Fox Manor

Ground Floor - The Dining Room

Hello to everyone who takes the time to read my blog.  I would like to welcome The Grandmommy and Simon as my fifth and sixth followers.  Thank you all sincerely, it means a great deal to me to hear your comments and thoughts on my work.

Now, the Dining Room is situated to the left of the Entrance Hall and has double doors.

 

 I had planned to floor this room with this parquet patterned flooring pictured below, I don't know what I was at, but it didn't look right the more of the floor I did.  So I trimmed the floor back to what did look right, stained it, and, as usual, put some beeswax on it - so it is now going to be the floor for the Gent's Study upstairs.  There, problem solved.

Fancy floor for a study, but, waste not, want not!

This is the maple flooring I settled on.  The border configuration was being decided upon here.

This is the pattern I settled on.  Again, it was given a light sanding and a coating of beeswax.



As I want my ceilings to be decorated too, I have to do the three ceilings of each floor all at once before the piece is placed into the house.  This was terrifying.  I longed for a red dining room, but getting the red I liked was very much trial and error.  I didn't want a deep red - burgundy, but I also didn't want it too bright and look like a t**t's boudoir!  That's a roombox for the future :)  I also painted the ceiling rose white and highlighted areas of it (it's huge, more like a medallion) with my favourite old gold paint.  I also centred the hole in the ceiling for the light as well.  It seemed way off.



First fitting of the floor.

 

 



I used Sue Cook cornicing.  I painted it white and highlighted areas in the gold paint.  I did find that size of cornicing very hard to cut and match, so don't look too closely at it in the room :)

Decisions, my choices of paper for the panels.  I think I made the right choice :)

That was down right dangerous!  The skewers would spring out every now and then...

I loved this fireplace, but as everything was either red, white or gold, the cream surround of this fireplace had to go.  So I repainted it white and added more gold highlights.

My little wainscoting, I painted it white and then inserted some gold highlighting.

 



 

I love the red toile paper by Brodnax.  I painted the plaster panels white and edged with gold paint.  I think I need new glasses and a steadier hand for this type of work.  But it looks well.  It took me an age to do these little fellas!

I put double candle lights at the rear of the room.  The mirror was a wooden one, which I painted with my trusty gold paint.  The flooring looks very effective, even if I say so myself.  I tidied up the joint in the wainscot at the back of the room, even though I'll have a big display cabinet there.

In this photo, the wainscoting isn't fixed in, but I had just made the black floral ornaments and couldn't wait to see them in place.  I think there's something elegant about them, yes, I'm very pleased with the way the turned out :)

 

I am loving the red/white jar on the mantle by Stokesay Ware - I bought that at the NEC Miniatura exhibition in Birmingham in March.  This was the first ever miniature show I went to, and I did spoil myself.  I also bought their dining set in Jubilee as well.  After all, my birthday was coming up in April, and a girl deserves to be treated, even if she has to do it herself! :)

I am going to try to make a central chandelier for in here.  I want crystals and gold fittings.... I have spent a long time figuring out what I would like, but this could take some time...
If I'm really snookered, I have a magnificent plain chandelier that I might be able to bling up (and another smaller crystal Heidi Ott chandelier on standby!) but I really want to try one myself first.


 

 

I made the bell pull from a chain, a porcelain bead and jewellery findings.  I like it, although I don't know if they would have ever been made like this, but there you go! I also made the two crystal candlesticks on the fireplace.  I'm telling you, I'm on a roll :)  I probably won't keep them here; my bits and pieces will move around the house for a while I'd say, until I'm happy with their placements.

 

 My little black floral ornaments have found a new home...for the time being!  I also made the crystal candelabra on the table too.  The sterling silver candlesticks were a present to me from me from the Birmingham NEC.  Boy, did I do damage that weekend.....:)

 

 So there we have the Dining Room as it stands at the moment.  I do have china for it, but haven't put it out yet, and I have the cabinet to fill as well; and I still have the main chandelier to make....
I wasn't sure if I like the chest of drawers in here, but they're growing on me, what do you think?
I have a picture of daughter number two on the chest, I must enlarge it and put it on my next blog.

I have been working away on my chandelier, since I started to put this blog together, so I will put a picture up of it when I get it in place, and hopefully I will actually like it.....yes, I have said it before, I am a fussy and fickle woman :)

All the best for now and take care.

 

Vivian