From this..................

Some of you may already know that for some time now I have been quietly awaiting the departure of the offspring!   They are 30 and 26 years of age - grown men - and more than ready to make their way in the world on their own, under their own steam.   By that I mean they do their own ironing, know the business end of a vacuum cleaner and are pretty good at the cooking so I am more than confident that they can manage by themselves!

No 2 son flew the nest in July, Number 1 son left at the beginning of December - yippee, two rooms to play with.

One room has a great double window but a smaller length of wall with sockets, the other room has a longer window but a great expanse of wall with sockets.   I have claimed the latter - lol

Initially, all my mini stuff and houses were taken upstairs and to all intents and purposes, abandoned.   No mini work has taken place at all during this time.   Who would want to work in there?

So, over the past week I have been decorating and can now show you what I've been up to.   My new hobby room has gone from this unadulterated shambles (Hambleton Hall cabinet upside down and  awaiting castors) ..............

To this..................

The room measures 9' by 14.5' (2.74m x 4.41m) and I have approximately 10' (3.04m) of houses.   More than enough space to line them up and still be able to open the doors.

Although they look good standing there all in a line, I have yet to sort out the electrics so I'm not sure if I have any casualties - I'll leave that for another day.

In the long term I need to get a cabinet for the Tearooms and a smaller desk and chair but at the moment, to say I am thrilled is an understatement!



Happy New Year!

To all my lovely followers, old and new........

 

 

The Laundry is finished.

Netherton now has a complete and fully operational Laundry.   The purchases made at the recent fair I attended are now in place.

 

 

Interest has been added by way of slim dividers.   One at the back of the room to the left of the drying closet (right hand corner) and one half wall just behind the washing machine.   Hopefully, in a small way, these take away the plain rectangular shape of the room.

 

The drying closet - Laundry was placed on the rails, wet.   The doors, which ran on wheels and a track, were closed and the laundry dried from the heat created by stoves.   In some places these drying racks were open-ended.   Wet laundry in one end and pulled out the other when dry.

 

 

 The servant's eye view.

 

 

 

 

 

Some close ups.  

 

 

The pegs in the bowl were made by me and the book is The Laundry Book from Dateman Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very warm welcome to all my new followers.   I'm very pleased to have you here and hope you like what you see.



 

 





Back from Miniatura

After a very exciting weekend at Miniatura, Birmingham I've got some minis to show you all.

I love the little canteen of cutlery (it has decorative inlay on the lid) and if you look closely, the stamp picked out by the magnifying glass is actually shown larger.   The Butler will be pleased I managed to snag him a bottle of brandy!

At last, here are some finishing touches for The Laundry and some bits for the kitchen.   The dustpan and brush set is a marvellously fine piece of work.

 

 

I was after some dining room chairs and was pleased that I managed to get exactly what I was after.   The little rocking chair was a bonus!


 

Just a peek!

 

Nothing has happened with Netherton these past few weeks as I wait for my trip to Miniatura at the end of the month when I can stock up on accessories for The Laundry.

 

In the meantime, and while the Butler is concerning himself with household duties, I see he's left his door open............

 

 

The Iron Stove

I'd seen a couple of these stoves at fairs and was sorely tempted more than once but they were quite expensive so, at the time I left it.

I don't know why, but one day when painting, I looked at the pot and thought "Yes!    An iron stove"

Can you see it too?

I don't have a photo of the next stage but I added some banding (wood strips) around the top of the pot and around the centre.   Used the top pointy bit of four spindles to give me legs, fashioned a door from balsa and filled in the hole on the top.   I have no idea what the funnel started life as, it just seemed perfect for the task.

Next the whole thing was given a couple of coats of my favourite metal effect Humbrol paint then a quick buff when dry.

And here's the finished article.



It's not a phenomenal masterpiece but I like it and it does the job.

Did you know that the Laundry Maids used to colour code their irons?   Obviously to prevent one person from taking the hottest one all the time!

More about The Laundry

In my last post I asked if anyone had any ideas what the copper had been created from -

Well, I'm sorry but you were all wrong!   It was made from this, a gravy granules pot.

I'm sure there are loads more uses this size of pot can be put to (I just have to think of them).

The steps were a preformed set I already had in the stash and the gap was just filled in with some wood, shaped to fit and painted all a stoney grey colour.



I had an inspirational photo to work from

which gave me the shape of the opening and a little shelf affair was added to take the coals.   A couple of bars across the front, a bowl created in the top to take the water, a fitted lid and there you have it.

My washing machine is probably the grandest item in The Laundry.   It was purchased at a Miniatura Fair from Harlands of Hedon

It's a beautifully detailed item and has working bits on the lid and when the handle is turned, there's a paddle inside that rotates.

I really wanted an airer in my Laundry room and the only way I could do this without taking up much space was to place it against the back wall.    It's basically just a length of wood with a handle and wheels.   Attached to the back of the "door" and the wall are pieces of cocktail stick to take the laundry.   A few pieces are included for show.

Another item I'm particularly pleased with in my Laundry is the stove for heating the irons.  

Now.........can you guess what THIS was made from?