MORE FLOORS ... and THINGS

I had managed to do the floor for the two (2) upstairs rooms they came out quite well if I do say so myself.

Flooring for the master bedroom

Flooring for the guest bedroom

I have spruced up the staircase lower banister by adding some moulding trim but not sure I like it. Since I will be adding a second staircase up to the attic, I was thinking that the railings on both should be uniformed. In that case I will have to discard the railing that came with the kit because I am unable to obtain another of its kind and unable to replicate it myself. I guest it will resolve this somehow soon.

FLOORING

I love the look of parquet floors and thought they were eminently suitable for a Victorian house. Consequently I purchased a number of patterns from the Brodnax Prints line. When the items arrived and I viewed the packets and the tiny pieces of flooring; the task appeared daunting.I kept postponing the task and therefore the building process could not proceed. I happened upon a UK store named Malcolm's Miniatures and discovered a wonderful item called parquet floor frames. The package consists of a pre-built frame all divided into 1" squares and double sided sticky paper to lay the floor onto. All I had to do was lay out the perfectly squared frame and form the patter within it. In no time I had built the Living and Dining room floors.

From left to right; the living room and dining room floors

I have now installed the fireplace and the dividing wall between the dining and living rooms. This process also included attaching the side walls and the ceiling/floor between the first and second floors. I am now waiting for the glue to set and cure,

I think I will now tackle the kitchen ceiling, with the "logs" I have in mind but I don't know how this will go as yet.

OF WINDOWS AND DOORS

I collected my windows and doors yesterday from the Post and as soon as I opened the box and viewed the contents my heart plummeted, The windows I opted for were the Grandt Line in G scale; but these are way too big for the existing openings. The doors on the other hand look way too small.

Since I spent the princely sum of US $75 for doors and windows I cannot afford to not use them. The solution of course is to make the openings larger. Today I spent the most painful and frustrating day enlarging the window openings. I also had to repeat this exercise for the internal door openings because these were also way too small for the doors I purchased for them. I get the feeling that all 'G' or 1/2" scale are not uniformed.


These are the troublesome windows and the internal doors:

My fingers are quite sore and I did get a few nicks on my right thumb from the knife I used to neaten the edges of the altered window openings.

I have started to acquire a few pieces of furniture and this I realize is going to be an expensive undertaking. Since I do not have the skill or tools to make high end furniture I will have to hunt down every bargain I can find on the NET,

WORKING ON A RAINY WEEKEND

This weekend we were  blessed on the rock (aka JAMAICA)with much needed showers from above. Of course this is the kind of weekend that inspires mini work; or should anyway. I did get some work done, nothing exciting but some wall alterations to the entry hall that were long over due,is now completed. There are no pictures as yet but coming soon. I have also taken some decisions in relation to the allotment of space on the 2nd floor and attic.

On the 2^nd story instead of doing a roof around the tower I will make a walk out porch instead; I will however keep the same dimensions of the roof and convert the window on the right to a door. I will also change out all the windows and doors to better quality ones. I have some Grandt Line doors and windows coming in the mail.

The 2^nd floor houses the master bedroom, a guest bedroom and a bathroom.I have now constructed a Bay Window on the guest bedroom on the right backside of the house. It had bothered me that there was no window in this room. This bay window overhangs the dining room windows on the ground floor and creates a nice architectural feature. I have also gained the opportunity to construct a window seat in the guest bedroom. Of course I am now pondering where the bed will fit in this room but I will cross that river when I come to it.

What to do with the Attic? This is prime real estate that I cannot afford to waste; however the sloping ceilings are a challenge; but by the time I get to that phase of construction I will have devised a plan. I intend to have a princess (little girl’s room) and a nursery to the rear of the attic. The tower area depending on how I adjust the roof line will either be an adjoining dressing room for my princess or a reading nook (undecided). The baby’s room will be in the Bunny Parade décor, I have already bought paper and rug and I am now trying to source some less expensive nursery furniture (SIGH). The area above the 2^nd floor bath will probably be an open library/sitting nook. 

I also did some kit construction, the plate rack and sink for the kitchen; and here they are:

These are kits I purchased from Petite Properties Ltd.(UK); I like them because they are unique and reasonably priced.

I also did lots and lots of shopping, this means I am going on a diet because I have spent all my months worth of lunch money on little things.