Revised Murphy Bed

This weekend didn't feel particularly productive.  I started out on the wrong foot when I realized my murphy bed frame was too tall for the area I wanted it in.  I had to start over again.

But I did get it figured out.  I had to make it a bit deeper than the mattress box to accommodate the roof stop column.  So I put a few little shelves in it for books and an alarm clock.  I'm debating putting sconces in it but I don't think I will.  I then managed to adjust the mattress box so it would work off a pivot point that wasn't the edge of the frame.

The upper left corner will brush the ceiling but I think it'll still look pretty good.  I stained it the same cherry I've been using on the trim and doors. 

You can sort of see the shelves I put in.  They're pretty narrow in depth but they're more for detail than function.  I'm not sure if I'll panel the wall with some thin boards below the window to give the illusion of a headboard or not.

I need to build a short cupboard to go at the foot of the bed for storage and I'm thinking of using a House of Miniatures kit to make a small bureau that'll serve as a bedside table for a lamp.

I filled in all the little cracks and goofs on the cabinets with wood putty and sanded them down.  I need to figure out their placement and then start work on the backsplash.  I think I've got the spots for all the lights figured out so I'll probably take the house apart pretty soon to cut the routs for the wiring.  Then I can texture the walls and paint.

It's not super noticeable but I also got the bathroom door hung.  It's not permanent, it would just get bumped and messed with every time I took the bathroom out if I'd stuck it on there permanently.

I can also remove it to paint the nail heads bronze if I feel like it.

Not a bad weekend's work but it definitely wasn't my most productive.  Hopefully next weekend will be better.

The only other interesting thing was a picture I came across on Pinterest and thought immediately that it would be a cool dollhouse.  It's the Race Rock Island Lighthouse in New York.

I've never seen one built this way before, with the lighthouse tower being so integral to the house.

I think if I found the right dollhouse kit to bash that it might be a fun project in the future. 

Fixtures & Cabinets

My order from Shapeways came so I could continue my work on the bathroom.  I hadn't wanted to start on the sink cabinet until I had the sink.

I'd ordered Jodi's Exhilarate bathroom fixtures.  The sink, shower attachment and the faucet to go with the sink because they all had that simple right angle look that seems Craftsman to me.  And now I'm kicking myself for not ordering the accessories that match them.  I might still. 

But I made the cabinet to go with the sink out of a Houseworks kitchen upper and added some wood to the bottom to raise it a bit.  Then I painted it with the Americana Oyster Beige.

I painted the faucet and shower fixture with a bronze metallic and then used a black metallic to age it a bit and give them some detail.

Once I was sure everything was dry I added a handle to the cabinet.  I'll prime the pinhead nails and paint them bronze to match.

I had a Houseworks tub and managed to tape it off well enough to prime the faucet and handles so I could paint them bronze to match.  I glued it and the shower fixture into the bathroom.  Then I was able to glue in the trim around the shower and the door frame into place.

It doesn't look like it but the shower head is actually set at six feet from the bottom of the tub.  I need to attach the TP holder to the side of the cabinet and get a few other things in place and then I'll glue in the sink and toilet.

I wanted a wine rack in the house, they seem to be very 'in' these days so I ordered some diagonal crate inserts from D's Miniatures.  I used another Houseworks cabinet upper and left off the door, adjusting the width a bit and made a small winerack.  It'll go in the corner by the back bathroom wall.

I also wanted to dress the cabinets up a bit.  So I added a quarter round to the bottom edges and crown molding to the tops.

I like how it looks, but I need to add some wood putty to fill in a few issues since the crown kept cracking on me when I'd cut it.

Once all the glue is dry I'll do that, sand them and then paint. 

The last thing I've done is begin to build the mattress enclosure and the murphy bed frame for the loft.  So far they look like two open boxes but you have to start somewhere.

Pardon my very messy workspace.  I cannot seem to work without making a mess. 

So that's what I accomplished this weekend.  I'm hoping to get this stuff mostly done and it helps me figure out light placement and I can get cracking on the walls soon.

Hope you're all well!

Almost Ready

I always have trouble with the order in which I need to do things.  I need to paint the walls.  But first I need to texture them.  Before that I need to know where my lights will go.  So I need to know furniture placement.

Battery operated lights can really help with that but I don't want everything run on a battery.  So it becomes this big jigsaw puzzle of where to hide wiring.  I probably made it harder on myself by putting the siding on the outside before I did the lights and wiring but its too late to change that.

So while I was thinking about all that I decided I'd work on the fridge and a couple other things.

For the fridge I started out with the Houseworks kit but quickly got impatient with all the details.  I wanted one of those old fashioned rounded fridges similar to a Smeg fridge and if I kept the hinged doors on the kit I wouldn't be able to do that. 

So I glued everything together and used my dremel to round off all the edges.  Then I painted it a dark turquoise and added poly.  I think it looks pretty good for my first try.

While it was drying I drilled and sanded handholds into the ladder and then stained it.  I like it so far I think. 

I'm waiting on some of the fixtures for the bathroom and until they're in I can't add the ceiling, light or any of the trim on a permanent basis.  So I've been working on the sliding door. 

I started with a narrow door and took it out of the frame which wasn't easy since they aren't made to come out.  The engineering of a barn door isn't easy for me to understand but I endeavored to persevere and came up with this.

I notched out part of the door and put a drawer pull upside down for the interior handle.

A lot happening this weekend.  But the last thing I did was test the kitchen layout with the windows in so I could make allowances for the trim.

I need to move the island in a little bit so it doesn't push into the living area so much.

I think with the small lower cabinet between the stove and the fridge it works.  I was concerned it would be too much color but with neutral cabinets in a pale color and dark floors I think it'll all work. 

In progress is a narrow upper cabinet with a wine rack inside it to go above the small cabinet next to the bathroom wall. I need to make a cabinet to go above the stove as well.  Then I think the kitchen will be ready for paint and the backsplash.

Almost ready to take the house apart again.

So I feel like I've gotten something accomplished for the weekend.

What I Made Today

So last week we had three people on vacation at work.  It made the week very interesting for those of us who were not off.

This week I had Monday off.  It doesn't feel like enough after the craziness of last week but it's better than nothing.

So I decided to do something with the dollhouse with the extra time. 

I'd been going back and forth on how to access to the loft.  I really wanted to do some stairs but there really isn't room for the stairs I wanted to do with the compartments and cabinets under them.

I'd like to do these for another build maybe.

So I started looking for alternatives.  A ladder would be the most practical.  Space saving for certain.  But I didn't want something boring.

I saw this ladder on pinterest and thought a longer version of it would be great for the house. 

 



But of course they don't make anything like this in miniature so if I wanted it I'd have to make it myself.

So that's what I did today.

Now mine isn't as pretty and rounded, and its not stained yet.  I need to drill some hand holds in the sides but most of it is done.

A view through the window by the fireplace.

A view from above the loft.

Laid out flat.

And folded in half.

I attached the extensions to brace it in place while its open but they aren't strictly necessary so I'll end up cutting them down some.  I figure I'll stain it with the same stain as the floors but maybe a touch lighter.  Not so many layers. 

I've got an idea for attaching it to the loft floor.  A set of hinges and then a brace that can be taken up and down to hold it up when the ladder isn't being used.

The only other thing I did was start building my fridge.  I'm still debating about what color I should paint it.  The stove is a dark red.  Maybe turquoise?  Or something neutral?

Quick Opinion Post

I'm trying to decide on the flooring color. 

The samples are sitting on the fireplace mantle and the strip of wood on top of them is the color of the door trim for the bathroom door.

What do all of you think?

From left to right, the first color on the top is Cherry.  On the bottom is Cherry with Red Oak over it. Thin layers of both.  The second is Early American and the third is Red Oak, one with several layers and one with only two layers.

I'm honestly leaning towards the several layers of red oak, a dark color than the built ins.  Though the layers of cherry and red oak are nice as well.  Early American looks yellow to me.

Kitchen cabinets are going to be a cream color, maybe the Oyster Beige?  Keep things in the same color family?  Something neutral and light to brighten up the kitchen corner.  So a dark floor will be a nice contrast.

What do all of you think? 

Kitchen Layout & Bathroom Construction

So before I start to paint, I have to figure out where I want my lights.  And before that I need to figure out the layout.

I mostly had an idea of where everything was going to go.  I just needed to get the particulars down.  So I took all the cabinets I'd made and the stove I bought and got them set up in the kitchen corner.

I actually need to make a fridge and it'll go next to the stove rather than have the little half fridge under the larger window.  But I'm planning on making a little desk to go where the fridge is now.  A nice workspace.

Bathroom walls and you can see how they'll come right up against the fireplace built-in bookshelf.

I'm planning a sliding barnstyle door for the bathroom.  The stairs/ladder to the loft will go next to it, I'm working on a way to have them slide up and down so they don't take up so much floor space.

But in the meantime I had to build out the bathroom.  I'm going with Shannon's suggestion (I think it was Shannon who suggested it anyway) of a room that slides in and out so I can get to everything in the kitchen behind it. 

So basically building a box to go in a box.  And that means making sure the loft floor is level with the ceiling of the bathroom and the bathroom floor is the same height as the rest of the house.  The lighting for the bathroom will have to be powered off its own battery since the room pulls in and out and I don't want to break wires every time I move it. 

But I managed to get it built and a reasonable facsimile of the sink to go with the tub and toilet.

The view from the doorway so far.

And the view from the back opening.  Space saving toilet and a temporary sink.

I thought about using something like this for a sink base but it's too wide I think.

I want something a little narrower so there's room on either side of the sink.

I decided on the beige speckle peel and stick tile floor from Miniatures.com so it won't get too thick.  And for the walls I went with Venus Teal by Behr paint.  I made the shower surround out of tile samples, cutting them into strips so it would look like the wood tile that's so in fashion now. 

I'm not quite sure what color for the ceiling though, maybe the Oyster Beige? I put one coat of paint on the walls so far.  It could probably use another coat.

The bathroom needs some baseboards but so far I don't think it looks bad.

I've been throwing around the idea of some texture on the walls of the rest of the house.  So far the only thing that seems to work is getting some textured scrapbook paper to cover the walls and painting that.  Or using some of the plaster ceiling paper and painting that. 

I had some of the plaster paper so I tested my wall color out on that.  I'm not sure about it.

What do you think?

The color my test sample is on top of is Voyage by Behr paint.  I'm going to paint the ceiling with it.  A pop of color where it's not necessarily expected. 

I've got some can lights coming to use on the ceiling.  They operate off of batteries which I'll hide in the chimney.  And I'm going to make a few sconces to go next to the picture window above the bookshelves. 

I'm planning on using on of these lights in the bathroom.  I have two of them and I'm debating about using one in the entryway as well.  The question is, do I make some lights to go on either side of the bathroom mirror?  Or just have the one light? 

Whatever I use I'll need to hide the battery for it in the sink cupboard since the bathroom lights can't be on the same system as the rest of the house.

Was going through all my lights and found these lamps.  If I turned them upside down and figured some sort of chain to hang them from the ceiling they might work as pendant lights on either side of the bathroom mirror. 

What do you guys think?

The kitchen light is something else I'm working on.  I'm going to try and make a craftsman style light to go on the ceiling. 

Not a bad day's work really. 

Any opinions on the wall texture?  I've tried spackle, texturing it with paper towels, toothbrush bristles and cottonballs but it just seems to crumble when I add paint even though its totally dry.  So the paper on the walls and painting over it seems like my best bet.

Walls Paint Color

We've talked about how I can't do anything the easy way right?

So now that I've got the interior window trim fixed up and stained I started to think about the paint color I want for the walls.  I want something neutral since the house will have quite a few bright colors in the tiles and the fabrics I'm using. 

So I got out my paint and started testing it on the interior wall that comes with the house and put one of the little windows and the fireplace next to my test colors.

I know it might seem like they're all the same but they are different paints.  I was smart this time around and numbered my samples and the matching bottles.

My paint colors are:

1. Pacific Khaki - Behr Ultra
2. Mystery color - Behr Ultra
3. Buttermilk - Americana
4. Warm White - Americana
5. Oyster Beige - Americana
6. Bleached Sand - Americana
7. Coffee Latte - Folk Art
8. Mix of 2 & 5

Here's the window up against the colors:

The khaki seems a little greenish to me, and the mystery color just blends right into the cherry stain.

And the Buttermilk isn't bad but its very yellow looking.

The Warm White is too stark.  The Oyster Beige is the best so far but I'm not in love.

Here the Bleached Sand is just a bit blech and the Coffee Latte is almost the same color as the stain.  No go.

I got my husband's opinion and we both liked the Oyster Beige the best out of all of them, but the mystery color was a close second.

So of course I decided to see what would happen if I mixed them up. 

So of course I like it best.  Creamy and neutral but not boring. At least not to me. 

I painted some other wood samples just to see how it would do, and to have a sample I can bring with me to Home Depot to get it matched.

I still like it.  And I would have just mixed up a bunch of color like I did NOLA House but I don't have a lot of the Oyster Beige and I also don't have all my walls cut out for the bathroom. 

So I think tomorrow after work I'll go to Home Depot with my paints and samples and ask them to mix up something to match it. 

Oh, and here it is with my fabrics. 

It's neutral but its still a color if you know what I mean.

I think it'll look pretty good. 

What do all of you think?