How Things Are & How I Want Them To Be

So this won't be terribly wordy pictures more than anything else...mostly because its been an exhausting week and I haven't gotten much done.  I purchased some flooring for the dollhouse and I'm still working on the roof. 

But rather than show all of you yet more shingles or things that are a little boring without context... I mean really? How interested are all of you in the flooring?  I've got flagstone for the kitchen, marble (fake) for the entryway, dining room and parlor, dark wood for the second floor, and a lighter wood for the third floor.  I like it but really...it makes for a boring post.

So I did something a little different.  Linda (you remember Linda right? The home improvement/carpentry genius?) suggested I could take before and after pictures.  So I've set up the rooms as I'd like to see them and hopefully this will be more interesting for all of us.

So first we have the parlor.  I got out my coffee set and and the treats and trays I purchased as well as the piano I got from my grandmother to set up this room.  It looks a little bare to me but I'm trying to keep in mind that this was the Victorian age with very full skirts and a lot of furniture wasn't practical.

The piano is in between the two windows on the far wall.

I also ordered some baseboards for this room and I'm thinking I'll stain them a nice dark wood.  I was debating having a chair rail or wainscoting and the wallpaper I bought above it.  That's still being debated.  But here are a few more shots.

I love this coffee set, my grandmother had one like it if I recall correctly.

Our triple tray of treats and the parlor stove behind the side table.

The house Siamese rolling around in front of the doorway.

 So next on our tour is the dining room.  I don't have the rug for this room yet, the one I ordered hasn't arrived and the one that came with my dining set is really ugly looking.  But this room has the dark red seat cushions and will have some artwork on the walls over the sideboard eventually.  This is another place I'm debating a chair rail and wainscoting... A lot of work but it would be very cool looking.

See, a little bare without the rug but you get the idea.

The parlor stove is back in the corner, next to the sideboard and china cabinet.  I even grabbed the ham that came along with the table and put it on the sideboard.

A better view of the parlor stove and the sideboard.

Oh, I also had a few things for the entry way.  Nothing major, just a half moon table and mirror along with a coat rack.  I'd love to get a grandfather clock to go next to it but so far the only one I really like is fairly expensive.  Have to see if its worth it in the end.

The mirror is still in the plastic which is why it looks more grey than brown.

Moving on, we'll go up the imaginary stairs that aren't even installed yet and into the master bedroom.  You'll recall I went and got very fluffy with the bedding?  So it's looking a bit more Victorian than the original furniture.

See? Much fluffyness with the bedding.  It's a very female room.

This room has a stove for heat as well, you can barely see it in this picture so I've got some other angles.

I was really excited to find one in blue and white. 

The dresser is a gorgeous piece, carving around the mirror and everything.  It's not exactly the same shade of wood but I didn't want everything matchy matchy.

I found these beautiful little purfume bottles with stoppers that come out!

One more to show the man's wardrobe/chest of drawers.  The rocking chair in the corner doesn't really belong in this room but it filled the space nicely.  I'll find another chair, maybe with a nice cream upholstery for that corner.

See, it doesn't match but the space looks right with a chair there.

And since the master bedroom was soooo feminine I decided the man of the house really needed a library.  I mean he's got a wife and a daughter...he's really outnumbered.  So...Library.  The Victorian version of a man cave.  I'll put prints of horses or ships on the walls, hunting prints or something so that he feels suitably reassured as to his masculinity.  The rug isn't quite right but we'll see how the other one looks when it gets here.

I'm getting him a box of cigars and a decanter of whiskey too.

He needs a nice upholstered chair I think, something to lounge in and pretend he's working.  I got him a globe too, and a lot of books to fill up his shelves.  He needs some paperwork and a newspaper or something...

The globe is pretty cool, it spins and everything.

Next on our list is the girls room upstairs.  She's going to have a green and pink room, mostly because that's where the pink rocker is meant to go and the fabric on her bed has green and pink.  But also because she's a girl and I like that idea.  Not a lot of personal touches here yet.  I may or may not put a cradle in her room with a rag doll... Have to see.  I might be able to make a doll's head out of a wooden bead and a rag body to go with it... That's another project though.

See she has a stove too.  Again the rug isn't quite right. I'm working on it.

Here are a few more angles.  I may take the goofy little table at the foot of her bed out and find a little hope chest for her.  But I like the bed in that spot.  It seems to work pretty well.

Her furniture is pretty nice don't you think?

I need to work on her bedding too... something less white.

So that's the big tour for now.  Obviously the walls will have wallpaper and the floors will go in but all that is for after I get the wiring done for the lights.  That is a huge undertaking that won't happen until I get the roof and all the outside of the house done.

What do all of you think?  Suggestions for me?  Requests? 

Tali is investigating... she doesn't belong in the dollhouse but that doesn't stop her.