Floors, Windows and Stairs

My weekend didn't start out all that well.  I got home on Friday night and found this.

That's the pigeon on the floor by the way.

So despite there being very little room, The Building Inspector has been leaping from the floor to the roof of the cottage and has been... investigating the dollhouse.  I've come home to find the pigeon in the garden and the spire over the front door gable broken.  So the pigeon has already been glued back on the roof once.  The gable has been broken four times now.

I put the spire and pigeon inside the house and then put the vegetable garden in too.  I fixed the wall.  The glue is still drying.

So I spent part of my Saturday morning trying to figure out a way to get the cottage covered.  Without breaking the spires or the tree.  I'm a little irked actually.  Tali's been getting glared at all weekend.

When I finally did start working on the current projects I did get the railing on the spiral stairs. I used a rounded cord and threaded it through my spindles.

I'm going to paint the whole thing with modge podge to stiffen up the railing.  Then I'll coat it with gesso and paint it metallic black.

Then I started thinking of how I could support my floors with my three story build.  And figured out a way to get the angles for the mansard roof.  I'm going to do a flat roof, similar to my Gothic Victorian, for the book store.  The third floor will have a ceiling height of maybe nine inches and the bottom two floors will have ten inch ceilings.

I'm planning to have a nice plaster ceiling for the second floor.  I have some wood trim that I can paint to look like plaster.  The chandelier will hang from a nice ceiling medallion.  I'll have to change out the chain so it hangs lower but I'm pretty sure I've got some in my stash that will work.

So I got some of my wood lengths and glued them to the edges of my side walls.  They'll look like part of the trim in the store.

I used a piece of scrap wood to make sure I allowed enough room for my second floor.

So I'll run the railing around the opening in the middle of the floor and near the edge of the opening for the stairs.  The support beams are also where I'll put my magnets to hold the walls on.

I was planning on putting actual stairs in the back, to go up to the third floor.  But I'm really debating that.  If I don't put stairs in, I can use the space to put my wires and the transformer.  I can put a false door on the second floor and make a bit more of a landing for the third floor.  That way it looks as if the stairs go up to the third floor.

I think that way I can hide the wires and save myself some trouble.

I also did a mock up of the front elevation with the dormers for the third floor taped in place.  They'll sit a little bit higher up but I like the look of them.

I'll need to cut my top wall to accommodate them, but that won't be too hard.  I want to add some trim too, at the top of the second floor.  Give it a slightly more Victorian look.  I don't want the pediments on top of the windows, I think they'd look too busy.  At least four small ones would.  Maybe a larger one in the middle and two smaller on the side and then something to give the top pizzazz.

I also want to do the edges in brick or stone, something very geometric. Like this:

I love that contrast and it would be fun to do something like that on the corners.  I've seen quite a few buildings that are mostly brick with painted wooden facades.  We'll see.

How are the rest of you doing?