Leone gets a FACELIFT

Welcome Back!
Ben tornati!

In my last post, I stated that I would be starting on 
Villa Leone's kitchen.
and I have been.
BUT
It took me a week 
just to empty the entire house of its contents before I actually began. 
Yes, 
there WAS a lot of junk and stuff inside the house, 
but what made me drag my feet 
was because I was reluctant to start on
"the kitchen". 
I was uninspired and the room itself, 
was uninspiring.

Let me preface this post by saying,
 that I'd NEVER  been happy with the designated kitchen space because of the ugly sight-line 
leading from 
the Morning Room 
through the stone arched doorway. 
What you saw was a dark flat window, 
on a useless wall. 
I say "useless" 
because nothing could be placed against the wall 
 under the window,
unless it was moved far back into the corner.  

Added to this gloomy aspect was 
 the darkness of the grilled window alongside the general darkness of the front entry.
mama mia
What was I thinking???

 I liked the wallpaper well enough 
even if
I wasn't thrilled with it, 
and although
I'd considered papering over it, 
deep down I knew that wouldn't really solve anything 
because the problem was still
That Annoying FLAT Window

So with the window staring me in the face, 
I thought I'd tackle that very thing which
I disliked the most

I've always wanted a window ledge,
and so why not try and make one?
 So this is where
Leone's FACELIFT
began.

To make the inside non-opening window 
look more important, 
and to add some interest to a boring outside wall,
I LIFTED OFF THE FRONT FACE PANEL
on the 
 the exterior of the Villa, and then bumped it out 
 a Half Inch. 
I framed in around the inside perimeters of the window opening, then
 around the outside of the frame of the face panel
using lengths of thick balsa wood. 

Then the face panel was re-glued over the exterior opening so that it stood proud from the surface of the  exterior wall. 
 After it the glue had dried, 
the joins and seams were sealed, 
 with some wall putty and paint.

It is now securely re-affixed into place.

I'm sorry that I didn't take any pictures of the process, 
but this is how the front face panel looks now that it is 
 almost finished.
The front looks the same head on
but the profile is better.

This looks far more interesting on the outside 
and 
 it's providing me with an inside window ledge;
Hip Hip Hooray! 

The window and the window ledge 
are still unfinished,
however, 
it was right after I had re-adjusted the window, 
that everything else about this room 
began changing -

rapidly! 

I decided to switch the kitchen door from the left side of the wall to the Right

This new door placement was good on several counts:

1)  It would give me a straight view into the Main Entry from the patio

2) The foot traffic from the garden did not have to pass through the kitchen to get to the rest of the house

3) The kitchen itself would be self contained 

and would look more 

"Old World".

  This was the set-up I decided upon for 
the kitchen interior. 
  I felt happier with this particular arrangement.

However,

 after I'd examined the photo above, 
the thought came to mind that perhaps I should differentiate 
the floor of the corridor 
from that of the kitchen: 

 So I laid down a scrap piece
of tile paper to see how the two floors looked together, 

and I decided I'd go for it

I'll be honest,
I had to do
 then re-do the tile floor  
TWICE. 
☹
The first time I laid the paper down
 crooked.
It was just a fraction off but it.  
 REALLY BUGGED ME 
>< 
I was all out of the original scrapbook tile paper,
 so 
I had to use a photocopy of it 
for the second attempt. 
The photocopy tile was SuperWHITE  with 
a wishy- washy Black.  
So then I had to try and match the tile color with those in the Main Entry... 
ARRRGGH !
><
Well, it is what it is
which is not great, 
so don't look too close,
 okay? 

The tiles look better from a distance
and the view from the staircase window 
Is Much More Interesting
now that there is actually 
Something 
Worth Seeing! 

A 

(rather dark)

side by side shot of
The Morning Room and Main Entry on the left,
 with the passage and small kitchen on the right.

Not sure what to cover the kitchen walls with yet..

The FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE MOCKUPS OF THE KITCHEN

please keep in mind that

everything may ( and probably will) change again tomorrow

PLAY TIME! 

Veggie Basket
was made by Janine
back in the 90's
FINALLY, it will get Pride of Place!

For the tiles behind the stove,
I am thinking to use a photocopy of a
French Rug.
The Baroque pattern and pretty colors are just what I am looking for.
I'm still not certain about if I should have a stove hood or not.
I have an inspiration picture of one which I might try
 anyway,
just so that I can see what it will look like with everything else before I finalize my decision.

The Elizabeth Causeret covered casserole was a gift from Linda when she and Janine were at the
2017 SIMP SHOW
:D
the Roma Tomatoes 
are plastic berries from a
Christmas Wreath

Morrel Mushrooms
were made by Irina Timoshkevich 

of 

Irina Miniatures

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Irinaminiatures

 TheBlackPainted wooden box
 will eventually become 
the fridge and the wine jug on top was a gift which Fats
made me for my birthday last year.  

The fab pottery pieces are more gifts from both Linda Park and
from Fatima

This will give you the general feeling of how the kitchen is developing.
After I build the permanent walls and install the arch,
I shall be adding, cupboards and shelves and perhaps, over head beams as well.
I'll need some additional counter space on either side of the Red Range, 
and 
More Herbs 
for the window sill.

I am using this large"iron" urn as a temporary sink
however the more I look at it, the more I like it.
May have to rethink
The Sink

Next to the sink,
is my new chopping block by
Weston Miniatures

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/WestonMiniature
It's PERFECT!
Thanks Matthew! 

                   Erzebet of Hungarian Miniatures 

                        made the Parmesan cheese and the grater.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/hungarianminiatures?ref=listing-shop2-all-items-count#items

                        Jar of Tomato preserves by

                               Irina Timoshkevich

                                                    Irina miniatures

                     https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Irinaminiatures

Additional Items displayed on the chopping block include:
 pepper grinder, bottle of Chianti, bowl of eggs, the garlic and the whisk made by me.

Janine bought me
the Elizabeth Causeret country style dish
also from the 2017 SIMP show;
I tell you,
I have some of the BEST-EST Best Friends!
:D

The onion and garlic braids were also made by Fats!
:D

The above photo lets you see the temporary set up in the kitchen and how it relates to the Morning Room.
It will all change again,
 when the walls are papered, the shelves go up 
and the light fixture are put in place.

In conclusion:
It was FUN to be able to play with some of these kitchen accessories again, 

especially after all of 
the re-thinking and re-construction.

And even though I'm not finished yet,
I got a good bit done this past week
even if most of it consisted of
 Painting... Painting... and more Painting

miles left to go

but I feel I'm actually making some progress

because to me -

It's looks like someone lives here!
☺

Thank you so much for coming to visit 

I'll see you to your gondola

 goodbye, 
goodbye

until we meet again

♥♥ ♥

elizabeth