Wainscoting and Wallpaper

I hope everyone is doing well!  Still enduring this quarantine with as much grace as we possibly can.  My 'wallpaper' arrived and while it looks a bit lighter than I was hoping I love the pattern so I decided to go with it.

An odd view really. I don't know what I was thinking with the camera.

And I managed to figure out the wainscoting for around the windows and side walls.  They look good together.  A nice contrast, the dark wood and the lighter walls.  I'm covering the windows up with the drapes and sheers so I'm not adding a ton of trim around them.

I had to let the glue dry and so I started to work on my sconces for the fireplace columns.

I started with these:

And because they were so beautiful and bright and shiny... You know I couldn't leave them like that.  I primed them and added black and then a dull gold before I added them to the fireplace columns.

I also glued my floor into place.  That was a little tricky and I had to reposition a bit more before the glue dried but I got it done. Yay.

I glued the doorknobs onto the door and I also added the door knocker but I'll have to show you that another time.

The left wall is the one with the fake window so it's missing it's middle panel.

I also got to work on my desk and the bust of 'Pallas'.  The desk I stained with the Dark Walnut but I also used Ebony stain and Sharpie marker to give it darker streaks.

Oh, and since I wanted a lamp on the desk I got this one:

 and gave it the same treatment as the sconces.  I think it looks good on the desk.

I got the 'bust of Pallas' from FiguresTop a shop on Etsy.  It doesn't come with a stand so I found one of my little wood caps and sanded it so it would act as a stand.  I was very careful about waiting for the glue to dry before I touched it.

It starts out as plastic so I primed it and then gave it the same stone treatment as the fireplace. The stand is 'stone' as well so I used a screw in the bottom to hold it with while I painted it.  That's why it's sitting on the ribbon spool. The screw goes down the middle so the paint doesn't rub off.

I had to make a pedestal so I got the leftover dowel from the stairs of the WQRC and cut it down.  I used some matboard to make a some trim at the bottom and some woodsies at the top.  Then I painted it with browns and some black to give it a wood look.

I added semi-gloss poly to the bust and high gloss to the column then once they dried glued them together.

It's slender but its not obtrusive.  And it's the right height for the raven to sit on top of it and tap at the door.

Then I started to work on my 'embers'.  I got some of my black beads and a plastic rectangle bubble from the doorknobs and coated it with glue then dumped the beads on top.

Once they dried I added some of the coal I'd gotten a couple years ago.  The idea is to have the fire effect bulbs under the plastic and give that glow of dying embers through the coal.

The glue will dry and then I'll make sure the fire can be seen through the coal.  I did get a small brass fireplace guard and that will hide some of the less pretty coal.

I'm pretty pleased with my progress so far.  I'm going to go through my books and get some added to the shelves.  I really want to have a dome with a heart on display under it... I'll probably borrow a black cat from the WQRC.  My husband printed out the 'paintings' of Poe and his wife so I'll try to get them onto the fireplace soon.

I'm making a list of things the chamber should have.  A cask of Amontillado, a black cat, a purloined letter.  Any suggestions?  I need things from Poe's stories or poems.  So I'll be doing a lot of reading for research.  Big hardship since I love reading.

Have a great week.  I really am grateful for all of you making me feel connected to the world and hope you're all staying safe and healthy.

Rather than try to fill the shelves after I've glued them in I'm waiting to glue them in until after I've added the books and curiosities.