Saturday, September 30, 2017

Ecomony Size Shampoo?

I was very excited to find some Rement shampoo bottles on Ebay.  They arrived yesterday and I got to open them today and test them out in the bathroom.



With the pumps on the bottle tops I thought they'd be bigger than an average sized shampoo bottle.  But I'm trying to decide if they're too big?  I have huge shampoo bottles in my bathroom. (Long thick hair = handfuls of shampoo and conditioner.)

But do they look out of proportion here?




It could be due to having one on either side of the faucet.  I could put one on the opposite end of the tub instead.

What do you think?

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Crown Molding, Flooring & Front Door

Much craziness at work this past week and more to come this week as we are moving on Friday.  During all of that I'm trying to get new contacts fitted during a lunch hour and everything has just been... Well...

I don't like non specific things.  I like a good solid plan that I can keep in mind when I'm adjusting my routine.  It's hard to deal with deadlines when you don't know how much time you have remaining.

So its been nice this weekend to not think about it and just work on the dollhouse.

I mentioned that I wanted to put some crown molding in around the ceiling of the flat roof.  So with a little research I figured out how I wanted it to look and how to make it.  Craftsman trim is mostly right angles. Very few curves or diagonals.  Crown molding also tends to extend over the ceiling somewhat which looked interesting to me.

Like so.


So I got some corner trim and wood lengths and glued them together.




I also decided to extend the trim along the edge of the ceiling.


I've added the lower part of the trim on the back wall of the bathroom and across the front so it looks cohesive when the bathroom is in place.


Lots of miter cutting and bracing to make sure everything stayed in place while the glue dried.

I glued the doorknobs on the front door and then decided I wanted the exterior to have some additional detail.  Again, scrap wood, sanded to look like metal and pieces of toothpick inserted into drilled holes and painted with black metallic paint.



Then I glued it into the front wall and put the trim on the inside.  I'm actually happy with how it looks.






You can see my light switch now too.

I got the flooring for my loft cut, stained and glued in.  I used the red oak again, but this time without the cherry over it.  I think it turned out nicely.



I think the little chest works nicely with the lamp.  The blues play off each other.

Then I just needed to get the edge trim cut and installed.  I'm really happy with how it looks.




More miter angles.  Stained with cherry so there's a little difference between the trim and the floors.

I've got my ladder and I'm just trying to find my bronze or black wire to attach it.  I put it somewhere and now I can't find it.  Drives me nuts when I do that.  I'll figure it out.

Working on adding some of the trim to the outside of the house. I've got most of it painted white and I'll glue it on later today or next weekend.

Still haven't routed out the wire channels on the roof yet. I really need to do that before I vacuum.  We'll see.  Still thinking about roofing material.  I'm leaning towards wood shingles.  Knowing me I'll probably debate right up until I start gluing the roofing on.

Hope everyone else's weekend is going well!

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Lights! Camera! What Comes Next?

Hey!

Really quick post here.  I just got my custom lights hooked up and they work!  Very exciting here. (And a relief, I won't lie.)

Just a couple of phone pics but you get the idea.



Thankfully the slight angles on the kitchen fixture can be easily moved.  The wires hold them in place when they get bumped but they'll stay straight once I move them back.



I need to get some more batteries and then I can test the rest of them.

Have a great day!

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Towels & Shower Curtains, Among Other Things

I spent some more time arguing with the hinged wall but thankfully without having anything go too terribly wrong.  I think part of the issue is how I set the hinges in.  Next time I'll just adjust the join of the wall and put the hinges on the outside to be covered by the siding.  I'm also going to do a very thorough search for some long skinny screws so they don't pull out so easily.

But this weekend I put some thought into the bathroom and how cluttered I actually wanted it.  I want a few things of makeup and a comb, toothpaste and a toothbrush.  Our Tiny House dweller is a fairly minimalistic person.

I bought some velour in an ivory color and cut it up to use for towels and a wash cloth.  So far I like how they look.



Light enough to contrast with the walls, trim and floors, but not clashing with the fixtures.  Oh!  Yeah, see? I glued the fixtures in.




Also the buttons to flush the toile and the shower curtain.

I made the shower curtain out of a piece of plastic that I crumpled, hot ironed on the edges and then glued into place.  The curtain hooks are black wire and the curtain rod is a chopstick, cut to length and painted bronze.

I thought about making a cloth shower curtain but I'd have to match colors or do a neutral like the towels and honestly, I wanted the clear.  That's what so many people have because it lets light into the shower.

 I got the waste basket, soap dish and cup from Miniatures.com in the Bargain Basement.  I like the black to play off the aged bronze hardware.  I added a few tissues and things to the waste basket just to make the bathroom look lived in.


Along with the flush buttons for the toilet I got light switches and my faucet for the kitchen.  So I painted them all a pearl sheen and glued them into place.  I wanted one on the outside of the bathroom, to turn the light on before you go in the room.


One to go near the sink for the lights overhead.
 

You can see my kitchen faucet here too.  I primed it, painted it black and then used the bronze paint over the black to give it an aged bronze look.  I actually like how it looks better than the last one because it's darker.

And there's a light switch just inside the front door.  You won't be able to really see it with the window bench built ins in place but I'll know its there.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of it too.  I'm sleep deprived this weekend for some reason.

I didn't want baseboards to interfere with the built ins, but I did need them in the few places I don't have cabinets against the walls.  So I got them cut and fitted to the bathroom walls and the spot between the fridge and the hall tree under the window.



They make the house look more finished to me.  I only have one more piece, to go under the desk in the kitchen and I'll do that in a bit.

A little liquid soap/lotion dispenser came with the bathroom accessories and since my homeowner doesn't have a dishwasher I put it near the kitchen sink for lotion after washing the dishes.


In order to keep from bumping and possibly breaking the porch light I've been keeping it covered with the plastic shell from its package.  So far it seems to be working.


I glued the bathroom ceiling in and its still drying, but I got the battery hidden in the cabinet and everything still looks good to me.  What do you think?


I did one last thing for my tiny home owner before I started to tell you all about it.  Now I just need to get her some wine to go in the glasses.



I've got some wine bottles.  I'll have to slot them in so my homeowner doesn't loose her mind during construction.

See what I mean about the area under the desk?  It needs a baseboard too.  And maybe a bit more paint.  But still, progress right?

I need to measure out how big a base I'll need and figure out my landscaping once I get my porch built.  I really ought to make a list.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!


Sunday, September 10, 2017

Walls, Lights & Window Treatments

This weekend I wanted to finish reading a book I'd started Friday night so I did a lot of things that required time lapses in between, at least on Saturday.

The first was getting the paint on the front wall and then getting it glued in.  That was actually pretty painless.  A few bad moments with dripping glue but not so bad.


Obviously the trick was to make sure it was weighed down enough for a snug fit without gluing the hinged wall in place.

Then the next big step was gluing the lights for the ceiling and entryway in place.  I'd decided to use some of my plaster paper for the flat ceiling so I had to cut out a few areas. I don't have good luck with glue and lights adhering well to the plaster paper so I've found removing the paper in the areas where the lights will be is best.  That seems to have worked out pretty well.


The plaster paper is an off white with a bit of taupe in it and I like how it goes with the walls.  Not as stark as white would be but still light enough for a ceiling.

When the glue was pretty dry I began the process of gluing the ceiling in and getting the wire from the kitchen wall fed through the hole in the ceiling near the wall.  It was a little tricky but I managed it.

While that glue was drying I read my book some more.  It wasn't a bad morning really.

I'll admit to doing a few things out of order.  I really should have done the curtain for under the kitchen sink and the window shades before I glued the roof in but thankfully the house is pretty open without the main roof.   So I did that this morning.


The curtain is a little bright in comparison with the tiles but I think with the island in front of it a bit it won't look quite as glaring.


Here's a wider look and you can see my lights in place.  I'm really kind of excited about how they turned out.  I think I'm going to end up putting some sort of Craftsman type crown molding around the flat ceiling just to hide where the roof meets the walls.  I weighed it down but I don't like the way it looks.

I didn't want any really fussy or fancy window treatments.  They didn't seem to go well with the Craftsman look and I'd spent so much time on the interior window trim I didn't want to distract from it.

Brae had suggested simple rolling shades and so I started looking through my fabrics and scrapbook papers to see what would suit.

I got one of the spare beads to compare colors and luckily got a nice little patch of sunlight which always gives me a true color match.


It's a textured scrapbook paper from Best Occasions.  And I've had it forever!

Again if I'd been thinking I would have done this before I glued the windows in but I got my measurements and managed to make some rolled up shades.

They turned out pretty well I think.  The glue is still drying but I've gotten them in pretty level.


Here's a couple pictures with the kitchen furniture, island and entry hall tree in place.  You can see my front wall sconces as well.  It's turning out pretty well.

I made one mistake when I glued the upper wall in, I forgot to drill a channel in the wall or make one in the top of the flat roof for the wiring for the kitchen light.  Thankfully its balsa wood on the bottom of the wall so I think I can fuss with it some and make sure everything is level and plumb before I put in the flooring.


You can't really see it with the flooring hiding the wiring but I know its there and it'll bother me if I don't do something about it.

I glued the ceiling braces in place too and tested out the roof.  Need to paint them too.


Nice view of where the murphy bed will be.


Here we get a rough idea of how it'll look in the end.  Obviously a few things need touching up.

Since I was dry fitting the ceiling I decided to map out my little can lights.  I drilled holes for them and in a bit I'll rout out some channels for the wires.  Then I just need to figure out my roofing.  I'm really not sure what I should use.


The square marked out on the roof is where the chimney stack will end up. I didn't want to have a light too close to it.

I do need to stain the interior trim for the skylight.  I'm toying with the idea of going with the red oak to reflect the flooring but I think the cherry I've been using would probably be safer.  The outside will end up being black metallic I think.

Any suggestions for roofing?

We're tracking Hurricane Irma here since I have family near Pensacola and we're hoping it misses them.  Stay safe everyone.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

A Couple More Steps...Forward This Time

So after yesterday's setback I managed to get the wall reattached to the hinges.  And while the glue was drying (again) I started work on the interior chimney.

I just used balsa wood and braced it on the inside before texturing it and then painting it.  I got it glued to the fireplace and taped into place against the wall.  The biggest problem was making sure it stuck to the wall and not the floor.  It'll swing out with the wall when I open it.


Very glamorous looking right?

I glued most of the windows into the walls, making sure everything fit properly and gluing them in.  The outer trim isn't glued in yet but I like how the windows look inside.

I actually painted the chimney with the mystery paint which is a shade or two darker than the walls.  It doesn't really show in the pictures very well. 


That all took some time so in between all the steps I started working on a hall tree.  It's not going to be a built in, but it's a place to put coats and shoes and what have you inside the door. 


This is before I got it painted. 


Here it is with the paint and hardware.

And it'll go in this corner.


It's not deep enough that it'll run into the door trim but it's large enough to make the space look like it's not empty.

I painted it Oyster Beige because I didn't want it to be the same color as the kitchen cabinets but I wanted a neutral shade.  The bronze hardware still shows up and everything goes nicely with the floors.  When the paint is completely dry I'll add some short legs to the bottom.  That'll make it a little over six feet.

I've got to glue the front of the house on next and then I can get the ceiling over the kitchen and entry on.  But before I glue on the wall I need to add the front porch light and get the wiring all hidden.  Without breaking the porch light.  That won't be easy.  But I think I've got an idea.

Wish me luck and Happy early Labor Day everyone.