Chairs! Chairs! Chairs!

So I finished reupholstering my Thomas Jefferson chairs in the Susan Bembridge fabric and I have to say I am rather pleased with the results.  Normally, I am not a 'matchy-matchy' kind of guy, but somehow in this setting it WORKS, as they're always saying on those HGTV shows.

 It was a little touch-and-go with the upholstery job, mes chers, as the pattern on the fabric had to be centered on the furniture backs and seats --so there was a lot of waste.  Would there be enough fabric  to complete the job??? 

The venerable Susan Bembridge herself thought that one piece would do the job, and she was right!  She even steered me toward the cotton sateen instead of the silk, which I originally favored.  She told me that non-other than John Hodgson preferred the cotton --and who am I to argue with  the likes of that?  I'm actually glad I heeded her sage advice because it was tough enough to line up the pattern without the added misery of slippery silk!

I'm thinking about adding some piping to the edges of my chairs, à la manière de Catherine of Kilmouski & Me, a blog I have come to adore.

But for now...I'm calling the room 'complete!'

 Here's another House of Miniatures chair I built for the piano.  It's actually one of the same chairs from the Entrance Hall, but in a walnut finish and gilded detail on the lyre back. 

I decided to do the seat cushion in the red silk to go with the balloon shades at the windows. 

I also, one morning tossed the sheet music into my cup of coffee because it just seemed too white, lol!

I am still looking for an appropriate image to go under the spinet lid...send me one if you think it would fit the odd shape!

There are a few other details I would like to change... but isn't that the way of dollhouses?

I have another chandelier for the room in mind, but it might have to go on my Christmas list.  I also have my eye on a harp.

Did you notice my new, seven-tier candelabras on the tables along the back wall?  They are from Patre's Dollhouse Miniatures, and I just LOVE them!  Of course, what's not to love about gold and sparkles, right?The three-tiered candles in the middle ground are hers, as well.

Then there is the 'little person's chair' in the foreground...it was actually a mistake-purchase but I almost NEVER return things to stores because --well,--I don't know why...  I was not planning on having any references to children in my house because I sort of have this love/hate relationship with children...and by that I mean I love to hate them, lol!  I was telling Fiona the other day that I believed all children should be shipped out to Military School until they're eighteen and are able to talk intelligently about Art --but that's just silly ol' me talking, so attention must not be paid!

But I decided to include the little chair, after all, and am looking for a 1/24 scale violin to set on it...for a little, budding Mozart, perhaps?  Gods! Am I getting soft in my old --in my-- in my-- as I approach middle-age? 

Spinet Piano

This week my spinet piano from Master's Miniatures arrived from England --isn't it beautiful?  I 'special ordered' it to be made 'mirror-reversed' so that the keyboard would face toward the front of the house. 

It perfectly blends in with the other furnishings!  Thanks to Andy for helping me pick it out.  All I need now is to find a suitable chair or bench for it.  Actually, I have a House of Miniatures chair kit left over from my Entrance Hall that I might use.

I'm toying with the idea of  a classical painting on the underside of the spinet lid, something with a musical theme, perhaps?

I also received a pair of these lovely crystal-spangled candelabras, this one sitting on top of one of the aforementioned House of Miniatures side tables I made.  I'm still waiting for the Susan Bembridge fabric, and suspect it will arrive any day now!  I am so anxious to re-cover the chairs in it...

Here's a little violin I picked up at the local dollhouse shop, Little Enchantments.  I also have my eye on a Bespaq harp, but it will have to wait for now as we had a rather large and unexpected car repair bill to deal with last week  :(   Don't you just hate it when RL problems interfere with your miniature projects?  Oh, well, whatevs...I don't have my harp but I do have a brand-new alternator!

 Just a few more little details left here and there on the Music Room and I can move on to the next room: the Library.  Have a great week, everyone!

Slow Going

Progress on the Music Room slogs onward, ever onward...though at a snails pace!  Sorry, mes chers, but it's simply too damn gaw-jess outside to be fiddling around with miniatures!  Howevs, betwixt and twain heatwaves and thunderstorms I did manage to finish up a few things...

My Music Room art gallery is complete!  I was told by the creator of my wallpaper, Susan Brembridge, that it simply screamed for lots of gold frames...so I think I did OK by that, LOL...(OK I'm slightly paraphrasing.  She did not actually say 'simply screamed').  ;)

I got the sconces hooked up on the fireplace.  These are from Rosel's and though you can't really see them for the glare, they are quite lovely.  I also added gold fringe to my balloon shades, all thanks to a tip from Jeffry.  He advised me to cut one side of a ribbon off and pull out the threads to form the fringe.  It worked perfectly!  Thanks, Jeffry!

I built a couple of  House of Miniatures tables: one between the two square-backed chairs on the left and a candle stand against the back wall.  That bare spot is where the aforementioned spinet piano is going...I hoped it would arrive this weekend, but ...alas, did not!   What is really weird, though, is after I built the first candle stand , I realized I needed a second to flank the spinet, so I ordered another on ebay on Saturday, and it has already arrived, today (Monday)! From California.  Say what you want about the U.S. but our postal system rocks!  (Too bad it's going bankrupt).

BTW, those discontinued, 'ye-olde' House of Miniature kits, circa from my childhood, are still readily available, affordable and easy to put together.  Great.  I just drived up their price. 

And here is my foot-warmer from Linda Master, the prize I won which also arrived this weekend.  Isn't it scrumptious?  THANK YOU, LINDA!


I actually managed to finish a few other things, but I am getting looks so I guess dinner must be ready?  What? I am not a mind reader! The horses of Apollo are pawing impatiently at the Gates.

Have a great week...

Later,
John

I WON!

OMG!  I won Linda Master's give-away prize:  this intricately carved foot-warmer!

 
If you haven't checked out Linda's blog, Miracle Chicken, please do yourself a favor and head on over!  She carves the most amazing animals and all sorts of lovely objects --like the foot warmer, above.  Needless to say, I am so thrilled to have such a finely wrought addition  to Merriman Park!  Linda recently was inducted as a fellow into the hallowed IGMA and she has some perfectly marvelous GLT  (gorgeous little things) available in her Etsy Shop.

Red Silk Balloon Shades

There's just something about poof-y swags of silk --especially red silk-- that I have always admired.  I just love how the light changes within the opulent folds of the fabric.  And since I thought that my Music Room screamed for another touch of red,  it seemed a natural choice.

Besides, I read in World of Interiors that Britain's Prince Charles had navy-blue silk balloon shades recently installed in one of his Palladian country houses (and what's good enough for His Royal Highness is certainly good enough for the likes of me)!

This style of curtain looks fussy and complicated to make, but nothing could be further from the truth.  It's really only a hemmed rectangle of fabric with a curtain rod pocket at the top.  The poofs are formed by simple gathering in rows.  Here's how I did it:

Step 1.  Determine the size of your pattern by measuring the width of your window and multiply by three.  In my case the window was three inches wide x three = nine inches.  Add a half inch for hems for a total of nine and a half inches.

The length of your shade is simply the measurement from the top of your window to the sill, plus one inch for rod pocket and hem.  Are you still with me?

Step 2.  After cutting out your fabric, use a product such as Fray Check around all four edges to lock the threads in place.

(You might want to test the Fray Check on a scrap of your curtain fabric first.  On my red silk, the Fray Check turned the fabric very dark, but most of that discoloration disappeared once it dried).

Step 3.  Once the Fray Check has dried a little, carefully clip the raw edges of your curtain panel 1/8 -1/16th of an inch all around.

Now your fabric edges should be locked in place, with no dangling threads. 

Step 4.  Press the two side seams down 1/8th of an inch or so.  The iron will help the Fray Check dry completely.  Press the top and bottom 1/8th inch over as well.  Finally, Press the top of your panel an additional 1/2 inch to form the rod pocket.

Here's how it will look (above) and (below):

Step 5.  Now it's time to sew!  (No Pretty Pleater required). Start with the two 'sides' of the panels and be sure to set your machine with a very small stitch. 

TIP:  I found some thread that is much 'thinner' than normal and I thought this would help reduce the 'bulkiness.'  It worked like a charm!

Once the sides are stitched down, proceed with the hem, and then sew closely along the rod pocket seam.  Finally, top-stitch 1/8-1/4 inch along the top of the panel --this will make a nice, neat pocket for your curtain rod.

Step 6.  Set your machine on a large, 'basting stitch' setting and sew along the two sides from the bottom of the rod pocket, down to the hem. Leave a long, length of thread at the bottom and do not knot it.

Divide the panel into even quarters and stitch along those lines from the bottom of the rod pocket  to the hem.  Leave an un-knotted length of thread here too. (viewed in the photo, above, left).

Step 7.  Carefully pull the threads to form the gathers.  Work slowly so you don't break the basting stitch! 

(If you do, you can always go back and repeat Step 6).

This is what it will look like (left) at this point.  Almost finished! 

Step 8.  Adjust your gathers to the desired length and tie off the basting stiches.  Set your machine back to a small stitch setting and sew over the basting threads, locking the gathers in place.  You can now remove the basting stitches if they show too much.  Clip off any loose threads.

Step 9.  Slip your curtain rod through the pocket and adjust your poofs!  Be careful not to yank too hard or you risk breaking the gather stitches!


Step 10.  Hang your completed shade, make the final adjustments, and enjoy your work!

I would like to add some gold fringe to the bottom hem --does anyone know of a good source?

Start to finish time:  about fifteen minutes, per panel --sweet!  I don't know about you, but I'm going to celebrate my new balloon shades with a smart little, refreshing summer cocktail.  (Don't you love day-drinking on a lovely, summer's day)?  Have a great week, everyone!

New Stuff!

Finally the heatwave broke, as a line of thunderstorms rolled through the parched prairies of Minnesota along with the corresponding cold-front.  The windows were thrown open, the perpetual whir of electric fans ceased and once again the neighbors congregated on their front porches, no longer confined to their air-conditioned prisons.  No miniature projects for me today!  Who knows how long the reprieve will last?

But still I couldn't resist opening the few packages that arrived this week and play with my new acquisitions!  Two more Monticello Collection chairs arrived --I'm picking them up as I can afford to-- only a few more to go!  I did decide to shorten the legs on the oval-backed chairs so they match up better with the square-back chairs and I'm glad I did because they make much better sense together as a 'suite' being the same height.

My art collection is growing exponentially as new frames arrived from DeJoux Miniatures over in North Carolina-way.  I have ordered from DeJoux several times and have always been pleased with their service. Unfortunately, this time around one of the items they sent was not the one I had ordered.  But almost as soon as I pushed the 'send' button on my email to them, the problem had quickly been resolved by Charlie, their crack customer service honcho. Sadly, this is a rarer and rarer occurrence nowadays so thanks a mill, Charlie!

I realized that what I really should be doing instead of playing with artwork and furniture is figuring out what lighting I need.  For one thing, I'm getting tired of having to keep wrestling with all the bits and pieces that haven't been glued down!  So I'm constantly having to reach in and push walls and moldings back into their proper place.  Can't really glue anything down until the wiring is set, and I had a little epiphany a while back because I think perhaps I'm putting too many lights in my rooms!  All of the other rooms have twenty or more bulbs burning...  In each room.  But I sort of like the music room with only a chandelier burning...is it really true that sometimes 'less is more?'  How can this be?  But I suppose it would look unbalanced if all the other rooms are conspicuously set ablaze while this one is not.  Oh, well! Another thing to ponder...

I'm so excited because I went spinet-shopping this week with Andy from Dolls' Houses and Miniatures!  Andy is the absolute arbiter of period style and I'm desperately trying to cajole him into putting all his design-history blog posts into a book!  So far, he's not having it --but he did take the time out from his busy career stalking Ben Cohen to steer me toward this little beauty (above, left). It's from Masters Miniatures, the same husband-and-wife duo that did my dining room furniture.  It will be centered on the wall opposite of the fireplace, an arrangement Andy also approved.  We both agree that the spinet simply must be flanked by candelabras, a la Liberace.  (But should they be working candelabra)?  Details, details...  Thank you, Andy, hope you & David enjoy the Olympics!  ;)

Window Casings

My 'beefed-up' window trim.

All of the seventeen, operating, sash windows of Merriman Park are standard Houseworks stock components.  I chose 'ready-made' windows as opposed to custom-built because (A).  I don't own the necessary tools to fabricate custom mill work and (B). Did I mention there are seventeen windows?  I'm pretty happy with my 'stock windows' --except for the included interior casings.  Here's why:

First of all, I should preface this post by admitting that I come from a very long-line of skilled, finish-carpenters, so I grew up watching how interior 'RL' (real-life) windows and doors are properly trimmed.  (Thanks, dad & grandpa)! A few years ago, we added a master bedroom to the back of our tiny, 1908 bungalow and I had the opportunity to test my own meager, finish-carpentry skills, by completing all of the interior mill work in the new addition (which I meticulously matched to the original house, naturally)!

So anyway, I guess what disappointed me about my Houseworks interior window casings is that they do not install like a RL window. Especially a RL 'period' window. Color me OCD, but does this bother anyone else?

Here is the interior side of a standard,  Houseworks window, untrimmed:

And here is the same window with the stock, included interior casings installed:.

What is incorrect is that the trim butts up against the window frame.  But in a 'RL' window, the casing should slightly overlap the window frame and not merely butt up against it. Yeah, guess I am OCD!

In a 'period' room setting, it gets even more complicated:  the window casing would most likely not be cut in a 45 degree miter at the four corners, (which is what is included in the Houseworks window package, above).  Rather, a sill would be built out and the casing would rise from it, as I did here in the Music Room, (left).  At the top of the window, I added a wide header on top of a head strip, all capped with a crown molding.  Beneath the sill, an apron would be used to finish off and help support the sill, (but in my Music Room  the sill matches up with the chair rail and so an apron is not needed).

...But downstairs, in the Dining Room, (right) the window sill & apron are seen discreetly behind the blue-green, striped silk curtains. (Here, shown for some reason, in earthy sepia tones, thanks to my crap camera skills)!

Of course, I suppose none of this extra work is even warranted if the window casings are to be completely covered over with fanciful draperies   In which case, only you, gentle Reader,  will know what lies beneath... You --and anyone who dares to peek behind your Pretty-Pleated curtains! ...Pretty Pleater...still cracks me up, I think it would be a formidable drag name, but I'm afraid that the nom de drag, 'Miss Pretty Pleater,' has lately been utterly usurped by my new, fave drag-name:  Miss Wilma Ballsdrop!  LOL!



UPDATE!  I no longer have the saddest life, you guys!  I found my Titian reclining Venus!  She did not, apparently, fall into the oblivion of my duct-work, but merely rolled under the cabinet of my antiquated stereo equipment.  (Aren't CD's  très pittoresque)?  

'Venus, Reclining,' reinstalled above the door.

I mean, really, I might as well have a Victrola with a huge, brass horn, as a friggin' stereo system, n'est-ce pas?