Finished Roombox

Hello my friends,
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying a lovely weekend. Yet again I am humbled by your wonderful feedback on my last post. Thank you everyone who has been following my adventures with the Manor and a great big welcome to all who recently joined the ride. Yesterday I finished the interior of the room box I made for my friend.

My first leaded window experiment

Fireplace view

Front view

On me last post I had just finished wallpapering. The next step was adding the embossed ceiling paper with regular wallpaper paste. Next, I added lumber strips to the walnut section of the walls to create panelling.

The side table is glued onto the wall

I spent 3 days trying to find the perfect painting for the wall above the swan table. I finally found one in a book I have called "100 Treasures of Buckingham Palace". Jo bought it for me when he went to London shortly after we met. It had such great pictures I looked it up eBay and bought a second copy to cut up for miniatures.

Painting over the table

I glued the picture onto thin cardboard to accommodate the picture frame molding. I then glued that onto a sheet of paper. I painted the molding black and then dry-brushed it with gold paint. I cut the frame pieces and glued them to the paper around the picture. The next step was the curtains for the window.

Finished painting and curtains in progress

I used this fabric for the great room arches in Dewell Manor. I started by using the Pretty Pleater to make the folds. As I was doing this I understood why miniaturists warn us to use thin, natural fibre fabrics for drapery...It was Hell to work with. The fabric I used is an upholstry fabric and would not keep the shape, and kept popping out of the pleater when I was not looking...in the end I glued a piece of illustration board (picture above) on the back of the pleated section and hung it as straight panels. I did not even attempt to make a swag but just created a simple valence. Since the room box is a modern day version of the Manor I was happy with the result

Fabric from Hell

I left the edge of the fabric unfinished because it looked like fringe. I made sure to hang it a bit lower so the fringe made it look like a maid had just pulled the curtain open. I think it works. The next step was to make the window. I used fibreglass pieces cut to the size of the window panes and then used lead tape to make the leading. The result was pretty good.

Leaded window Panes

I was told to put the lead on both sides to make it look more realistic...it really does make a difference. The tape is about 1/2 inch wide and cut easily with a utility knife and metal ruler. The back is self adhesive and went on pretty well.  For the arched top window I used glass paints to create stained glass. It worked well, but I put too much paint in some squares and it bled through the leading into the other squares. I was still happy with the result.

I used toothpicks to "drop" the glass paint into the squares.

While the leading and the stained glass is not perfect, the final effect is not too bad

Interior lighting

Exterior Lighting

With the window in place I turned my attention to the accessories for the room.

accessories

-The tissue box is a block of wood covered in leftover Library wallpaper and a piece of facial tissue
-The box is made from lumber and leftover molding. The top is a section of a Pietra-Dura table form the same book as the painting. I painted the rest black, added chinoiserie detail, and finished it with gloss varnish
-The bowl with glass globes is a jewelry bit I painted gold and I glued in some beads I had lying around
-The candle stick is a Chrysbon candle and a plastic bead I drilled to make hole bigger
- The glasses are plastic Chrysbon glasses I painted. I was inspired by a Murano Wine set in my real life china hutch

I will practise and make a set of these for Dewell Manor

I painted the inside of the plastic glasses with red glass paint, then painted the rim and bottom part of the glasses with gold paint. I then painted on flowers and leaves.

Wall shelf with the heating grate

Swan Table and painting

And finally, the usual picture of the empty room



Empty Room box

 I now have to cover the exterior of the box and add a picture frame around the front, and then it's off.
I loved making the room box because It was the first time I got a real glimpse of what Dewell Manor will look like finished. If anything it has made me more impatient.
As of today, it's back to work on the Manor. My next project is redoing the Music Room floor. The one in there now is good, but it was my first scratch built floor and it just did not have the grandeur and elegance I want for the Music room. I know I can do better. We are going on holiday in February, so I hope to have the floor done by then...however I have chosen a floor that is a little complex, so we'll see what happens.

And that is progress in the wonderful World of Giac. Thank you once again for everything my friends. It means a great deal to me. If any of you notice that I am not following your blogs please let me know. I try to follow everyone who takes the time to follow me and would hate to have left anyone out.

Have a wonderful week my friends, and I look forward to seeing more of your very inspirational projects.
Big hug,
Giac