Need your opinion

[glen]

I've spent hours stripping, routing and painting several times a whole lot of skirting for the dollhouse and now I don't think I like it and should use Rimu to match the floor. :lol:

What do you think?

Should I use the painted timber? I wanted painted timber because I felt there was getting to be too much timber in the house but with wooden doors painted skirtings might look funny.

Nuts, nuts, nuts> what a waste of time!!!!!!

:o B)

Cheers

Glen

[Deb]

The natural wood look is much, much better. It gives a more finished and elegant look to the room. Looking at the pictures, the white immediately makes me think I'm looking at a doll house. The natural look makes me think I'm seeing a picture of a real house.

Deb

[Charlene]

Hi Glen --

Like the wood look better than the painted personally. Think the doors & trim should match whichever you choose.

[glen]

hurumph!!!!!!!!

So much for a supportive community.

Now I not only have to recover my chairs thanks to you lot but I also have to make all new skirting boards. :-(

Project'll never be finished at this rate.

Cheers

Glen

[havanaholly]

It gives a more finished and elegant look to the room. Looking at the pictures, the white immediately makes me think I'm looking at a doll house

I have to agree with Deb (again, girl's got good instincts).

So much for a supportive community.

Now I not only have to recover my chairs thanks to you lot but I also have to make all new skirting boards

It's your own fault, the house is a work of art!

[wenlaine]

I agree with Deb too, Glen.

[Nameless1]

It took me forever to figure out the two photos were different!

In a real house, the baseboards and the trim around the doors would either both be painted or both be wood. You might see wood in the main reception rooms and paint everywhere else.

[Minis On The Edge]

I like the wood unpainted better too. If your had a darker stain the white would have been really nice. That's what people are doing in there real houses now a days. Having dark floors with white trim and doors :lol:

The wood really looks great!

[hydroped]

Well Glen,

For once I'll stand up for you. I live in a real house - my doors are natural wood - my trim is painted. So much for the "in a real house they'd match" theory.

-David

[Lisa_F]

Looking around my office here, the doors are wood and the trim around the doors matches - stained wood. Baseboard trim, however, is painted white. So it would (I think) work either way.

Gotta agree with the majority here though, the unpainted wood does look much more elegant & polished.

If it were my house, I'd leave the trim unpainted :lol:

[havanaholly]

David, it's not that "in a real house they'd match", it's that in mini it just works better if they do. We're talkin' scale here, and the white baseboards really stick out against the gorgeous rimu wood. I think Glen ought to do whatever works best to HIS taste, and making rimu baseboards is a tedious PIA job, but they would certainly look spectacular with all the rest of the meticulous, magnificent work he's done on the rest of the house. When Baby's my age, she'll treasure the memories of how much her daddy loved her, to make her such a beautiful house, whether the baseboards are painted or not.

[Shakyshaky]

Well for my two cents, I think you should do what you like best, after all you are the one who has to look at the house. Personally I like the painted better, the wood just kinda blends in.

[glen]

Here’s a better pic of the painted but I think I'll keep some of the wood for the garage and donate the rest to our local dh club. (only been there once but they seem nice enough)

I’ve got quite a bit of stripped down timber of sorts they can have. Buying timber over here is costly!!!!!

They often make little single room projects they can use it in.

Thanks anyway.

Glen

[hydroped]

Nice pics Glen, I know I'm in the minority here but I really like the white baseboard - it makes the depth of the wood really pop - not Overly so - but the way I'd want it to on wood floors like that - next to the unpainted baseboard it sort of just disappears into the wall with no real definition. My advice is this: 1. Realy look at it and go with what YOU like best. and 2. if in doubt pick up some magazines next time you're waiting in a check out line. If you were in the states I'd suggest Archetectural Digest , California Living, Martha Stewart and Any of the other Decorating mags that are so popular here. I dont' know what they sell over there but I'm sure there are decorator magazines there too. Over here the natural wood baseboards were in back in the 50's - the house I grew up in was full of them and unless a house is over a hundred years old and has the wooden walls to match I think it makes a place look shabby or at best half finished. To me the rule of thumb has always been - if the walls are wood the baseboard is wood if the walls are painted or papered then the baseboard is painted - but to each his own.

As for what looks best in miniature scales - that - like what looks best in a full size house is a matter of personal opinion - for me I like a miniature house to look like a house I'd want to live in, not like someone elses idea of what they think would look best. I've gotten lots of bad advice on miniatures from people who were sure they knew it all - like "A Micheal's hutch will Always look like a Micheal's hutch" and "What miniaturist is going to want a crystal ball in their dollhouse??!" - so beware of terms like "Always" and "Never" - because there are exceptions to every "rule" and if it works full size then it should work to scale if it's true to scale. Just because someone says so is not a good reason to do something you yourself don't care for or have doubts about. You have differing opinions here - and that's all they are- opinions, not rules. So what do you like? What does your daughter like - when you got that figured out then go for it! - That's my five bucks worth. And for what it's worth - just like in a real house if you all change your mind at a later date - the baseboards can always be changed.

-David

[glen]

Good points Dave.

I'll do a little research at the bookshop today.

Unexpectedly had baby projectile vomit all over me this morning so have the day off.

Glen

[Charlene]

My goodness, this did turn into a rather divisive topic!

Looking at your second set of photos, did you plan to leave the door trim unpainted? I know I said I liked the wood trim in your original photo, but if you plan to paint the door trim as well, it should look great in contrast to the door. In other words, all painted trim or all unpainted trim 'cause just a painted baseboard looks a little off (in real or miniature).

But, what do you like? Martha Stewart aside, decorate to suit yourself and you've done a splendid job so far, so trust your instincts :lol:

[Missymew]

Good points Dave.

I'll do a little research at the bookshop today.

Unexpectedly had baby projectile vomit all over me this morning so have the day off.

Glen

Hope your little one is okay. Flu bug, or just an upset tummy?

-Susanne

BTW, I didn't offer advice on the baseboards because I grew up in a house with a fire breathing dragon painted on the stairwell wall. The living room had Egyptian Nile scenes "engraved" into two of the living room walls. My dad (an artist ... surprise) had to board over one of the living room windows to complete his picture. Our address was in Egyptian lettering above the picture. A third living room wall had sculptures (life sized) of an Egyptian man and lady. The bathroom walls were black with jewel-eyed serpents, fish, and sea horses on the walls. Our house was ...... interesting. It was not a house where baseboards matched anything.

-Susanne

[glen]

Don’t know what’s up with baby.

No temp, happy as anything, no crying. but threw up her fruit again half an hour ago.

I've decided, after experimenting some more, - definitely unpainted.

Prefer the look.

Cheers

Glen

[Missymew]

Glen -

Your little girl sounds like such a sweet tempered little soul. Even though her tummy's upset, she's still happy - probably glad to have dad home for the day.

-Susanne

[havanaholly]

No temp, happy as anything, no crying. but threw up her fruit again half an hour ago

Glen, is this a fruit she's eaten before without any ill-effects? When our boys were small that was the way the younger two sometimes reacted to a new food, especially fruit or strong-flavored veggy.

Susanne, the kitchen in our first house was so tiny DH begged me to do "something interesting" with it, so I had him hang the lid of a gift-tin we'd received with a gorgeous dellarobia wreath painted on it. He still didn't like it, so I bought two cans of gloss black paint and a lettering brush and used him for the proportions and on the two bare, blank walls I painted life (so to speak) sized copies of two of Andreas Vesalius' anatomical plates, one was the skeleton contemplating a skull, which I painted where we set a small table, and the other was the muscle plate in left profile reaching up; I had the reaching hand come to the nail for the tin lid, and we also hung some black fishnet from behind the lid across the ceiling and down next to the skull by the table. It turned out to be a selling feature when we had to move!

[glen]

Yes it’s all food she gets very regularly. She’s coughing her heart out poor thing. I just took her for a drive in the truck. She loves it to pieces. Slept for over an hour bless her.

Just cough and cold I think. Good excuse to spend the day with her.

Glen

[Peggi]

Glen: I sure hope Baby is well soon. It just breaks your heart when one of the little ones is feeling poorly. Please let us know how she is doing.

[parisbabe]

thanx for the compliment Glen on my lilly

I could send you one if you like???? :lol:

I think you could make a buiness out of making mini's!!!!

Then you could stay home with baby all day!!!

Wen

[glen]

Thanks for the offer Wen. I hope you'll understand my reply is not because I don't want one but because I don't want people thinking I'm lurking around here looking for handouts.

I can't believe how generous people here are.

HOWEVER. I am unashamedly lurking looking for ideas and working on the theory "mimicry is the greatest form of flattery" I hope you will be flattered when you find I've tried to copy your lilies some time soon. They look wonderful.

Wish I wasn't so far away so I could get involved in the swaps. They look like fun. Then I could give as well as receive. Maybe latter……

Thanks to you and all for putting up with me and the encouragement.

Glen

[hydroped]

Hi Glen,

Hope baby is feeling ok soon! Poor kid, I remember when my son was small - had a lot of stomach problems and it seemed it wasn't just foods that would trigger it but if he was over tired, too hot, played too hard - what a worry. Please know we're thinking of you all and hoping she's over it and back to feeling fine quickly!!

And as for lurking for hand outs - Dude - it's a good thing you don't live close I'd have to smack ya (just kidding but I would probaly force you to take some minis) Don't you know by now that most miniaturists love to share? Heck I sent a pair of tiny ruby slippers to a gal in New Zealand last year - poor lady had spent quite a bit trying to find a pair only to have them arrive and just be red high heel shoes and not Wizard of Oz type ruby slippers. Cost of shoes $2.00 - Cost of mailing something like $4.00 But I felt like a Million dollars when she got them and was SO happy with them. It's not often I get to make someone's day so don't ever feel bad if someone offers to send you something sometimes it can make them feel pretty darn good too :lol: Besides you can always swap stuff one on one - there's lots of cool stuff where you live that I'm sure is hard to get here in the U.S.

-David