#43 GREEN DOLPHIN STREET

One of my favorite books is entitled 

"Green Dolphin Street"

The story is about 2 sisters named Marianne and Margarite, close in age but as different as night and day.  They grow up 'very proper and privileged', during the early 1800's in the English Channel Islands.  Both fall in love with a precocious neighborhood boy, Willliam, who eventually falls deeply in love with the younger sister Margarite and through a series of unfortunate circumstances, he is parted from her for many years.  He pioneers NewZealand and eventually decides to send back to England to ask Margarite if she would  cross the ocean to be his wife and mistakenly writes the name of her older sister, Marianne, who believes that she has, at long last, finally won his heart.  She sails to New Zealand leaving her devastated sister, Margarite, behind and after months at sea, she arrives ready to marry her true love.  William anticipation turns to bitter regret when he realizes his mistake but marries Marianne anyway and so begins their unhappily married life, in New Zealand facing  tribal wars, fearless missionaries, country and city ife in a raw and untamed land up against their rigid Victorian upbringing.  There is, as well, a different kind of  'adventure' for the unhappy sister who was left behind, and all 3 characters find unexpected challenges that they must overcome along the way.   Elizabeth Goudge, the author, says that this story was based on fact.  That a man DID mix up the names of two sisters and married the wrong one AND kept quiet about it and made a success of his marriage, much to his own surprise and delight. Upon further investigation through Google, I have found that there are MANY fans of Green Dolphin Street!  So for those who are devotees, here is my tiny contribution to 'SPIRIT' of the book, and I hope that it will stir from within  a 'remembrance' of times past as each of our souls journey homeward towards the future.

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The Parlor

#43 GREEN DOLPHIN STREET

(the beginning of the make-over)

"The PROCESS"

Today, I began the 'PROCESS" of how I think I want this house to go.  I want the cottage to have both French and English overtones, to reflect the dual national influences, as highlighted in the book.  I want the cottage to have a Victorian feel to it; CONTEMPORARY, yet with a nautical leaning.  In other words, I want a house with a 'history' built into it but occupied by people of today.
  I always like to load all the things that I think I would like to use, to get a visual on the proportions and the traffic flow.  How will people move around, where will they hang their hats or pull off their boots?  What kind of things amuse them?
(These are the conversations that fly through my head.)
Anyway, I loaded all the things in and found a combination that appealed to me.
I have had the French fireplace for probably 15 years!  I was saving it for another doll's house but decided to use it now.  I made a decision to forfeit a sofa and only have chairs.  This is a very small  and informal space and so instead of a sofa I chose a chest of drawers to stand against the far left wall.  The wall is not fixed and is not finished.  I moved it around to see where I  might want it.  I have to leave enough room for the front door to swing open and I have to enlarge the doorway to the kitchen for the people to be able to pass through.
I also need to know where to allow for the lighting and the wires, hence the placement of the lamps.

Keep in mind that this is a  3 dimensional "SKETCH" of the parlor. Against the window wall, I have placed a writing desk.  The 2 lamps are some of my favorite lighting fixtures.  I have used the same style of lamp in "GOTHICA"( the garden folly in an earlier post, December  2012).  I like the slimness of them and they are modern with a timeless appeal.  Under the writing desk is an old typewriter.  I would like the cottage to be the home of a writer.  So I plan to have indications of her interest manifested in various ways.  I  also want to make a miniature copy of Green Dolphin Street to be displayed on the desk!  What Fun! 

In the corner is a coat rack that is currently hosting the umbrella that I got as a gift from Fatima!
I don't want to overload it but there might be a hat and a scarf to hang on it later.  The tea table is a small drop leaf table that is rather crude but I shall use it anyway.  I shall need to fix it up a bit.  It is set with white 'Val D'or'  china and some assorted cakes on a distressed cake stand.  

The fireplace has a framed painting of a victorian lady presiding  over the  many mini items on the mantle top.  I placed a black and white great Dane in front of the fireplace.  He is very BIG but when I tried a smaller dog, I wasn't that happy, so for now he stays.  The fire screen is a red/brown and in viewing the picture, I'm not sure about the color, but I will leave it until the floor boards get laid and the wall paper is applied to the walls.  I want to have ceiling beams as well to really make the parlor feel old and cottagy and the way they will run will be determined by the placement of the fireplace and the picture above it.  It is like fitting a jigsaw puzzle together.

Here is an arm chair that I had once regretted buying!   It is Bespaq  and had a woven insert in the back and sides and I removed them years ago and never could decide what to do next.  I shall upholster them and again I will wait until the other larger elements have been determined.  The tassled green throw, is silk and it was made by a West Coast Canadian lady by the name of  Sally Plunkett.  She used to commute across from the island to the mainland and always carried her mini knitting with her on the local ferry when crossing the inlet.  She earned the name of the "Knitting Lady" and had a business of the same name.  The giant picture above the dresser is called "The Poetess".( The writer theme reinforced.)
The folding screen is to break up the visual line and balance that corner for now, but it will probably not stay for long.  I have to cut the doorway wider and that will affect the station of the screen.  I don't want it blocking the doorway.

I had wanted to have drapes in this room but I think that I shall be rethinking that.   There is not enough room for the drop and it will interfere with the coat rack and the framed oval print on the wall.  These are problems that come with the job. MY desire is for a certain thing and then the house says "NO!"

Are you getting a sense of the personality of the house yet?

I used the toilet bowl freshener basket to make a log holder for the 'driftwood' that it contains.  At Christmas I had it filled with white frosted pine cones and it was pretty but I decided to use an old dried out root, cut down to represent driftwood, from the nearby beach.  It goes nicely with the painted and aged fireplace.  At least I think so!

Here, today, on the west coast of Canada, the sky was overcast and grey, so I decided to simulate the interior of #43, by changing up the lighting and here is how it turned out!
Very misty looking.

I love this shot!  You can see the fireplace the chair  I bought at the Seattle show last year and the dog!  I bought the 2 frosted glass wall sconces from  ROSS'S TREASURE HOUSE, in North Vancouver.
They look Victorian and Napoleon the third.  I am very pleased with the way they look with the fireplace and once the wall paper is up the contrast will make them more pronounced although I will age them up a bit so they are not so shiny.

This is a BIG DOG for such a small house, and it is still just a puppy!  As I've said, I did try a smaller dog and the dog made the room look busy!  This dog is good company and protection for a single woman living alone.  I think that this dog needs a name soon.  Let me think? 
 Now what shall it be.....?

Another shot that I like!

While I ponder a name for the dog, I thought I would give you a closer look at some of the chosen elements so far.  These could all change by tomorrow, mind you, but as of today, here is what I've got.
The silk shawl, by Sally Plunkett
 the needlepoint cushions that my friend Pam Grant made for me, and a pair of chinese silk slippers I made, that I finally have a home for.

The weave of this basket is really very fine.  I have a tiny bit of silk stretched in a hoop  awaiting the skeins of threads and other sewing paraphernalia and the beginnings of a knitted scarf.  These will go into the basket and will sit next to the soon to be upholstered, arm chair.

Here is the 'Val D'or" china tea set, and a green and cream cup and saucer by a Canadian artist, Janice Crawley.  The  faux"capodemonte"
and the blue and white hand painted dish, are by me. 

Lovebirds in a cage are currently hanging above the parlor window!
This may change depending on the season.  I don't want them getting a draft!!!!
They may have to go back upstairs to the bedroom where they hung off the wall.
In the book there was a SaltyTalking parrot, but I think lovebirds are better.

A sewing chest that used to be in " At home by the sea" (a previous doll's house).  An urn and some red paper flowers that look pretty good in it.

The fireplace and 'friends'
I made the French mantle clock and the jeweled topiaries, the 2 tall candlesticks and the tiny square picture in the silver frame.  I would like to have more pictures on the mantle when I get closer to the end.

The firescreen
This does look out of scale and more than likely, it will be changing color.  I think maybe black would be better;  However, it looks bigger in the photos than it does in real life.  Once the color is applied to the walls there will not be as much contrast and therefore the screen will not appear to be as large as it does now.  Color is a big factor in the atmosphere and I try to choose them to tell the story along with the furniture and the accessories.  It all needs to work together.

The basket of "driftwood" 

The fabulous umbrella made by Fatima!  Perfect for when you have to walk the dog in the rain!

These are metal plates from a dresser that I used to own and when I was changing the hardware,
TA DA!  Ceiling medallions!  I gave some to Janinie and you can see how she used hers to great effect on with her hall lantern, at Minworks.  I had so many that I decided to play with the finishes and see what I could come up with.  The one below was the only reddish one so I cut it down and filled in the centre hole with a cut down button which I blended in with the existing metal.  I like it now but later if I feel it is wrong because of the way the room develops I can change it in color or swap it out for something else.

The writing desk with the lamps, sunglasses,  Eiffel tower , a vase of wildflowers and some old letters.

So there it is, a new adventure for me!  After having swallowed my fear of new beginnings and just making a start, I have found a lot of pleasure in what is shaping up to be a very pretty little room!  It will be interesting to see how much of  what you see now, will remain and how it will evolve as time passes and progress is made.  I hope you will continue the journey with me, and come visit me again at
 #43 GREEN DOLPHIN STREET
thank you for stopping by,
I'm glad you did!
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elizabeth