A Warm Welcome

Originally, I was going to put the back stairs on the left side of the dollhouse. However, after the demolition of the original back stairs (see here) I realised that it was actually the perfect place for the new front entrance.

Above, you can see how it looked before I took it apart. When I thought I wanted the entrance on the right side of the house, I made a little mock-up of the entrance (which is much grander than it is now), which you can see below, with the original caption of "Well, here is my before picture! I wonder what the after will look like. . ." - keep reading, and you shall find out!

So, after ripping everything out and testing a wall colour (which I ended up using), I built a staircase.

I then 'plastered' the walls with cardboard.

I painted the walls with a base colour of white and put up some paintings on the wall so I could visualise a layout. By this time, I had painted the staircase and added a stair runner to it.

I decided on the final wall colour and painted the room with it.

This is the most recent photograph of the entrance hall (from yesterday) - with the stone floor finished.

Hopefully, it is finished quite soon - it's coming along nicely! One thing that I did add to the room was a small vestibule that you can see in this photograph below (which unfortunately meant destroying the brick wall and door). Signing off with a picture of a piano I got for the dollhouse recently!

Beginning Work on the Grand Entrance Hall

Today work begins on the Grand Entrance Hall! Because it is one's first impression (if you were a doll, that is) when you enter the house, I want it to be very, very, very grand.

That's the entrance I'll be working with.

This will be the entrance to the ballroom, marked by very grand pillars, which are actually children's building blocks. I will have to add a little height to them, of course.

This arch will lead into the reception hall, where the Lockwood will greet guests.

There is some space between the pillars and the ceiling, which will allow for pediments on the top and bottom. I am thinking about a green or black marble for these, to complement the red entrance hall. (That is, it will be red eventually, unless I change my mind.)

A very mysterious photo of the rug that will be laid in the entrance. . .

Well, here is my before picture! I wonder what the after will look like. . .

High Flyin'

High Flyin' - like the Jeaneatte MacDonald song from Broadway Serenade. Which is what George is doing - or imaging doing - as I continue to work on his airplane themed room. Or, using the definition Merriam-Webster dictionary gives: marked by excessive ambition. Yes, it was very ambitious of me to try to finish George's Room today. . .

I am still working on George's room - and trying to make it messy. It's easy with real life, but seemingly harder with miniature life. . . And hurray - I have finished the parquet! I actually manged to enjoy gluing in the last pieces quite a bit, mainly because I was watching Lucille Ball's The Lucy Show while doing it.

What an image - I really need to work on my photography skills. The airplane hanging from the ceiling isn't at a particuarly good angle - it looks much better in real life. (I hope!) I have tacked up quite a few paintings and posters - all airplane themed, of course!

And here's the picture of the fireplace - with the grate-y thing I keep referncing. (In case you can't see it, it's inside the fireplace.) I made the little clock - I think it's a cute addition. And there's also a much better picture of the art deco (ish) fender I was trying to show you before!

I love the painting above the fireplace - I love views of fields - and that airplane is gorgeous! Those little shelves were an addition I added to give George more room for books and games. I need to print out and assemble some 1930s board games - hopefully very soon!

This is the ceiling photo I have been promising you for so long! The little hole in the ceiling is where the electric light will go. I added the crown moldings - I've been too lazy to add them to the rest of my dollhouse but I really need to - the rooms look so much more complete with them.

And here's a terrible photo of a little outlet I made for the room - a dollhouse never can be too complete, I think! Also, I should probably add some to the rest of the dollhouse - they are such a cute detail, I think. I tried to copy outlets from the 30s, but there weren't many photos of them.

Here is a little crossword game I made - not scrabble but definitely close. It's very small - about the size of a penny. It took me a very long time to cut up the tiny little pieces of wood and write letters on them!

A little paint set and paintbrush in water for George to paint with - I think he needs some newspaper and a little airplane to paint, too!

Here is a little print out of a 1930s airplane kit that George is cutting up with scissors (which are a charm). Do you think he needs a little desk? It'd have to be very little to fit in the tiny space between the fireplace and the wall.

And here is a not very good, out of focus image of the window and the bedside table with a little lamp (non working, although I did attempt to electrify it, it failed).

Here's a much better photo of the airplane that George has strung from the ceiling, and his bed! The airplane was made from a miniature print out of a 1940s airplane, I believe.

You can see the window much better in this photo, and the fact that I still haven't managed to cover up the stained glass on the interior side - I'm waiting for inspiration to strike!

I cut up a coffee stirrer into a very thin piece to make matchsticks, and then dotted red paint on the tips - for one I colored black on the tip to make it look used.

Here are the shelves on the wall - do you have any ideas on how to fill them? I can't think of a thing! Well, that's it for George's room - sorry for such a long post! I still have a few things I want to show you, however, such as a tiny rotary phone I got for my birthday!

I made the table using a piece of wood and Houseworks spindles.

Here are some vines that magically made their way to the side of the nursery overnight :-)

A little gate I'm working on for the servant's entrance - I added hinges! And, last but not least, a beautiful rug I got for my dollhouse - right now it's in the Grand Entrance Hall. (Sorry that the photo is on it's side!)

Thank you so much for visiting - signing off with a photo of the Master Bathroom in the dollhouse!