Sunnybrook Farm Blog

Hi Guys
Iris just dropped me a line about her Blog on a wonderful house she has built (and other projects). Be sure to check it out at:

http://irismarchcreations.blogspot.com/

Another great place for inspiration and friendship.
Follow at your pleasure...

Simon

A Mini Award

Thanks Katrina for the lovely award, it is very kind of you. It's such a pleasure knowing that we are all here to support and encourage each other.
Thanks again
Simon

Dining Room Walls & Floor

Hi Guys
Today I worked on the wallpaper and toning the floor to match. I didn't want it too dark looking so I used a couple of coats of medium walnut over a mahogany base, this warms it up a bit. I'm pleased with how the paper turned out and stepping back from the room on it's own and taking it into context alongside the Drawing Room above it works well. Bear in mind there will be skirting boards etc.

I have been thinking about the cornice and whether I should gild the details. I tried out a sample and placed it next to the plain white version. What do you guys think? I think I prefer the white finish as may look a bit too busy against the wallpaper, and create a distraction.

I also thought it may work better along side the Drawing Room in white. I will be making a French style sallon on this floor (UK Ground/US 1st) and there will be bling-a-plenty in there, so perhaps I should pare it down a bit elsewhere? Or would it balance things out??
I think I'll put off working on the cornice till ou've had a cvhance to vopice your opinions, I'll go back to day dreaming and looking through books LOL.

Can I also say a HUGE thank you to you all for Following and supporting me as you have done. A very warm welcome to Rosa Margarita ( I hope I got that right?), my 100th Follower. I never beleived it in a million years I'd hit tripple figures!!

Take care All and stay warm - Snow is on it's way (hooray).
Simon

ADDITION:
Well, thanks to all your wonderful comments I have decided to stick with the white painted cornice. I've just finished all the fiddly paint work and will start on fitting it all in the week.
Thanks again for your interest and support,
(Fi: Don't worry about missing this party, I know there's about 12 hours difference between us x)
Si -x-

Dining Room

Hi Everyone.

So, you guys kinda know me and my fickle little ways right?? SO, I decided not to paint the Dining Room in the green! I know, I know!! Well my reasoning comes from the fact that though it is a lovely green it would look better in the Sitting Room (with the large yellow sofa and yellow chinese chairs previously seen in the Drawing Room). That, and that the overall look of the Bellamy Mansion may be better if a lighter colour was nearer the top floor. I have plumped for a pretty faded terracotta/salmon patterned wallpaper instead which I think will work better - and still look good with the hallway beyond.

I have "laid" the wooden floor and, like the doors, will build up the colour to give it depth. I put two coats of Mahogany and three of medium walnut on the doors, so Heaven knows how much the floor will take LOL.
Here's the before:

Here's a better picture of the door...

It took a long time to get the colour I wanted and the gold was very fiddly but this is going to be my little house for evvverrr so it was worth the effort. The gold is made from fine strips of sticky back crafting foil - a steady hand; scalpel and a bit of nerve was called for. And Lord knows none of these are counted amoungst my stronger attributes!

I'm going to do the wallpaper first before I stain the floor. I usually do it the other way around but I want to be sure it tones with the colour on the walls. That'll be the next job tomorrow, in the mean time I'm going to pour a glass of fizz and scour through my books for ideas (I think a bit of staring will called for - just for you Fi).
Oh by the way, we successfully completed on Clarence Mews on Thursday so the latteral conversion will be happening shortly. Just to clarify what this means (as I was far from clear the last time) the facade that you have seen is the front of the Bellamy Mansion on Clarence Place. The back end of the property is on Clarence Mews. This will be a Lutyens style mansion facade minus a door, to make up the rear "face" of the property. Clear as mud, right?

TTFN
Si
-x-

Small and Stately by Irene

OMG OMG OMG!!!

Irene has launched Netherton on Small and Stately at:

http://smallandstately.blogspot.com/

It is U-MAZE-ING...
It looks set to be another fantastic production from our favourite Scottish lass.
Good luck Irene, I can't wait to see more and more and more (especially as it's a fellow townhouse/mansion project).
-x-

Entrance Hall

Well, I have reverted back to the original layout on the ground floor with the Entrance Hall running off the front door and the Dining Room back to where it was (I can hear you all sighing in horror). With a scalpel I corrected the black outlining marble and added the very simple white skirting. It didn't call for much more, besides, the large Whootton painting and dark furniture are quite sombre and anything too frilly would have clashed. I have used large central double doors to the Dining Room so enough of the hall way beyond can be seen.

The Dining Room will be a warm apple green so the colours in the picture should flow through the two rooms. The light is yet to be wired up as I'm saving for an all singing/dancing remote control dimming system! Nothing ever simple huh!

I have also been staining the doors for the Dining Room and Drawing Room. So far I have done two coats of mahogany followed by two coats of medium walnut, and I think I have a few more coats yet 'till they're ready. Then I'll put on gold detailing around each panel with a final coat of gloss over the whole thing. I'm trying to get that rich high gloss finish you see in all great houses like Spencer House, London, but that's a whole other Post LOL.
Have a great week and I might be able to get some work done on the Dining Room in the week..
TTFN
Simon

Drawing Room Suite

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all having a good week, it's not long now till the weekend (assuming of course you aren't working at the weekend). Well, my lovely new furniture from Sue & John Hodgson for the Drawing Room arrrived this week and I love love love it!!

A bit dark in this picture I'm afraid.

The silk is a pale blue colour and works well in the room. I had said before about maybe putting them in a different room but I think they look good here. There's obviously a lot more to do - Wainscott round the fireplace, more tables and a rug etc but you can get an idea of what I'm going for. The large sofa will go nicely in the Sitting Room that will lead off the master bedroom.

I will work on these over the weekend and with a nod to John at Merriman Park, the fireplace will be guilded LOL...
I have also been working on the Dinind Room under this room on the ground (1st) floor. I have decided to go with Cooking Apple Green from Farrow & Ball, with a white wainscott. And don't worry, there will be plenty of bling!

Quick shout out to Andy at Dollshouses and Miniatures - great posts on the history of architectural styles, very interesting. And rumour has it that Irene will be going live with her new Blog on Netherton very soon.

Take all and I'll Post soon.
Simon

Drawing Room Update

Hi Everyone, Despite the freezing temperatures I am braving it out in the spare bedroom working on the Bellamy Mansion. The Drawing Room is coming along nicely and has, I think, a sort of comfortable yet classic feel to it, especially since there are more pictures up since the last Post in December ("Happy New Drawing Rm").

The door to the left is just propped against the wall, there will be a proper one added once the final contract is drawn up on completing the Mews purchase LOL, I'm just waiting for the Bank of Scott to approve the grant!!

The fireplace will go along the left between the bombe chests, I was going to put my special Sue Cook fireplace here but alas it will be a little too wide so, thanks to the pending expansion to our property portfolio, there will be umpteen rooms to show it off to better effect. I have ordered a different fireplace from Sue which will suit the room perectly (funnily enough it's the same one that John has placed in the Entrance Hall in Merriman Park).
I am pleased with the lights, I "won" them on a well known auction site, only £9. the pair! I especially like the glass lantern at the back. They aren't electric but I don't mind, they add a nice touch and look right for the room, not too modern if you know what I mean. I have threaded wire through the ceiling in case I fancy putting electric in later (it would be like me to change my mind, so I have to cater for any eventuality!). Electric lighting will consist of picture lights on the back and left walls and table lamps. I was going to put the new suit of furniture from John Hodgson in this room but I'll see how it looks when it arrives (hopefullly the end of Feb'), I rather like the more relaxed look the room has taken on. I am now contemplating a french style sallon on the ground floor (US 1st), alongside the Dining Room which might do the suit more justice?
The pair of portraits on the left are from the 1920's, they add a slightly more "modern" feel but relate to those on the back wall.

It's rather scary that they bear an uncanny resemblance to James!!! (note to self - sort out that shirt!)

Well, I think I'll leave it there for this weekend before I drive you all mad. Have a great couple of days and I'll Post in the week.
TTFN
Simon 

The Bellamy Mansion

Hi Everyone,

Whilst antique hunting at Mallett, James (my mini man) came to the conclusion that whilest work is progressing well on the townhouse there was a risk we would eventually run out of space! The townhouse at Clarence Place, which never did receive a number, is a modern new-build on an old classic intended to be timeless with a heavy nod to "understated". Once complete I will turn my attention to making some of pieces for the interiors so, as I mentioned in a previous post, the house will be a backdrop to other things. I.e. life at Clarence Place won't stop once the house is complete. Anyway, I digress, as neither him nor I are about to down tools, walk away from what has already been achieved so far and start over on a new project, the decision has been taken (with the full support of poor long suffering Scott) to buy the adjoining property at the rear of Clarence Place on Clarence Mews. In true lateral conversion style we are going to knock through the two properties to make one large townhouse, front entrance and facade on Clarence Place; rear aspect on Clarence Mews. This will in essence double the size of the property and allow for a far greater range of options.And the house number? Well, we'll forego the street number and the property will be known simply as

The Bellamy Mansion.

I placed a full length mirror behind the house to make it look like part of the Clarence place terrace.

Forgive the jaunty angle.

The Mews side of the house will be in red brick and stucco details but all will become clear. In the mean time the trees have been successfully planted out front. They add a much needed break in the expanse of white wall and soften the overall effect. They arrived with a thick wire running out the bottom of the trunk so all I had to do was drill a tiny hole in the pavement and slot them in. This also means they are easy to remove should I have to move the house, or take out completely if I fancy  a change.

I'll Post an update on the Drawing Room tomorrow...

Simon

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all recovering from New Year (shout out to suffering John at Merriman Park http://john-merrimanpark.blogspot.com/ who has flu).
If you follow Debora on http://petitpunt.blogspot.com/2011/12/lutyens-cathedral.html you might remember that I am most inspired by Edwin Lutyens and his architecture and design (not to mention Queen Mary's Dolls House). I simply adore his sense of style, an understated Edwardian elegance. I have always thumbed through my copy of the hardback guide of the Dolls House and spent most time on the page that shows the picture below.

I love the atmosphere but most of all I have always had a yearning to replicate the arched hallway as seen on the second floor above.
So, back to Clarence Place, I was originally going to put a hallway at the front door which would not be accessable but only viewed through doorways. But having spent most of Christmas and all of New Year going round and round in my head I have decided to block off the front door from behind, thus allowing me to use the space previously set aside for the hallway, because the house is turned from the front to the side for access there was little reason to keep the hallway running off the front door. I appreciate this isn't a logical layout but much better in terms of use of space and esthetic. I had already laid the floor for the entrance hall but this can be partially incorporated in the new layout and the rest uplifted.

Please forgive the paint work!

From the picture below you can just make out the line on the floor where the wall will go.

This allows the hall way, which will now run down the back of the ground floor, to be 5 inches wide. Plenty of room for a console table and chairs. Once the wall was inserted and glued both the new Hall and Dining Room (with the window) were in place.

Hallway which will have a staircase at the end.

Dining Room, narrower than it would have been but a good length to it which will allow me to put a fireplace and pillars at the far end. The Window will be blocked off along with the front door. I put the arched ceiling in place and it's starting to take shape.

The result, as you can see from the next picture, is one that kind of replicates Lutyen's dolls house on a much smalled simpler scale of course.

It's not at an angle, that's just the way I took the photo.

I'm thinking of still using the cream stripe wallpaper in the hall with more wainscott, either in white or a walnut finish. Who knows!? The Library which will be in the basement underneath this scene will have built in cabinets with supporting pillars in line with the new wall above them, as in the real dolls house
Phew, got to the end in one piece. Have a great week everyone, I'm back to work tomorrow but can't complain having had  10  days off.
TTFN
Si x