Jump to content

What's everyone working on?


Recommended Posts

Kelly, your Glencroft stair bash is inspired!  I think that's going to change the flow of the house in a big way and give it a new look. It'll be exciting to watch you do this!  <chuckling>  The stairs in the Glencroft gave me fits when it came to one riser near the bottom of the stairs.  I did all the right things and then cussed a lot and tried a few more but it stubbornly resisted.  I finally told it, "Fine.  Be that way" and just wrote up a back story about how the Wizard had hosted the annual Wizard's Yule party and one of the guests had a little too much to drink misfired his wand and now the stairs are crooked.  <giggling>  Hey, if we can't fix or cover up a mistake, the next best thing is to write it into the story.  One way or another, we'll find a way to make it a part of the house's character.  

Heidi, that floral would make a lovely contrasting pattern to the gingham, especially if you added a matching floral pillow to the loveseat if the room has a feminine style.  If it's a more masculine room like a library or study then the large tan check would be really nice.  The love seat looks great!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty!!!!!!!!!!   Heidi!   I love those colors!!!!   
Painting porch rails and working it out in my head how I am going to bash the front porch of my Arthur.  I just don't feel like having a Victorian farm house look again. 
I put it up for today but I think I know how I want to do it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I moved the farmhouse and its landscape board out of the workshop and into the garage today.  The last item of landscaping will be on the workbench for quite a while longer, but the urge to start another build is upon me!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got the porch on this afternoon!   I decided against the farm house porch that comes with the Arthur and did more of a simple railing on each side of the porch similar to the Limited Edition Arthur that GL use to sell.   I like it!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heidi, I don't trust the colors my monitor displays, but if they are anywhere close to true the bottom fabric IMO would go best with the bench.

The Lily is next to the bottom of the pile and the Newberg I on the very bottom, so I settled on the Brimble's, which is glaring at me because it doesn't want to be a general store.  I have an idea of what it wants to be but I'm sure the dry fit will loosen it up a lot more.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Holly - I did order 1/2 yards of several of those, one is the last one you referenced. I do have several rooms to do window treatments on, and oddly enough I am thinking that one will work for the living room, where I have blue plaid upholstery. When the fabrics all arrive, I will do another round of photos to get a sense of what works for me. I think scale is hard do judge too on monitors, so I'm thinking the smaller or closer the pattern is, the more true to scale. Again, having the real thing in the room should help sway me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ooooooo Holly...Im going to be doing my Taft as soon as I get back home again from Mo...Dave has been talking long and hard to all who will listen of his glory days on the house boat...but he is thinking something bigger....now that his state is legal he is finally happy to put his life time knowledge base to good use other them mopin around Edna's fancified retirement home...I have some fun ideas...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, miniaddicted said:

. Again, having the real thing in the room should help sway me. 

<nodding in agreement>   I always fling fabric around inside the house before deciding on fabric for curtains to see how it looks with the wallpaper and to make sure that the light inside the room doesn't change the tone of the fabric.   Depending on the amount of light and if there is a mini light fixture, the color can change dramatically from how it looks outside of the house.  Heidi, do you have an idea yet of the drape design?   That can be a major deciding factor for me.  <grinning>  I learned the hard way that sometimes the style of the fabric looks perfect in every way until I put it into a design that's too stern for a floral or too fluffy for a check.  It's still an argument that I often have with my houses.  I fully expected to use half a dozen different prints in my Tennyson but when it came time to make the curtains she refused everything except white silk and lace as a strong reminder that she wants to be softly romantic with a clean, airy tone.  <sigh>  So I put the pretty colored fabrics away and agreed that she was right because after all, the house is always right.  LOL!

I've been piddling around with steampunk flowers and haven't gotten very far.  About 15 minutes of work at a time is all I can manage at the moment but I keep plinking away at it.  On the other hand, my brain is racing away at a mile a minute!   I was studying the picture of the flower cart I ordered from Otterine and was thinking about how I'd fill it with pots of steampunk flowers.  That led to the decision that obviously Dr. Robertson would have to devise some kind of self-watering system for it so my thoughts turned to how I'd add a steam producing device and that led to thinking that it would need lots of coiled copper wire to help condense the steam into water and that's when the penny dropped.  I shouted, "Thaddeus, you old goat!  That's not a self-watering system.....that's a moonshine still!!"   Dr. Robertson gave me a glowering look and told me to keep my voice down before the minions heard me.   <shaking head>  I don't think it's the minions he wants to hide it from.  I'm pretty sure he's trying to keep it a secret from Mrs. Donovan, his housekeeper.   I doubt that she would approve.  

Holly and Lynette, it's going to be awesome to watch you both building Tafts at the same time!  That's an awesomely cool kit. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Deb said:

,,,Holly and Lynette, it's going to be awesome to watch you both building Tafts at the same time!  That's an awesomely cool kit. 

Except that holly's Taft is the Brimble's.  I got step 1 into dry fit and he informed me that he wants to become a home decor store.  This ought to be a lot of fun...  Especially with the bachelor owner living upstairs.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Deb said:

<nodding in agreement>   I always fling fabric around inside the house before deciding on fabric for curtains to see how it looks with the wallpaper and to make sure that the light inside the room doesn't change the tone of the fabric.   Depending on the amount of light and if there is a mini light fixture, the color can change dramatically from how it looks outside of the house.  Heidi, do you have an idea yet of the drape design?   That can be a major deciding factor for me.  <grinning>  I learned the hard way that sometimes the style of the fabric looks perfect in every way until I put it into a design that's too stern for a floral or too fluffy for a check.  It's still an argument that I often have with my houses.  I fully expected to use half a dozen different prints in my Tennyson but when it came time to make the curtains she refused everything except white silk and lace as a strong reminder that she wants to be softly romantic with a clean, airy tone.  <sigh>  So I put the pretty colored fabrics away and agreed that she was right because after all, the house is always right.  LOL!

Deb you are too funny! As usual, I'm obsessing on this whole window treatment thing now...what would I do without something to obsess on??

I found a local quilting store today that has more of those same Moda fabrics, and I got my first order of them in the mail today. Man are they soft to the touch!. As for type of drape design, I'm thinking of simple puddling draperies on a brass rod - don't want to cover the arch on the windows. I also have to consider the living room with the same palladian windows as well, both from a style and unifying color aspect. (In my former life I worked in a drapery workroom servicing high end customers and interior designers). 

Of the 3 below, I really am grooving on the middle one. But I found another today at the store, and I still have a few others being shipped to me. 

large.IMG_3567.JPG.71295e10cfa935464926d

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like both of those fabrics. I love how the house is turning out! I remember when you redid those kitchen pieces! It's all coming together so nicely! Love that brick kitchen floor! I'm planning to do something similar for my Glencroft.I also really like your ceilings! Is that stucco, or a ceiling paper?  

I'm starting to wonder if I'm overthinking my whole building process. It took me over a year to finish the Orchid (!!!) and some of that was simply limited time, but also because I agonized over every little detail. I made lists, sketched out ideas, browsed the internet, did research, etc. etc. Planning is good, but sometimes doing is better. The current build is pretty straightforward, and I do have a plan, but I'm already finding myself triple thinking every step. And it's silly things, like the foundation. I wanted to add a foundation, so I couldn't decide if it should be 1/2", 3/4" or 1", thought about it a few days, looked at pictures, looked at my own house, etc. Finally just went to Home Depot, bought the 3/4", cut it, glued it on, and it's fine. I have to remind myself that each task doesn't have to turn into a research project, but I'm kind of nerdy that way.

I bought a kit last week purely out of emotion (isn't that the best reason?) and immediately opened it when it got here. I'm just itching to dive in and dry fit it and start working on it, but the current build just had the first floor shell glued up, and I was kind of planning to do the Glencroft next. But...this kit is calling to me. I have started a folder for it, but just have some vague ideas about the plan. The box was taunting me last night when I was working on the other kit. Then as I was falling asleep last night, I thought maybe I could dry fit it, take a bunch of measurements, take photos, then box it all up until I'm really ready to build it. This morning, I have a feeling that as soon as that wood is out of the box, it will be out for good.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Linda, I do a lot of research, too, but in the end I usually come up with a solution that is a combination of several approaches. It's good to give your creative genes some food for thought.

So, what is the kit that is bugging you to open its box? I think you should listen to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought an Artply Franklin. It's not a common kit, so I want to do the very best job on it. The unopened box had scribbled all over it in kiddie handwriting "I love my dollhouse" over and over again. It just pulled on my heartstrings...I could just see some little girl oohing and ahing all over the pictures on the box, thinking about what it would be like when it was finished, and dreaming about playing with it, but no one ever got around to building it. Franklin is also an important name in my universe for a number of reasons, so I had to have it.   

It's a Folk Victorian farmhouse, but it's going to have a Southern vibe. A Haint blue porch ceiling, and rocking chairs on the porch, and all of that. And it wants to be all white. Simple, unfussy interior with really good trims. Beadboard, hardwood floors, wide baseboards. Upgraded windows and porch railings. Maybe a screen door? Maybe a fabulous full brick chimney?

Really, I'm still finishing the Orchid, just started the barn, and I have a long, full list of life-sized projects to tackle. But this house is special, and it's speaking to me all my waking hours...     

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Kathie and Holly. I've dropped everything a couple of times to start a house that was just screaming to be built (see Tudor Cottage and Maus Haus) and those builds went really quickly. There have been times I didn't interrupt the then-current project, even after coming up with the entire concept and dreaming about the house, and those projects somehow have fallen far behind as other things move ahead. I'm not saying they won't eventually happen, but somehow I feel like I missed an opportunity.

So go with what is exciting you and captivating your attention! The other houses will wait. and don't forget....we love eye candy! :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, stickyfingers said:

I also really like your ceilings! Is that stucco, or a ceiling paper?  

That is sprayed on texture paint - Lomax from Home Depot. I love the way it turned out. 

I too spend hours overthinking things - obsessing, and completely understand how you feel. Like Kathie said, usually those hours of research come together and you are able to implement the solution. That's what happened with the kitchen cabinet finish redo - it sat for months until the right solution called to me. 

I was intrigued by your converted barn project - will look forward to progress there, but it sounds to me like your heart is in the Franklin right now - go for it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...