On the Subject of Servant's Rooms - Yet Again

If you'll pardon the lengthy introduction, while I was rummaging through my email I was rewarded with an old email sent about a year ago, with plans for the wallpaper of the servant's rooms. And noted there were even the names for the servants: Sara, Sally, Bessie, and two unamed servants (poor them!). The idea for the servant's rooms, if I recall, was to have them be matching, but not quite; matching wallpaper stripes, but in different shades of brown, matching layout for bed, washstand, etc. I'm still quite fond of the idea, I'll admit, for I liked the thought of having about five matching servant rooms but each with their own personal touches so one could see how they differed. I seemed to have been going through quite an obsession with the wallpaper "Annabelle Stripe" from Itsy Bitsy mini, for my selections were all different shades of the same wallpaper. I also, in that email, had made a note to myself to order them in 1:24 scale, not 1:12, so the stripe would be smaller. I still love the idea for the matching servant's rooms - so I thought, why not?

Ah, how I love plans! I'm going to put this project on hold for a bit - I already have a lot going on in the Manor, and I also have to complete a few rooms before I work on new ones! Besides, the back part of the dollhouse will need to be constructed before I can begin work on these servant's rooms, but in a few years, maybe I'll have these completed. Who knows?

The Governesses

During the Victorian era, the governess for the Lockwood children was named Miss Leopold, and was not very well liked by the Lockwood children. She was a stiff, upright woman with a stern face, and always carried around her cane - not because she needed it to support herself, but because she enjoyed threatening to thwack children with it. Her bedroom was very reminiscent of herself; very stiff, upright, no-nonsense and formidable. It was very old-fashioned, with an iron bed, a pitcher and washstand, and old Victorian posters on how to bring up children. That was the old Governess, and that was the Old Governess's Bedroom. Now, it was being used as somewhat as a hideout for the Lockwood children: they used it as the pirate's ship, the headquarters of a spy agency, or whatever they pleased. They laughed over the old-fashioned posters that were hung about the room, and clambered into the imposing wardrobe to pretend they were in Narnia. In all, nothing that the Governess would have approved of.

That was her room now - and I need to construct it! There will be no accessories, because Miss Leopold has passed on, and after all, hasn't lived there for almost half a century. I will need to make a 'stiff and imposing wardrobe', an iron bed, a small table with a lamp that Miss Leopold used to write on, and a washstand with a pitcher and basin. I will also need to make (or rather, print out) posters from the Victorian Era on how to bring up children, because they rather seem like something Ms. Leopold would want. I will also need to make little books from the Victorian Era on education, dusty spelling books, musty arithmetic books, and crumbling reading books. Speaking of Victorian books, I am lucky to possess an original Victorian McGuffey's Eclectic Reader. I would take a photo to show it to you, but I would rather not sort through piles of crumbling books at the present. Anyhow, Miss. Leopold must possess McGuffey's Electic Reader. She simply wouldn't do without it.

But now we travel fifty years later, to the 1930s, with a New Governess and a New Governess Bedroom. Hence the name, the Old Governess's Bedroom and the New Governess's Bedroom. And the name of the new Governess? Miss Jessel. There are no reasons behind the choice of name, it just struck my fancy. Miss Jessel, oh the contraire, is quite the opposite of Miss Leopold. She's very kind and understanding, yet still stern enough to be a firm hand with the children. She lives in a room on the third floor, adjacent to the Old Governess's Bedroom and the Schoolroom (which I simply must construct! I have some terrific ideas for it, but we'll have to see if they can become reality. . .) Miss Jessel's room was updated in 1932, so of course, it's at the height of modern conveince. (No pitcher and washbasin for her!) I also possess a score of 1920s Educational Books (yes, I do have a collection of old books), which will be quite useful in the construction of Miss Jessel's room. It's also rather amusing to compare the 1920s teaching methods with McGuffey's 1860s teaching methods, which I suppose would the equivalent of comparing Miss Jessel with Miss Leopold. I'm going to have a lot of fun constructing these rooms - mainly becuase they can be such a different mix of styles. I will also make one of my favorite 1930s Fireplaces for Miss Jessel, but perhaps this one will be in beige or a light brown.

And we mustn't forget the schoolroom - I'm thinking that we need a door leading from the New Governess's Bedroom to the Schoolroom - and we'll pretend that there was once a door leading from the Old Governess's Bedroom to the Schoolroom, but they covered it up when Miss Leopold left (Probably much to the glee of the children she once governed, knowing how much they disapproved of her). I've found a bunch of terrific inspiration photos for rooms of Victorian governesses, but nil for photos of the 1930s governesses. I mean, what can I say? It was the Great Depression, after all. Did they have a governess for the children in Downton Abbey? It takes place around the 20s and 30s, doesn't it?

Above is an empty and rather derelict room in my dollhouse. In the center is a bed that could do for Miss Jessel, but I fancy something different for her. Also, the bed is a bit low for my tastes, so we'll just have to see.

Also, on a side note, in terms of actually progress (not just planning), I finished constructing the trim around the Nursery and the Scullery, so now I can thankfully say that their interiors are complete! (I would say that the Scullery is complete, but I have to finish the outside.).

And soon to come: I need to write some about the servant's room I've been working on for the Stable boy that lived there in the 1860s, but is now home to the Mechanic who fixes the Packard 120 that belongs to the family in the dollhouse! (Sneak Preview below!)

I've also gathered lots of good information from the vast amount of floorplans online of Bear Wood, a beautiful house designed by Robert Kerr. If you have the oppurtunity to look at some of the plans you can find online, I highly recommend that you do. I've also been eagerly awaiting the arrival of more roomboxes - about twelve boxes are coming there way! Also, I've been having a long debate with myself: Should I rename Lockwood Manor to Clarendon Manor? Clarendon sounds fancier, but then, over the years, I've devoted an awful lot of time to plans and papers (not to mention this blog) of the dollhouse, that all have the name Lockwood Manor. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! Have a wonderful Halloween!

The Current Servant's Quarters

Well. . . . I thought today that I would take the time to complain about how dreadfully slow I am to work on the servant's rooms in my dollhouse. Today I have approximatly four finished. Yes, four. That might not sound too bad, but out of about thirteen or so, I'm afraid it is. The ones that I do have finished, however, used to be five until I went through the entire process of ripping out the servant's entrance. Don't worry about that, for I'm almost done with the staircase and have printed out replacement wallpaper! I will follow up with a post on how that's going. But for the servant's rooms that are indeed finished, includes:

The Scullery I chose the black-and-white image because you've already seen the color one, and I was having fun playing around with Google Photos.

Servant's Bedroom The bedroom of whom, is the question, but I do not have the answer.

The Butler's Pantry I think it needs something on the back wall! Keep in mind that the photo is outdated, it looks much better now.

Sara's Bedroom The bedroom belonging to Sara, the maid, who once had a very elaborate backstory behind her that I wrote up - I'll see if I can find it. I should really work on more of the servant's rooms. . . I Love Lucy, here I come! I'm afraid that lots of posts here may be about the servant's and their quarters, for they have been neglected for the past year - it's time for that to change! And I mentioned Sara's elaborate backstory - something about her aunt Mildred who kicked her out of her house and sent her to find work somewhere else, I believe! Hopefully the servant's rooms will be expanding soon - until then, stay safe and well!

The nursery all lit up.

Yesterday: My Rainy Sunday

Yesterday it was a rainy, rainy Sunday, but luckily the plants in the garden got some water. And, it left me an entire day for dollhouse fun! Just give me a second to tune the radio - and here we are!

That's an image of one of the Servant's Rooms in my dollhouse on the fourth floor. It's where the cook and a housemaid sleeps. Those identical beds were a lot of fun to make! You can also see, to the right, another servant's room (but the configuration has shifted, they are no longer next to each other), and a bathroom below it (same sentiment as before). Now, for some dollhouse updates! I love houses with odd features - they seem even more realistic that way, so I decided to add my own special twist on my dollhouse. And - here it is! I decided to jut one of the walls forward - creating a space for more windows. Here's an image of what will be the new configuration.

Or, another image:

I'll have to wait until I get more IKEA Moppe Boxes for this to become reality instead of a dream - and I can't wait! Have a great day!