Couch Redo, Layout & Curtain Fabric Choices

Okie dokie!

So here's the redone couch.  I followed Kat's tutorial pretty much.  I didn't have any batting but I did have some felt and that worked pretty well. 

I'm feeling better about it and if I try another upholstered kit I think I'll try to follow Kat's method more than the kit's instructions.

I think it came out pretty well this time around.  It looks more like a real couch.

I also did a little work on the attic.  Couldn't find any real insulation to scale so I made do.  It looks decent I think. I'll make some little boards to go across the beams for a few boxes to sit on.

This morning after I was sure the glue had dried I sprayed the paper with some misted water so it'll look like it's been there a while.  At least that's my hope.

I also put a couple walls up and the finished furniture in the front room to test the layout.  It still feels a little tight to me.  See what you think?

See what I mean?  The couch is a bit smaller than the original red couch, but it feels a little tight.  I think a square table that's a bit smaller would help. 

I love my little round table but I think it's too big for the space.  A square one, I could put solidly against the wall and that would leave more space behind the couch.  What do all of you think?

Also here's where the little cabinet I made will go.  I figure put some shelves up over the sink and cabinet for open storage. 

I also took out the fabric I bought for curtains...At least for the ground floor.  So tell me what you think?

I took a picture of the fabric next to the window and wallpaper and then one close up for the fabric.  I'm still looking for other options but these are the choices so far.

So I'm leaning towards the first one for the front room.  The last pictures of the stripes seem a little harsh.  The arabesques look a bit softer to me and I think they might work a bit better.

The greys are pretty, but they look dingy against the black and white toile.  And nothing in the room is really grey so there's nothing to tie them too.

The red is nice, but it's so bright against the wallpaper I'm worried the curtains will be so glaring that they'll compete with the couch.  I do think that would be nice in the kitchen.  Bright enough to look nice against the brick but not so bright that they'd take over the room.

I also took a picture of the front of the house so you could all see how the front door looks against the paint.  I'm kinda pleased with it.  It stands out but it's not jarring.

So I'd love some opinions on the table and curtains.  And if you think the couch works?

So far I'm feeling good about my progress.  One hundred thirty seven days to go.  How are all of you doing?

Giveaway!

So ya'll should go check out Aniela's blog!  She's doing a giveaway of this mouthwatering pavlova cake making scene. 

Rules are on her site and just looking at this makes me hungry!

Must resist going to a bakery.

The Infamous Couch

Okay... So the couch that shall live in infamy began as this House of Miniatures kit.  Forgive my pictures please... I used a cell phone this morning so I could write this up quickly.



I think what really threw me about this kit is that its the first ever that I've tried with upholstery.  The little chairs I made really don't count in my opinion. Square glued down cushions can't compare to the madness that is this kit.

The instructions talk about templates.  You're supposed to draw those from tracing the kit parts.  Yeah... That was...interesting. At least I had some butchers paper I could use.   The directions are also very...well vague. At least to me. I'm used to sewing patterns, that sort of thing.  And if you're going to work with fabric you need to understand how everything is going to fit together.

What a freakin' mess.

But I endeavored to persevere.  (Husband is a big fan of Legend of Josey Wales.)  And I got everything glued to the templates, then to each other and here's the result.  I'm distinctly un-thrilled so far.

The edges at the top bother me.  It's a small area for a lot of fabric.

Ditto with this edge at the bottom

How I managed it I don't know but the edges don't meet up. Might have to get wet and reglue.

And if I'm doing one side might as well do the other.

The top edge doesn't look too terrible.

 So I think I'm going to have take it apart, redo the fabric on the back so the little curves on the sides are nicer.  Because the arms don't cover those edges the way you think they would.

I'm unsure about redoing the fabric on the arms themselves.  I think maybe some piping? And see if I like the edges better then.

I'm wracking my brain on regluing the arms to the base though because I can't figure out how to keep them from moving while they dry.  I tried tape so the tension would keep them in place.  But they have to be tight to the base or the whole thing looks sloppy.

I'm also just wondering if I should try to use one of Kris's tutorials and make a couch from scratch. It might be just as hard but her instructions are at least clear.

Suggestions? Comments? Great thoughts?  Advice?

Please advise!

Shelf Clock & Dining Room

I'm still debating about the curtains... so I haven't put them up yet.  Or even drawn out the design.  I've got some fabric and I'll have to take a few pictures of it so all of you can get an idea of my choices.

So while I thought about that I decided to make the dining room furniture.  I don't want it to look like a set so I made sure they didn't match perfectly.  I wanted the table to look a little newer...though I might still scratch it up a bit.

I started with a kit.

And then painted it black.  I traced a circle in pencil on top of the black paint and another, then filled it in with gilt.  I did the design in the center and along the perimeter of the table freehand...I'm actually feeling pretty pleased with how it looks.  And I used a black metallic paint to fill in the circle around the design and make the waves on top of the gold, as well as from the gilt outwards to the edge, just to give the table some different sheens.

The different blacks don't show as well as I'd hoped, at least in the pictures...

I finished it all off with gloss poly.  I might take some sandpaper or a nail file to the top and 'antique' it a little then repolish it.  It still looks a little new for my taste.

For the chairs I stared with another kit.

I wanted four so I just did two kits at one time.  The fabric was one of the possibilities for the curtains, but I think it's better on the chairs.  Red, but not super bright.

I painted the chairs black, then tried a red wash over that but it just made the chairs look brown.  Not what I wanted.  So I went over them with black again and added some dark red to the edges and inside the chair backs.  That gave the illusion of red chairs painted black and worn on the edges and corners.  It's not easy to see on camera but I know its there.

Then I just took a little bit of gold and dry brushed it on a few spots, as if there'd been a design that got almost completely worn away.  I smeared it around with my fingers and then took most of it off with a cloth.

Then the gloss poly again. 

And here's the whole set of chairs and table together.

I also worked on a cabinet for the kitchen.  It's small enough that it'll fit next to the sink and with a few additions I made it tall enough to be a regular counter height.  It even has a toe kick area.  This was another kit, but I threw the box away before I remembered to take a picture of it.

I painted it the red you see inside of the drawer and cabinet and then painted black over it, using a stiff brush so the paint would scrape through to the red.  So it looks worn and old (hopefully).

I used different drawer pulls and silver head pins as my nails and then painted the knobs that came with it for the cabinet doors.

I also finished my shelf clock kit.  I painted it black and then painted and painted this thin red over it.  When that was finally dry it had that nice lacquered look you get with old furniture.  Then I added the gold paint I'd bought.  I'm pretty pleased with it.

I'm working on a couch, but it's slow going.  I need to make some trim like Kris's tutorial so the edges look pretty.  The kits are very vague on how to measure for the templates and how to make everything nice and even.  I don't want to scrap all the progress I've made...

I'll have to show you all when it's done.  Maybe I could go over some of the edges with a nail file or some soft sandpaper and make everything look frayed and worn.  An old beat up couch? Rescued from the Goodwill Store?

With some of Brae's gorgeous cushions on it and a nice throw?

Window Hardware Revised

This weekend wasn't as productive as I'd hoped.  While I did get the straight black florists wire I needed, it took a while on Saturday to pry off the glued in hardware and then carefully remove the excess glue from said hardware.

But I persevered and by Saturday evening I had the windows all done.  See?

The next step is cutting out the trim for the interior and I've gotten some of that done but not all. 

I also glued in the heat registers.

I started on some furniture too since I had to wait for stain to dry before I could glue the window trim in.

I bought a gorgeous little shelf clock from Cynthia Howe Miniatures and I've started putting it together.

I'm going with a black undercoat, with a red wash over it and gold gilt. 

I had to go by Hobby Lobby yesterday to get the gold paint.  I didn't have any for some reason. 

I'm also working on some kitchen cabinets but they're no where near picture ready.  So this is going to be a short post. 

Hope everyone else's weekend went well.