Thinking About the Setting

As I've been working on the tower at home, I've been mulling over the setting for the cottage while I'm on break at work.  Mulling involves lots of looking on the internet for landscapes in England and Ireland and debating what sort of detail I want on the base of the cottage.

I'd mentioned I wanted to do something with water, because I fell in love with several pictures and I could totally picture my WQ retiring to her cottage by a river or lake.  You remember this one I'm certain.

The stone is something I'd like to recreate, and I tried to get close with the ground floor of the tower.  This looks like stacked stone though, rather than something with mortar.  So I'll be thinking that over for a while.

But that water and the reeds/grass growing up from the shore's edge! Love love love!

And then I found this:

This is actually in Bruges.  But I still like it.  The water coming right up to the houses and those swans... want!  Don't know that my setting will run to swans but they're very pretty. 

And in order to pull all of this off, I need to learn how to deal with water, how to paint the base so it looks like a realistic river under the resin (or whatever it is) water and just how built up I'll need to make the base so it doesn't look like the water is two inches away from the ground floor.

There's something about it that I really like though.  I'm not sure what.  Maybe it's the romance of it, a cottage with a tower next to the water.  Or I feel the need to challenge myself and tear my hair out trying to figure it out and keep the cats from messing with it.  Because I also wanted to try and make a tree for the front garden.  And stone walls to surround it on at least two sides with a wrought iron gate.

No, I'm not ambitious at all!

One last inspiration shot, this one from England, the Lake district I think?  I don't want the house that far above the water, but I do like that stone and the plants growing out of the wall.  Plus the colors, those greens under the surface... I like!

Oh, Betsy was right, a window like this:

Is called an oriel.  Funny, the caption on this pinterest pic refers to it as an oriole.  Slight difference in definition there.  But I guess that's what it's called regardless of whether it's attached to a turret or a wall.  This one is really pretty but a little too ornate for me.

The other thing I've been thinking about is a dovecote.  Which a lot of times were put on the gables or a house if they weren't in a separate build of their own.  This is pretty cool.

But I don't want it over the doorway or anything so if I do make one, it would be mostly hidden on the back side of the house or a separate build entirely.  Not sure on this one.  It's very cool though and pretty popular on Tudor houses that were owned by nobility.  Apparently peasants weren't allowed to keep birds.  Learn something new every day.

I'm still wondering if I could pull off a shorter version of this.  Don't know if I could or not.  But I can't let go of the idea of having water involved somehow.

Like this:

Did I say no more inspiration shots?  I lied.

The castle looks so romantic! 

And the reflection of the house in the water! Gorgeous.

So I'm still working on it.  Mentally anyway.  And I'm keeping my eye out for tutorials.  There are some products out there that seem easy to use and non toxic which is good.  But I'd still need to figure out how to paint a realistic looking river/lake bed.

I'll keep thinking.