The Basement

The Scullery

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.  I just want to thank Ilona for explaining how to enlarge my pictures on the blog, I am sooo daft, I really didn't know you could click and they would enlarge, anyway, thank you again Ilona.  Also, I want to take the opportunity to welcome Giac as my second follower.  Ilona won't be lonely anymore :) 

Before I continue, I need help!!! What's new?

I have been trying to get a list of the blogs I'm following onto my blog.  The title is there, but I just can't seem to get the list of blogs visible.  I have edited it to include them but they just don't seem to want to appear.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Now, finally, I hope you enjoy the next instalment of Fox Manor, namely the Scullery, where a fair amount of work takes place!

 

This is the floor of my scullery/pantry.  It is the same colour as the kitchen stone floor, also by Richard Stacey, but after the length of time it took me to arrange the pieces for the kitchen, I decided that this room was going to be different.  It really was much quicker, but I think looks just as well. I smile as I say this, because compared to the dedication and time taken by other miniaturists on their floors (hello, Giac) I should hang my head in shame :)  I also have this room painted in the same colour as the kitchen, a cream colour that looks quite 'rough' in the finish, which I didn't mind as the walls in these working rooms wouldn't have been perfect....just as well!

My vision for here, was that it would be multi-functional.  I wanted an area for the servants to eat, a small pantry area and this is where the washing up would take place for the cutlery and crockery used 'upstairs'.  The sink in the kitchen, on the other hand, would have been used for the cooking and preparation of the food.

I had some wallpaper in my super-stash!  It is a household paintable type with a raised pattern on it, I think it looks like a roughly plastered wall.  I made the little dividing wall for the pantry by cutting and gluing two pieces of foamboard together, then I papered it with the 'plaster' paper.  I marked the back wall and ceiling and glued the wall in.  I have shelves in the pantry to the right of it, and they will help to stabilise the little structure.

 

 

 

 I wasn't sure if I liked the paper tiles here.  I had planned to use tiny tiles and put them on one by one.  My husband looked at me like I had two heads, said 'Are you mad?', and that the paper looked fine.  I think he was right.....  Did you know, I married Mr. Right?  I just didn't know his first name was Always.... lol :)

 

 Fox Manor, aka Grosvenor Hall by The Dolls House Emporium comes with two pre-drilled holes in the rooms on the left-hand side of the basement for ceiling lights.  The housekeepers room is behind this one and has two lights as well.  The trouble being, I didn't like the formation once I had my pantry wall up, so I got rid of the right-hand one and made a new hole for my pantry light.  A cute little single bulb by The Lighting Bug.

 

Getting my shelves in place. I made the little shelves by covering them in sticky plastic that looks like a granite type of slab.  At this stage I was itching to put in all my 'larder' things.  I might be a late starter to all this, but you wouldn't believe what I have amassed in such a short space of time.  I think at this point in time, I have all my basic pieces of furniture.  I have very strong ideas now of how I want Fox Manor to look.  Sometimes I think it is a bad thing, in case I can't achieve the look I'm after, but then the optimist in me says I will rise to the challenge.  Sure if it doesn't work out, what odds, I can try again, and maybe on the way I'll have some happy accidents!

Yes, there's room for the beer barrel!  Very important...

 

All ready to stain.

Decisions, decisions, what will go where?

The pantry's coming together.  The tiles on the back wall are a laminated sheet.  Very effective, I think. 

 Forming my cloth to the drawer.

 

 

 You'd think I'd have done this before the sink went in ....My water heater is by Jeff Mewies, and is lovely.  It's very weighty.  I have it attached to a piece of wood and glued to the wall.  Thank God for tacky glue, it's brilliant.  Combined with superglue, and we have a winning combination.

 

 I think it's time for tea!

 

 

 

 We won't starve :)

 

 The gentlemen 'upstairs' were kind enough to bring home their game after a day's hunting.  Poor things, but I'll bet they'll be tasty!

 

I made the marble draining area at the sink in a similar way to the little shelves.  Maybe as time goes on, I'll give marbling a go, but until I gain a little more confidence, sticky plastic will do.

I stained all the furniture in here and I did my first crumpled cloth which is beside the Brasso and the candlestick.  Then off I went, and made one for the sink and another just hanging out of the cutlery drawer.  I was on a roll!

Is that Champers on the top shelf?  That really should be under lock and key!

 

Ignore the steps please :)

This is my completed scullery and the final room in the basement :(  I have to say that the basement was very much a learning curve but thoroughly enjoyable to do; and I must eat my words, as I thought the kitchen and scullery would be boring and plain, but I really got a lot of enjoyment tracking down some wonderfully made miniatures for them.

Again, thank you so much for taking time to look at my blog, and I really hope you enjoyed it.

All the best

Vivian

PS I'll be slowing down a bit now, as I have RL decorating to do.  My daughter's moving into her house and needs Mama Bear to help with decorating.  Let me at it.....I'm getting a real buzz from transforming a room into something....well, more :)  Miniature or life size, I'm not really fussy :)

The Basement

The Kitchen

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all doing well.  Before I start describing the making of my kitchen in Fox Manor, if anybody has any tips on getting my pictures clearer or bigger on my blog I would be very grateful.  As I have said before, I am new to all this and still feeling my way around.

Anyway, enough of my gabbling, let's get going on the kitchen, I hope you enjoy it :)

 

This is my kitchen, the stone floor was a nightmare to put down.  Well, I should say that it took a frustrating couple of days to piece the floor together until I was happy with the result, it was just like putting a jigsaw together.  The flooring is by Richard Stacey.  I glued the tiles down, varnished them with matt varnish, grouted them and put a top coat of matt varnish on to seal the floor.  I have to say, I think it looks well.

 

  I have already painted the walls and have the tiling done - well it is an embossed laminated card, but looks very effective just the same.  I cut the top off the card tiles as I intended to build a brick chimney breast here to house my stove and use these remaining tiles here.  Nothing like being ambitious eh?

The parts for my chimney breast, cut from fairly thick cardboard.  What a messy table!

This is the housing for my stove made from cardboard and tiled with the leftover pieces from tiling the kitchen.

 

Checking for fit.....phew!

 

 

The frame for my chimney breast, made from cardboard with wooden strips for support.

I put a solid back on thinking it might help with gluing to the wall.  This is all new to me, so I am going on a wing and a prayer most of the time!

I'm getting there, I used brickslips from Richard Stacey and glued them on.  The reason I used grey cardboard, was so that I hoped it would look like mortar between the bricks.

 

Making my little shelf over the fireplace from moulding; I also made two little brackets as well.

Not looking too bad, I think.

 

Just about fits! I think snug comes to mind!

Not too bad at all.  At this point my hubby thought my chimney breast was class - miracles will never cease.. :)

I wanted beams in here, so my hubby helped with cutting the wood for me.  (The first interest he has shown :)) It was just a little too thick for my wee saw.  I stained them in walnut to match my shelf and table.

My dog Tyson, has just spotted a sneaky rat under the sink nibbling on a piece of bread!

A very busy kitchen table.

My finished kitchen, I love it.  I made the little cloth and apron, and I stained the table and dresser as well.  My cook likes to take a rest here and have a little tipple from the carboy beside her!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the making of my kitchen, I certainly did!

 

 

Next time, I will be blogging about my scullery, and that will be the basement finished.

 

 

I am like a woman possessed at the moment.  Every spare minute I have is thinking or doing something for my house.....and a thought just occurred to me, if I keep going at this rate I will have my house finished this year, then what?

 

 

Well I'm sure I'll think of something else :)

 

All the best,

 

Vivian