Furnishing the Willowcrest

My Willowcrest has been sitting vacant for quite some time. I got the itch to play the other night. I have almost all of my minis boxed up in the spare room, so finding the right furniture can take a little time. Sometimes it wants to be old fashioned, sometimes it wants to be current.

The bathroom was easy.  I have a resin set with flowers that matches the wallpaper so well.  I added a desk that I repainted ages ago and my mom put the Robin Betterley medicine chest on top like a hutch. Why didn't I think of that? It was a cute little change, but now I need a different mirror for the sink!

I filled up the bedroom. I had to put the rose bed in.  I dressed the bed and embroidered the tiny pillow. It was my first attempt at embroidery from about 10 years ago. The furniture is mostly House of Miniatures kits that I assembled and finished in my spare time back in college.

A few things moved around, trying to find the right spot.  These two pieces from Oldham Studios went in the attic for a little while.

I had to play in the kitchen,especially since breakfast was already being served in the dining room!

It was fun to just play in my own dollhouse for a change. I'm getting little bored with Haley's Barbie condo and the limited Barbie-size furnishings and decor!  I like pink, but I can only handle so much of it!

Shabby Chic Dining Table

One of my coworkers cleaned out her garage and storage areas.  She gave me two boxes of miniature things. Inside was a real treasure trove! There were books, magazines, some furniture, accessories, DMC floss, needles, fabric, and beads.

There was one particularly cute dining table with broken legs. It was calling to me to remake it. Yes, it needed rehab. It told me that it wanted a new look, it wanted to go shabby.

First, I had to make a new leg. I carved it from a scrap of wood I had from a previous project. I glued all the legs back on.

Second, I found a tube of Nutmeg Brown paint that almost identically matched the base stain and painted the new leg.

Then, I cleaned the rest of the table. It had mini-hold residue and plenty of dust. Next, it got a coating of Wicker White acrylic paint. After it dried, I lightly sanded down the paintbrush marks and lumps.

It was already looking pretty good!

Haley declared that she loved the table and that it should be pink.  After a bit of contemplation, I agreed that distressed pink would be great! I gave it a wash of very pale pink, then sanded it again after it dried.  It needed more distressing and age coloring.

After smudging some watered down blackish-brownish paint into the crevices, it really started to look just right. I sanded down various places for wear and tear. Some very watered down black mixed with brown paint went into the corners.

Then, the table top just wasn't right. I had put this one away for a while and come back to it.  I decided to marbelize it. After a bit of wicker white, off-white, dolphin gray, taupe, and some thinning agent later, I had a pretty decent looking marble job. I used some clear gesso on top of the marble paint, lightly sanded it down to smooth out ridges and lumps, then finished with matte varnish.

Voila! I'm finally happy with this table! I also managed to put some furniture in the Willowcrest and make a nice scene to show it off.

(French toast, napkins, tray, and blueberry pie were by Kim Saulter.  Nutella by LugArt Petit. The jam and other tarts are from sources unknown.)

The Willowcrest House

Today, I wanted to share the first dollhouse that I built. Mom and Dad got me the Willowcrest kit for Christmas when I was 14, which was way back in 1992. Mom helped me get it started.

We really didn't have any idea what we were doing. We opened the box, wrote piece names on everything, punched out the pieces, and tried to follow the directions. It was a valuable learning experience.

Here are some shots from Christmas 1992 through January 1993. We began the shell build.

Mistake #1 We used hot glue at first. It was lumpy so I had to shave down the lumps with a utility knife. Then we used tacky glue for the rest.

Mistake #2 We didn't sand everything like crazy or make sure that things fit together so they were square.

Mistake #3 We assembled the shell and then realized we had to put up wallpaper. It has really awkward spaces that we couldn't reach at that point.

However, it wasn't the end of the world. We figured things out. To make the best of the awkward staircase, I simply finished off the wood with polyurethane. I tried a funky paper flooring to look more contemporary than antique. Mom also showed me a fun wallpaper technique using torn up brown paper bags decoupaged right onto the walls that simulate leather. I also used a metallic gold paint on the door and window trim in the entry and upper hall.

After a while, Mom got busy doing mom stuff. I was always busy doing teenager stuff. Somehow I'd find a little time here and there to do things.  It took a long time to make noticeable progress. There was a long span where the house was pretty much just sitting in my room with no siding.

One day I saw a show on PBS, New Yankee Workshop, I think. Yes, I used to watch home improvement shows on PBS as a teen. I was weird. Moving on.

That episode of New Yankee Workshop showed this amazing sunburst siding pattern on a shed. I loved it! So that got me fired up to get the siding on the house, just so I could make the sunburst.  After I put the pre-made trim on the barrel roof, it covered up part of the sunburst. I decided if I ever do go back and redo the house in the future, that trim is gone. This picture is from about 1995 or 1996.

After I moved out for college, I found time to really get actively into miniatures. I finished the house when I was 20.  It took me 6 years, start to finish. The thing is, I didn't want to rush. I still made mistakes, but then other things turned out beautifully.

This is the house today. It normally lives on top of the tall chest of drawers in my bedroom, unfurnished.

 I used walnut flooring in the living room and the attic. I also trimmed out the inside of the little attic windows with the walnut flooring.

In the kitchen, I used paper flooring, then used real bricks with cement to make the stove wall and trim around the window and doors.

The bathroom got preformed pink vinyl sheeting that looks like tile. This was the first room I wallpapered. I was very pleased that I managed to get the size right.  I still added baseboard and corner trim to give it a bit more detail.

The bedroom was pretty basic with the its floral wallpaper and cream carpeting.  I did that because the furniture stands out nicely when the house is furnished.

The front door used to open and close. Eventually, the hinges pulled out and messed up the trim. I couldn't get them to really work right after that. Now the door is pinned shut.

The front steps also fell apart a few years ago. We moved and they were a casualty of the move. I still have the pieces so I can repair them. Various pieces of window trim have also fallen off, but I managed to get them repaired quickly.

Someday, I will get the house down and put furniture in it again.  I think when that time comes, I will make some curtains.  The windows could use a little character.