Coming Apart at the Seams ( update on the Arthur)

A short while ago, I mentioned that I was working on both the second floor bedroom and the bathroom of # 43.

It was a bit of a challenge trying to decide just what I wanted from this space other than 2 functional rooms.  For one thing, I had to decide where I wanted the walls to be and how much useable floor space would I get for each room.  The window is dead center of the second floor and made things tight for either space but I decided that the bedroom should be the most generous because of the size of the bed and that helped with placing the wall.  But then I needed an additional wall for the hallway.  That again made the spaces more defined but also visibly tighter.  There always seems to be a sacrifice of Something one way or the other so the hallway leading down to the super tight kitchen was made more narrow by the addition of the partition.

Then I had to make templates of each wall, cut them out of mat and/or foam and wallpaper them.   The electrical wires would be strung through them and connected before the actual walls were glued in place and this also included the roof which is just taped together.  I am not very good at measuring and so of course this took a number of different tries before I got it right and that means a whole lot of wasted time and paper.  I had opted to use scrapbooking paper for the floors as well as the walls.  I wanted the look of old linoleum and so I gave the floors several coats of what was supposed to be Clear gloss spray but it had a creamy dry down which was not good for other things I sprayed but Perfect for the finish of the floors.  There is some sheen, but not too much and just a bit yellowed, with age.
The Arthur has a very high pitch to it's roof and that is a plus for a high ceiling but I may have to install a flat bit just so I can hang the ceiling fixtures easily.  Still thinking about that.  Beams  would also be an option and would be consistent with the first floor.....
decisions, decisions.....

This is a closer look at the pattern of the bedroom linoleum floor.
It is big and busy and picks up the colors that I have already used in the soft furnishings on the bed and the drapes for the window and it looks vintage.

this is the space that is designated for the bedroom. NONE  of the Walls, Floor OR the Roof are fixed in place.
EVERYTHING is still loose and easily comes apart, so there are visible gaps and messy seams in all of the photos that you are see now and will be looking at later. 

In keeping with the theme of using the dark wood trims that are so prevalent in the kitchen,  I am doing a test drive to see what they will look like later.   

This is a view of the stairwell looking down towards the kitchen.  The wall is made from 2 layers of foamboard.  On one side I have plastered it to be consistent with the outside wall.  The ceiling of the hall in this photo, is the wallpaper that I had decided to use when I was going to have just a half (pony) wall which would have allowed the sunlight into the bedroom from both the side exterior wall, as well as from the front.   However, I decided to extend the hall wall all the way up to the full height and that changed Everything once again. 

 

So that meant covering over the wallpaper that over-lapped into the hallway that was on the narrow ceiling.

I used Spackle over the ceiling wall paper over that part of the ceiling.  I had to hold the roof section in place, position the wall and then reach inside and draw a pencil line of  where the  inside wall ended and then using a wood strip as guide,  I Spackled up to the pencil line so that it would all meet the corners.  This process is very awkward  because of not having anything secured and firmly fixed in place.  I am just hoping that once the roof is glued down I will not have to reach into this narrow hall and apply patch!

(sorry about the fuzzy photo!)

Again, I had to pre-plan the lighting.  I chose the light for the hall and tested it.  I had to place it where it would be high enough to not be hit with a Head rounding the corner and yet easily changed by the owner when the light burnt out.  That is why there is no ceiling fixture installed, it would be impossible for the mini lady to reach!  I had to drill through the foam board at an angle and feed the wires through to the outside edge and run them down to the floor.  I shall no doubt, have to attach additional feed wire so to run the length under the wall partition and then through the back wall board and through to connect to the tape.
What an obstacle course! 

Now This is the 2nd interior wall and the story here is that, after I papered the front and left wall of the bedroom , I was OUT OF PAPER!  I had used up the third sheet when I was trying out options for the parlor earlier on and had wasted it.  I went to the craft store to buy some more and the pattern was not there.  Indeed, I realized later, that it was originally purchased at a discount store so it was all LONG GONE and so I had to find something that was similar in color ( light coral pink) and not too busy in pattern that would conflict with the patterned lino.  This paper is an over-sized brocade.  It is not a perfect match and is somewhat darker than what is on the other 2 walls, but it is close enough.  I had to just go with it and think of this as another quirky feature of this cottage.  

Now here was yet Another challenge.
In this picture you see the lights that I decide needed to be on this wall on either side of the bull's eye mirror that would hang above it.  Now the problem was how to disguise the wires?  This unit is in the middle of the wall and on the other side is the bathroom wall, already papered and ready to go, so how to make this problem go away?

I chose to hide them behind a panel.   I used a piece of paper and cut it as wide as the panel that the fireplace would be attached to.  I then was able to fold the paper to the angles of the wall and the slope of the ceiling.  This went pretty smoothly.  I used the paper to cut the mat board and then test fitted it and then trimmed it with narrow trim.

I needed to mark where the lights would be and drill the holes that the wires would go through.  I also needed to pace the pin that acts as a nail for the mirror.  

I tested the fireplace in position, Yet Again, this time with the hearth under it!

Then I tested the height of the sconces with the fireplace in situ.  I wanted enough air between the top of the mantle and the bottom of the sconce, but not with the sconce sitting too high, which would have crowd the mirror.  Then I painted the panel and aged it to match the fireplace and then again checked the results.

This is now how I can hide the wires.  This is all still freestanding and waiting  for the wires to be connected before being permanently installed.
What a lot of Work!

Okay, I like the way this looks but  I think after looking at this photo, that something more is needed on the panel above the mirror.  There is too much dead space between the top of the mirror and the top of the trim.   Perhaps something sculpted, might work to bring the eye back down; but what about the door?

Oh, yeah..... the door.
I need to make this from scratch.  Rosethe', at MINIMA blog, just built a door from scratch, for her very first time, and installed it in her wonderful bookstore, so I am encouraged to give it a try too.  But I have to make sure that it will be able to fit within the slope and so I again got a piece of paper cut to size to try out the position of it.  I want this one about a quarter inch, narrower.   

You can see that both things take up a lot of room on the wall.   The door is absolutely necessary of course, but it has to be visibly less massive than the fireplace panel.  That is yet to be worked out,  so stay tuned. 

Meanwhile I  made a coal fire for the fireplace and tested it and it works! I made a fender by the same method as the fireplace; using bits and pieces of scrap metals gluing them together, painting and aging the entire unit.  

I did a test of  the lights just before I made the wall panel.  I needed to see how much light
I was needing now that the left  exterior window was no longer available.  I am going to install a ceiling fixture as well and that will make quite a difference but I am not a floodlight kind of girl.  I like softer and more subdued light but, I think that the bedroom need a little more light than this.  The soft glow reminds me of the inside of a sea shell. The coral pink of the walls is very pretty and the lights make it look warm and inviting.  I have tested the bed and curtains and the area rug with the lights and it is exactly the atmosphere that I was looking for.

At least something is going right!
BUT
 now for the bathroom!

I have chosen this brown and cream stripe and installed it.
But, there will have to be some changes.
I chose the fixture for  the ceiling chandelier and for over the sink. I also chose the mirror.  The problem is that the mirror is so much wider than the available wall space and because the window is dead center of the wall the window trim will cut into the negative space around the mirror and make it look very awkward and even more crowded.  Because of the narrowness of the bathroom, the tub will be placed at the far end of the room and the toilet  will be right next to it  on the left wall with the bathroom door also on the left side of the room, there is no other option for the sink, but next to the window.  This window is where it was originally placed in the kit, but now it is going to be moved over.
I had not expected to have to do this but I see now that it is the only feasible option.  That  means plugging up the opening and re-cutting the wall and also redoing the papered foam board.
sigh

Can you see what I mean? The mirror is way too close.

Now you may be saying, why not just get a smaller mirror?  Good question and I did have one but it looked really odd and besides, I like this mirror!  I tried several different styles, big and small, and nothing but this one satisfied me. I also think that by moving the window over, I shall make future installation of the chimney stack easier, as the parlor fireplace is directly beneath it.
( This hobby always requires thinking 5 steps ahead, doesn't it? )
 There is always something, that will not going as planned.  It bugs me at times, but I am growing to enjoy the challenges, however I hate it whenever I box myself into a corner.  Maybe this is why my hair is thinning!
(smiles)

This shows the light wires threaded through  the foam board

They will be attached and then soldered for good to the tape wire once the window is relocated.

This is the bathroom so far.  The  back lower portion at the far end will be tiled.  That is where the tub will sit.

My very big baroque mirror with the foxed glass

I love the look and the size of it.  It is made of metal and originally had a very shiny gold finish.  It is wired on the back so that it can hang forward ( like the bull's eye mirror ) when once it is on the wall, but as you can see from the photo below the weight of it has taken the wall down.

 and as you see,  these rooms are literally

Coming Apart at the Seams!


elizabeth