Sunday, September 11, 2016

Bathroom Fixtures

This was my first time with the Chrynsbon kit of any type and I was fairly nervous.  But thanks to some very good advice about glue and a lot of patience I managed to get everything put together and painted.  The glue worked great!



I was a bit stumped on how to age the pieces but since the glue tends to slightly melt the plastic I decided to get out my cinnamon and sacrifice an old brush to the cause.

I added some glue to the brush, dipped it in cinnamon and then applied it to the appropriate parts of the sink, toilet, pipes and tub.

I think the hardest part was getting the pipe on the toilet tank to the toilet bowl in place without it leaning sideways or backwards. 

I used a slightly off-white paint with a pearly sheen to it on the sink and inside of the tub to make it look like old enamel.  The braces and tub feet I painted black and then black metallic over them.  And I aged the faucets with some dull silver paint before I added my 'rust'.

I really didn't like the faucets for the sink that came with the kit and I had an extra of the type below so I used it.  Just a little different but still old looking.  The drain plug and rim are a small silver brad with the prongs clipped short and a little silver washer.






Red and blue on the faucets so we know which is hot and which is cold.

I've made water intake pipes so the rust on the bottom of the sink would come from faulty connections.


They have some 'rust' too.  Basically everywhere there's a joint or connection there's rust. 




So rust along the edge of the tub, on the bottom where maybe the beginnings of a pinhole leak will be and a couple of patches on the side as well as around the drain and faucets.

I painted the drain hole black and added a small metal washer for the drain rim.

I clipped the chain for the toilet pull in half and used part of it for the chain to hold the drain plug.  The plug is a small piece of cork and a jewelry finding.


After I attached the drain plug I added the red and blue to the faucets so we'd know which is hot and which is cold.

When I was sure the glue (with and without cinnamon) and the paint was dry I poured some coffee into the tub to make it look a little more aged.

I decided against making the medicine cabinet.  I want to find a small mirror and paint the frame something bright and cheerful, maybe white with green or yellow to go with the wallpaper.  I'm debating about making the stool and I don't need the radiator. 

The toilet was...problematic, the issue with making everything connect properly and having it all line up.  But I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.






I wanted a lot of rust down the back of the toilet and around the bottom since that's where water would pool if there was a leak and that's also where the raw edge of the enamel would be. 

The one thing that bothers me is that there aren't any visible bolts holding the toilet to the floor.  So I may make a slight notch in the side of the toilet and make a little bolt in black for the sake of appeasing my OCD.

My other project this weekend was a small shelf to go under the window.  I took one of the House of Miniatures kits and added some wood to the bottom where it would sit on a chest of drawers and then added some trim before painting it white with a green back to the shelves.

It just fits under the window behind the door.





And then I did a little test run of all the fixtures in place.  I think it'll work out pretty well... I made sure the toilet is pretty much across from the tub, not opposite (or next to opposite) of the door.  And I notched out my chair rail.

A slight side note.  Am I the only one who goes around the house measuring how tall the counters are in the bathroom to make sure the sink in the dollhouse is the right height from the ground? (It's 32 inches by the way.)




The water intake pipes won't be added until I glue the fixtures in place.  Since they're metal and the fixtures are plastic I'm not confident of them staying in place without benefit of glue on both ends, not just attaching them to the fixtures.

I think it looks pretty good.  I want to make a shelf above the bathtub, I've got another Chrynsbon kit for accessories that would be nice to use some of.  For a while I really debated putting in a shower head but I don't think I want one and the shower curtain and curtain rod that it would require.

This coming week and weekend will be my time to start on the kitchen counters.  My granite paper has to come from Greece so it will be a little while before I can really finish the counters but I want to get the base made and the uppers as well.

Maybe after work tomorrow I'll play around with the living room furniture again.  That could be fun.

12 comments:

  1. Brilliant idea on how to age it!! Well done... definetly not the kind of bathroom I would like to use ;-))

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    1. LOL This is what happens when you buy a house and get it fixed up one room at a time. Rusty doesn't mean its dirty though... I'd like to think the lady who bought it knows how to clean. In fact I've got a bunch of cleaning supplies for under the kitchen sink!

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  2. how lucky can she be? get them to her fast... lol

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  3. It drives me crazy when people distress in random spots without a reason for why a spot gets worn.
    Your rust is very realistic looking. A bit heavier than I was expecting to see, but done well in the right places.

    Your paint job is impeccable too. What kind of paint did you use?

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    1. Oh no...I can't stand that either... I wanted to be sure it was realistic. It is heavy...I want to live with it a few days and if I think its too much I'll get a little emery board and remove a layer or two...

      I used Americana acrylic paint on everything and then just did layer after layer of it. Once I'm absolutely sure everything is how I want it to look I want to find a spray on finish that won't effect the textures... I've noticed that without it the paint tends to rub off a bit.

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  4. The fixtures look great! You are getting really good at this ageing stuff! Shipping from Italy takes about 10 days to get to me. Maybe you are quicker because you are not in the northwest 40.

    I have to address one problem, though - not with the build, but with the subliminal influence it is having on me. Your living room paper - I totally bought it for my bathroom not realizing that it was your living room paper. I have the Chrysnbon bathroom kit to use and even bought the Elf faucet to replace the kit faucet, too. Even before you used and posted about them. I fear we are all psychically connected somehow and influencing each other's projects! It's good because I love everyone's work, but it's bad because we all look like we are copying everybody!

    Anyway - rock on Sheila! This build is awesome!

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  5. Thank you! I'm not sure about the thickness of the rust yet...I'm waiting to see how I feel about it after a week or two. But I am pleased with the color and realistic look of it.

    LOL... that's awesome! But somewhat expected... I love that toile look wallpaper and can't wait to see it in your bathroom. Brae's Haunted Heritage has completely influenced this house because of how wonderfully aged hers looks. She's been very kind to not accuse me of blatant copying.

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  6. Hi Sheila, agreeing with the other comments - you are becoming the master of aging techniques! Also, good on you for jumping in and trying these things. It's really paid off. The shelf under the window is a great idea and will be perfect for holding all the mini towels and ladies' essentials!

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    1. Thanks! I was really excited by how it was working. Of course my whole house smelt like cinnamon for a while. And coffee... Hmm...I wonder if I added cinnamon to the coffee if I could get a little aged ring around the tub...

      An experiment for another day.

      Thanks! I was really pleased with how the shelf turned out. Now to try my hand at kitchen cabinets.

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  7. I bet the cinnamon makes the model glue smell better too! What a great idea, it looks very realistic!

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    1. Thank you! And yes, it totally helps with the smell of the glue.

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