A Tale of Two Libraries...

Hello everyone.
I hope you are all doing well and that life is treating you kindly. Before I go on, I just want to thank all of you for taking the time to comment on my work and a big welcome to all my new followers. I never would of thought so many people would follow my adventures.

This week, I finished the two libraries of the Manor

The Mahogany Library

 

The Walnut Library

 

Mahogany Library

 

First let me start with the Mahogany Library. Here is a picture of what it used to look like

 You may remember the carpet, a piece of red velvet I glued down with spray adhesive, came undone. This was not a bad thing because while I loved the red the carpet was boring and not what I really wanted. The other thing that bothered me, just like in the Ballroom, is that the paper, which I love, was so busy things got lost in the room. I decided to add some panelling to help balance the room...but first, the floor

The first step was to make a template using thin cardboard to cut a sub floor in illustration board. This was difficult because the bookcases were permanently attached and could not come off

Once the sub floor was ready, I started by gluing down the Greek key and borders that I wanted to stain black

I stained it by mixing about 3/4 black oil paint to 1/4 liquin, brushed it on, and then let it dry for a week and a half. The next step was to figure out the pattern inside the borders. I decided on a diamond pattern so got to cutting them

I am often asked about the iron on wood. I believe it is used to line real life furniture and counters. It comes in rolls of different sizes and has an adhesive back that is activated when heated with an iron. I used the red thing to cut off the sections of the blade of my utility knife as an angle guide, and a 1/2  inch lumber strip for the size of the piece. You can see the diamond under the small metal square before I cut it. Next I had a test run for the pattern I was thinking about

On the left is my original idea. I would glue down the diamonds, stain them red, then add a small wood strip between it all.. like a lattice design. however I hated the way the red stained squares looked. too much stain and it looked like plastic, and if you put less the yellow of the maple wood showed through and the effect was bad. I was going to use different shade woods and not stain when I accidentally brushed all the tiles together and that is when I saw the star pattern. I liked the idea so I put more down, and before you knew it I was seeing 3d cubes. I loved it, cut many more hundreds of diamonds, and glued them down.

It went pretty fast compared to other floors. I then went over it all with an iron, weighed it down for 48 hours, then added 3 coats of shellac and waxed it

The floor went smoothly and took about 45 hours to make, which was about 2/3 the time the ballroom floor took. The only problem I encountered was about 20 diamonds came loose after I applied the shellac. I glued them back down with wood glue, but the edges absorbed a bit too much shellac

It does not look too bad and I put a table and a plant over it...it looks like a little water damage.

The next step was the wall panels. For some reason I did not take pictures, but they are just faux finished illustration board with baseboard and chair rail added. Then it was time for my mini nemesis...curtains.

After I came up with a design I cut out the top part in double thick illustration board and covered it with fabric

I glued the fabric to the back of the illustration board. Next I took out my Pretty Pleater and pleated the fabric. When it was set I glued on a piece of illustration board so the drapes would keep their shape

Finally I added a little gold braid around the top pieces (same as in the Ballroom) and then I cut out cardboard rectangles and covered them with a yellow/ gold cotton fabric to look like roll down shades. I also added a little braid to them

When all was dry I glued on the wall panels, then the drapes and that was done...I almost killed myself reaching in to attach the drapes in the desk nook, but one must suffer for art.

 

The gold border in the panelling was an after-thought. Originally this was to be the family library, but now it has become the room where gentlemen would gather during parties. I decided Lord and Lady Dewell  are now the Earl and Countess of Truro. Honestly, I decided this because the Ballroom felt a little grand for an every day family, and countess is one of my favourite words in the English language.
And here are pictures of the finished Mahogany Library with the 2 gold Metropolitan chandeliers from the Getzans. These are my favourite fixtures and I will order the same ones in bronze for the Great Room

 

Walnut Library

While I was working on the Mahogany Library, I also worked on the Walnut Library. This was originally the Bedroom hall. It was such a big space I felt it a waste not to use it better. Since the Mahogany library became a show off room, I decided a second library outside the bedroom doors would work. The children could have their lessons here, and Lady Dewell could read to them in the evening. Here is the original room

The first thing I did was figure out how big the bookcases could be. The main problem was accessing the room

there is an opening for the attic staircase on the top of the structure and 3bedroom doors. In the picture above you can see my arm through the door. I had to make sure the bookshelves would fit in those door openings.  When I had figured out all the measurements I cut the backs of the bookcases and the fireplace chimney in illustration board. I glued 1 inch wood strips for the sides of the bookcases and had a test run to figure out how to design the bookcases

This is the test run. I placed them the exact way and distance they would fit in the room...you can see it was a big space to waist. Here is how I made the bookcases

Here you see the bottom part of the bookshelf wich has faux doors. I just glued on the shelves and added a few leftover bits for extra support for the bottom section

I decided to go with a Gothic arch design. I cut out the arch shapes, then I used quarter bead molding which I scored about 3/4 of the way down every 1/8 of an inch. this is how I was able to bend the molding. In the picture above you see pieces with the molding covered in gesso to fill in gaps, and on the left the base colour painted pieces. At this point I faux painted the bookshelf structures, the arched tops, and all the lumber and molding I would need. Then it was just a question of gluing on molding. They are easy to make.

I also worked on the fireplace. Again I used basswood trim molding. I added a mirror to reflect the bookcase that would be facing the fireplace. I added a family crest over the mirror. At first I painted it to look like walnut, but then I added the gold...they are a noble family after all

The firebox is just cardboard and some plastic 1/4 inch brick sheet I had left over. I also assembled the crown molding because I knew it was going to be hell to assemble from those small opening...not to mention it had to fit around the existing crown molding on the room

Finally I added ogee molding, fake doors, jewelry bit key holes, and some thin lumber strips on the sided of the bookcases just for detail

Now I do not have any good picture of this room because you can only see it through the doors. The bookcases are not glued in. I want to first fill them with books, permanently glued down, before I glue them into place. So here are all the views:



View from the Young Master's Bedroom door

View from the Young Lady's Bedroom door

View from the My Lady's Dressing Room

And a view from the Gallery, which can only be seen with a camera...but I love this shot

I agree, you cannot see this room well, but it really adds to the realism of the house, and besides, I've done crazier things...

And there you have it my friends, the opulent Mahogany Library and the family Walnut Library. Mu next project is the painted fresco dome over the Grand Staircase and last Sunday I placed a large order for lumber for...yes, finally, the front windows and doors. I should be working on the exterior of the Manor by August.

Thank you all once again. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoy and learn from all your wonderful blogs. Now I am off to bed as tomorrow is a very special day... tomorrow Ozzy turns 8.

 

 I send you all a great big hug and much love,
Giac



Coming Soon

Hello my friends,
I hope you are all doing well. This is a very short, no explanations, faux-post.  Work on the Mahogany Library renovation and the new Walnut Library (former Bedroom Hall) are taking longer then expected so here are a few pictures.

Mahogany Library new floor

The next floor I make will be simple planks so help me!

waiting for the stain to dry...

Walnut Library

the creative process...

 

...the creative process continues...

 

...test Run...

 

...and more creative process...

I hope to have both rooms finished and a new post in 2 weeks. Both rooms involve waiting for oil paint to dry and a lot of things to "figure out".

Welcome to my new followers, it is great to have you onboard to follow my adventures. To all my friends who have been with me for a while, thank you so much for your support and kindness, especially these last few difficult months. A few weeks ago I found out that I am keeping my job and this week my mother got some "good" news about her health, so that was a big  weight off my shoulders.

I wish you all the best and send you all a great big hug. I'll be back in 2 weeks...I hope!

Giac

Old Music Room renovated into Ballroom, Birthday Presents and Montreal Mini Show

Hello my dear friends.

I hope you are all well. There are no words to thank you for all your support and kindness last post. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I still feel exhausted, but I am getting better and the family is healing. Thank you all so, so much. I really appreciate it and hope I can return the favor one day. Luckily I had your blogs and my manor to take my mind off of things ...thank goodness for miniatures and wonderful people! So without further ado, here is the renovated Music Room:

New music room, or Ballroom

 

Before I go on with the new room, here is a look at the old one:

 

Old Music Room

 

 There were many things I did not like about the room: The marble center of the floor looked like paint; the thin diagonal wood slates looked wrong next to the thick slates around the room; the wallpaper was so busy that the chair rail  did not stand out and the furniture was kind of lost in the room; overall the room did not have the grace and elegance I wanted it to have.

The first step was redoing the floor. I pulled out the old one and created a design inspired by the ballroom in the Peterhof Palace.

Ballroom Floor installed

The hardest and most time consuming part was the medallion design. I drew out the design on graph paper and made a lot of photocopies. First I cut out each piece of paper, then used it to cut each individual piece on the iron on wood strips. I only use the paper template pieces once because each cut can change the piece and this will make it difficult for the pattern to match up. It took me about 8 hours to make each medallion because every piece had to be adjusted just a little.

Large Medallion

 

 In the center of the room I thought it would be nice to have a D for Dewell. I took out a calligraphy book and just cut the sections of the D and the filler pieces. It went well, but I still managed to swear like a trucker.

"D"ewell Medallion

 

 In the next picture you can see I started with the medallions, then the triangle borders, and finally I filled in the sections.

 

 Once done, I went over with a hot iron to make sure they were well attached, sanded, and covered the floor with 2 coats of shellac. Since the columns and fireplace were glued to the wall of the room I had to bend the floor and slip it under those details. I managed this by going over the back of the illustration board subfloor with a utility knife very lightly, just enough to make it bend gently so I could get it into place. I glued it down with carpenters glue and super glue and weighed it down overnight with books and weights. And here is the finished floor before installation

Finished Floor

 

 The next update was wainscot. I wanted wainscot to break the busy wallpaper pattern. I cut illustration board to fill each wall section and then decided to paint peacocks, and idea inspired by the famous Peacock Room.

After I primed and painted the illustration board pieces, I cut out the squares for the paneling. I took thin cardboard and painted it blue (I used Victorian Blue by Americana Paints. I painted both sides of the cardboard so it would not buckle. When dry I glued it to the illustration board and I painted the peacocks with  Gold paint from Delta Ceramcoat. The bodies of the peacocks were made with a toothpick and I just stamped on the gold dots. I used a 15\0 paint brush for the rest. First I painted the wings, then I painted long lines for the tail, and finally I filled the space between the tail lines to look like feathers. I basically looked and pictures of the Peacock Room and tried to mimic the design. If that is not clear let me know and I will explain with pictures in my next post.

Above are all the wall section for the music room. I made sure the peacocks were not too big because I added a trim molding in the panels that I painted gold before installation. I also painted the baseboards for the room.

Here was a test to see the baseboards and chair rail on the panels. I loved it! The music room turned into a small ballroom ;)

I was happy I had an extra column leftover because it would of been very difficult to cut around the column base without it.

Ballroom peacock panels installed

And here is the installed wainscot. I think it really made the room grand

 Because it would of been very hard to cut illustration board around the gorgeous Sue Cook fireplace, I simply painted the wallpaper around it. The last update was the corner columns. I had 3 columns with caryatides in the center of the room and left the 4 columns in the corners simple because I planned to but busts of artist on top. With the new grander design of the room it looked wrong so I made more caryatides from Super Sculpy. I am not a great carver by any means and I only had needles and old nails as tools, but they give the illusion I was looking for and was happy with the effect:  They Were marbled using light gray as a base coat, 2 coats of sponged on off white, one coat of sponged on white, and veined using light grey.  

 

caryatides

 

 The architectural details were done, next came the drapes. It took so much longer then I thought.  I started by pleating my fabric using the Pretty Pleater. For this, and shaping the drapes, I followed Ray's drapery instructions. The one difference is that I glued the drapes onto illustration board to make sure they never move.

Curtains back, front and veil

Above you can see the illustration board backing on the left, the front of the drapes in the center, and the pleated veil on the right. The top of the drapes was made by stretching the silk fabric over illustration board cut out to the shape I wanted

Curtain construction

The details above show you the steps for making curtain details: illustration board cut out, covered front, the back where you can see where the edges were glued, next you see the trim detail I used glued on the back, and the finished piece. I used Carpenters Pick Ultimate glue and gel super glue to made the draped. And here are the installed drapes.

I can confirm I do not love making window treatments. I think the rest of the Manor curtains just got simpler. And finally, filling the room with furniture...

 

Finished Ballroom, missing a few chairs

I hooked up the Versailles chandeliers from the Getzans just for the pictures. I will install them permanently once all the house sections ares finished and will not need to be moved

Ballroom South wall

I also put in less furniture. I wanted it to feel more like a ballroom .

Ballroom North wall

 



 You might notice a gap between the wall and the ogee at the top of the room. I want to hang art from chains and the chains will be attached behind the ogee. I also plan on purchasing 2 or 4 more chairs that match the furniture to go around the room. And that is another complete room. I hope it was worth the wait! And here is what is next on my list:

 Library in need of floor and wainscot

You may remember a while ago that the red velvet carpet I put down in the Library came up. I will be making another wood floor with black detailing in it and I want to add mahogany wainscot around the room

Art Gallery

 

Here is the art gallery. At the back of the room is the grand staircase foyer. Above the foyer is the only wasted space in the Manor so I am thinking of adding a dome over it. Either I will add a glass dome like in Buckingham palace with lights behind it or a dome with a painting of a Hell Mouth like in Burley House. Both options would have a chandeliers hanging from the center.

 

Bedroom hall, future second Library

 



The last room I want to update is the bedroom Hall. You can only see this room through 3 doorways. Originally I was going to leave it as a hall but it measures 15 inches by 31 inches so I decided to turn it into a second Library.  Once these projects are done I will move tot he exterior. I am putting it off until I know what is happening with my job. The exterior will mean a lot of lumber and I do not want to go into big expenses right now.

Last week was my birthday which means I got more minis and ate way too much cheesecake. My family knows what I want most is to finish buying the chandeliers for the Manor. Jo got both families together and once again I was spoiled with 2 beautiful Getzan fixtures...did I mention how much I LOVE Getzan fixtures:

Getzan chandeliers: sonata and Carlton

The Sonata on the left is for the Entrance of the Manor and the Carlton on the Right is for the Art Gallery. In April I attended the Montreal Miniature Show and purchased some wonderful items:



 

Silver by Greg Matusovsky. The picture does not do his incredible work justice

 

Silver Tea Caddy, mushroom basket and berry basket were purchased from Martha Mclean

The perfume bottle, jewelry stand and fantastic punch bowl are from Julie Dewar at http://westwindsminiatures.com/shop/, she made my incredible Imperial Blossom dish set for the Chinese Tea Room

 

Before the show Julie and Martha were able to come and pay me a visit. It was wonderful to have them over and I had a really great time. The picture below is of the beautiful presents they brought me and the wonderful painting in the back is a giveaway prize from Liduina at Miniature House. Once again my pictures do not do these wonderful miniatures justice! The painting is going in the Music Room!





And that my friends is all for this time. I apologize for such a long post. It has been a while and I promise I will try not to wait so long for the next one. I like to post when a room is finished, but my rooms are becoming just a bit more detailed then they used to be so thank you for your patience.

Once again, I cannot thank you all enough for following my blog and for all the wonderful and caring comments you always leave me. I am always touched by your kindness my friends. I wish you all the best for the weeks to come and send you all a great big bear hug! My followers are the best!

Love

Giac