding strips.
Finaly, I drilled a whole in the bottom of the sink and filled it with a brass grommet (used for dollhouse electrifying) for the drain and I glued a piece of copper dowel underneath. I tried making faucets with , but they looked awful so I'm going to purchase them.

I made a small counter with a drawer that goes under the plate rack. It has a small lip to help guide the water that drips from the dishes into the wood sink. The counter between the 2 sinks is a piece of wainscott sample I had. The grooves are just the right size to send the water back into the sink when pots are drying. I painted everything to look like dark wood.



And once everything was dry, I glued it all into place
I also put together a clothes rack that will hang from the ceiling in front of the kitchen stove

 I'm not going to hang it yet. I want to eventually purchase a wrought iron pot rack and will decide what the best placement for both item is.

If anyone is interested in Victorian kitchens I found a wonderful British series called "Victorian Kitchen":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoJnEJlwCpU&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL66C52B53F7E34468

It's a 9 episode series in which they repair a real victorian kitchen, hire a cook who started off as a scullery maid in the late 1920s and she prepares food in the same way the victorians did. The first episode has a lot of information about how the kitchen  was set up.

I also reccomend a book called "The Victorian House" by Judith Flanders. It talks about everything in the victorian middle class home. It gives a good idea of the work that servants went through on a daily basis.


Next I will tackle the 3 unfinished rooms of the second floor. I've been putting it off bcause I didn't feel like cutting all the floor planks, but now I have to in order to go forward.

I also want to thank Maria from  http://prettythingsireland.blogspot.com/ for giving me a Blog Fantabuloso award! My first award! Thank you so much Maria, I REALLY appreciate it and it means a lot coming from you.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I wish you all the best,
Hugs,
Giac

32 comments:

  1. I so enjoy perusing your blog and am especially taken with all of your detailed 'instructions' for all of your interior projects. You are a master of all you do. Each time I read one of your entries, it inspires me to 'press on' with my own project. Keep up the good work.

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  2. Giac, excellent work as usual! it all looks perfect! love the copper sinks, they thought that copper was more protective on fine china, it's a great space, and all goes together well, I love all the little shelves too.

    You don't seem afriad to try doing anything, I always think I'll mess something up, which holds me back a bit.

    regards
    Andy

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  3. Giac, beautiful work! Thank you for explaining everything so clearly. Thank you also for the link to that Victorian Kitchen series. I have that book on The Victorian House and I am presently reading it ever so slowly. My eyes are not what they were, unfortunately. I also have a very interesting book called "The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Servant" by Pamela Horn. It's horrible what a difficult life these poor servants had.

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  4. Un trabajo magnífico en el mueble. La cocina te está quedando muy bonita. Yo también estoy utilizando distintos modelos de papeles separados por estanterías. Aunque mis papeles son más saturados, quizás demasiado atrevidos, ja, ja.
    Gracias por el enlace a la serie, nos puede aportar muchas ideas.
    ¡Y felicidades por el premio recibido!
    Un saludo, Eva

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  5. Giac,
    Well where do I start........ Congratulations on the award of which you deserve and should receive many more!
    The "Scullery" is fantastic. I think the plate rack, cup rack, and copper sink are truly inspired and fit the space perfectly. Is there anything you can't figure out how to do and do well? I don't think so...
    You are a great talent and I feel lucky to get to know you.
    Warmest wishes to you and Jo
    Ray

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  6. Oh well done, Giac. You are so clever. I wish I had your patience. I'm glad things in the office have calmed down enough to allow you time to work on Dewell Manor. I particularly like the copper sink and the cup racks.
    It all looks so perfect in situ.
    Warm regards to you Both.
    Simon

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    Replies
    1. Giac, I LOVE the scullery! Your work is so fantastic. I love how you just jump in and can tackle any project you set your mind to. The plate rack is perfect as is the cup rack,sinks, etc. Thanks for the mini tutorial of how you have put these together. I just received my latest issue of Miniaturas and was so happy to see Dewell Manor inside. Congrats on the article!! It was great looking at all of the photos!

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  7. Felicidades por el premio. Me gusta mucho leer las explicaciones que das de tus trabajos, la cocina esta quedando preciosa con estos muebles tan bien elaborados.

    un saludo.

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  8. Giac Again you leave me speechless what a fantastic scullery. Your work is amazing I love the sinks your attention to detail is fantastic. The dish rack is beautiful. I love visiting your wonderful blog.
    Hugs Maria

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  9. What a BEAUTIFUL scullery! So well planned and well made. Everything fits like a glove in the space. I am so impressed with your talent and skill. :-)

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  10. Soooo beautiful, Giac! I did not know that about wood sinks. It is such a lovely space, all the pretty, contrasting tile and now your new, well-appointed fittings --I don't think I'd mind at all being a scullery wench! lol!

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  11. Wish my real scullery looked like this one!!!! You did a fantastic job on it!!!!

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  12. What a beautiful scullery: the copper sinks and the racks are so fantastic. Thanks for explaining everything.
    Kind regards, Ilona

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  13. ¡¡Me gusta cómo está quedando la cocina!! Muchas gracias por la recomendación del libro, no lo conocía!! Un abrazo enorme!!


    I like how is running the kitchen!!! Thank you very much for the recommendation of the book, did not know him! A big hug!

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  14. Wonderful 'how to' post Giac! I enjoy seeing the process of how it is made. And the results are fantastic! Love the scullery!

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  15. It's amazing what you can do with just some dowling and wood scraps, it looks fabulous. It reminds me a lot of the big kitchens you can see at National Trust houses in Britain, I think the scale is perfect!

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  16. Me encanta!! Felicidades por el premio.
    Besitos

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  17. Absolutely GORGEOUS!

    Cheers,

    Tom

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  18. Giac, as Usual, You are Making an AMAZING Scullery! The Copper sink is Inspired! Dewell Manor is a Magnificent House.... and YOUR Creative Skills are what makes it so!!!
    I Love every bit of your kitchen so far... You have the room and the proportions SO Right! (Wishing I had a little more 'Real Estate' to work with in my Tiny Cupboard House!!!)
    Keep up the GREAT work.... I SO Look forward to seeing the Rest of the kitchen!!

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  19. Hi Giac, The kitchen is really coming along! I like the plate and cup racks, and the copper sink is amazing. Each of your rooms is well thought out and very inspiring. Looking forward to seeing more.

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  20. I'm always keen to see what you've been up to when I open your most recent post. What a marvellous job you've made of the scullery pieces, especially the plate rack and I've got that book - it's good, isn't it? Very detailed.

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  21. La cocina está quedando digna de un palacio. Estás realizando un gran trabajo. Me encanta. Enhorabuena por el premio, te lo mereces. Saludos

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  22. Hi Giac,

    you are amazing! I just love the scullery. Its great to see how it's done and I have taken notes. Your an inspiration.

    ML Fi xx

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  23. What fabulous work and it looks so perfect too! What an enormous kitchen to fill, I know it will look fabulous once it's done.

    I loved the Victorian kitchen when it was on the telly overhere, it was a few years back now, but they do repeat it. ;o))

    Michelle :o)

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  24. You are so talented! Gorgeous scullery, I wish I had one like that. Happy belated Valentine Day!

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  25. Giac, I don't know how/where you purchase your 'lumber' for your manor, but I have found this place to be reliable and relatively reasonable for very nice hardwoods that I use for furniture, building bookcases, paneling, etc. http://www.nationalbalsa.com/ They have much more than 'balsa'. When I was working, we used this supplier for wood used in architectural 3-D renderings for clients. Once again, I am so amazed with your work!! Peace and love
    Dottye

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  26. Oh my god, I can't believe the work you put into this house it just blows me away. thank you so much for showing your work I really love your ideas and the tips.

    Hugs
    Marisa :)

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  27. Impresionante!!! me encanta tu trabajo, la casa es maravillosa, la cocina, autentica.
    Un besín,
    Carolina
    http://misminicasas.blogspot.com/

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  28. Ammiro tanto i tuoi lavori ciao Giac e grazie per la visita.

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  29. just dropped by to let you know i'm very impressed, your scullery is very impressive, and yet cosy.
    i admire your woodworking skills and like reading your how-to's, learning every time!

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