Playing

Not a lot has been happening in Netherton recently despite finding the long awaited rug shown in the last post.    I still need to add pictures, a few accessories and fill the cabinet.    The problem is I wont know until I see these items that they are what I'm looking for!     So, bearing that in mind, I decided to move on to the Morning Room.     The Morning Room sits to the left on the First Floor and opposite the Study/Library.

The whole room has been given a white basecoat and a false wall has been put in to create niches which will eventually be shelved for ornaments.    The mirror is a laser cut affair that will need "mirror" card to be added and the fireplace needs a brick back.    Wallpaper to ceiling height and embossed panels below are the order of the day.

Entry is by way of the door front right.   This room is solely for the Lady of the house, where she answers correspondence, prepares menus, settles accounts, does a bit sewing/embroidery and plays the piano.    She will also entertain her lady friends here.

Lots to do and lots of planning ahead.   I have a good few pieces for this room already but I love this planning stage.

A small update

Following on from my last post regarding the Drawing Room and the difficulty in finding a suitable rug and the desperate need for a fair, I finally found a floor covering I'm happy with.    Sadly though, no fair.    It was cancelled and there are now no miniature fairs in Scotland - at all.

Said rug is now in place, a couple of pictures up and more will be added, table lamp wired in and cushions in place.   At last I feel this room is going somewhere.   There are still lots of little items to be added but I'd like to think it wont take as long as it has to show you another update.   I'm feeling the love!

New Blog now "live".

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post and I am now happy to say that the necessary permission came through to use a couple of images and my new blog - The Silk Weaver's House has now gone "live".

I hope you enjoy what you see.

The Silk Weaver's House

*Copyright - Ben Rea

It's been a while!

                                              Happy New Year, followers.

I hadn't realised that it's been six months since my last post.   That's shocking!   I have been working on The Drawing Room but am hampered by the delay in getting a suitable rug for this room.   The one I want isn't available at the moment and hasn't been available for a while and nothing else I've seen matches up to it.   I then thought "print your own" but that's not feasible as I can't get hold of the fuzzy computer paper any longer - at least not in Scotland!    What I need is a fair.

Having said that, I can show you where I'm at at the moment.    If I ignore the rug issue all I need for this room, to finish it off, are the accessories and to wire in the table lamp.    I'm pleased with the way this is going given that I had no idea initially of where I wanted to go with this.

There is another reason for the delay in progress.......................I have another property!

Not much to show yet but hopefully the new blog will give you some idea of what I'll be doing.   I'm waiting on permission to use a couple of pictures before I can launch this new venture and once I get that (hopefully, fingers crossed) I'll add a link.

This new venture is called The Silk Weaver's House.

An Award and some new pieces

An exciting wee thing happened to me not that long ago.    I received a message advising me that Small & Stately had been given a "Top 100 Miniature Blog" award.   How cool is that?   I was so pleased.

The next good thing to happen recently was finding the kits created by Arjen of Arjen Spinhoven Miniatures    I love these.    Arjen is based in the Netherlands - and I must say, postage from there is very quick.  Great, because I'm not very good at waiting for stuff!

My most recent purchase is this Curule seat which is destined for The Great Hall in my other property Marsh Hall -

It is beautifully crafted and (once I got my head round it) very straightforward to put together.   As it's possible to enlarge the pictures on Arjen's site it is very easy to double check construction - very helpful when putting together this chair but not necessary with the other items I bought.

One of these "other items" was a pair of bookcases.    These have now taken up residence in the Drawing Room of Netherton

They have great detail and a lovely finish which can be varnished or painted.   The purchase of these little items meant I had to create lots of books which is in itself a very satisfying task.

Finally, my very first purchases from Arjen were this little Moorish stool and the umbrella stand.

I've used my favourite Metalcote paint on this and I'm very pleased with how it looks next to the main door of Marsh Hall.

The little stool has only recently been put together (today in fact) and doesn't yet have it's finish.

This is also destined for Marsh Hall.

I must add, I'm not affiliated in any way with Arjen or his miniatures.   I just wanted to spread the word and say how pleased I am at having found his site - thank you Josje of A Beautiful World blog for posting his link in the first place!

By the way - Arjen, if you read this - I'm not finished yet!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Firstly, a big thank you for all your lovely comments regarding my last post.    I found myself smiling every time I read one.   It really is encouraging to know that you like what I'm doing.

For Daydreamer - I really like your idea of a drying rack for cloths in The Still Room and I intend investigating that and putting one in.    Also, with regard to the Dumb Waiter - it's just a fixed backing and a shelf placed at Basement and Dining Room level.   I can't get a good photo of the one at the end of the Servant's Corridor but here it is outside the Dining Room.   They're identical.

I think I must have been a bit too keen to get the last post up there because I forgot to say anything about my "fourth wall"!

I like to decorate the inside of the doors as it gives more scope to add things I may not have space for in the rooms themselves.

This is the inside of the door at the Still Room

I would love to have had the space for a "Cold Store" but don't so I created the item on the left with the brick piers and stone slab as a "Cold Preparation Area"    The central item is a vegetable bin with a piece of "slate".   (I saw this item in the basement of a stately home we visited some time ago and I took a sneaky photo!   Metalcote paint was used to get the look of "slate").   The cabinet next to that has tins and various stores - still  to be added to - and the meat safe is up there because I couldn't think where else to put it for the time being!

The inside of the Kitchen door -

I think I've shown this before but not with the accessories.   Again, I would love to have squeezed in a lamp room but couldn't so this unit serves the purpose with lamps, candles and bulbs with lots more to be added.

A closer look at the right hand side

I love this sign.   It was "borrowed" from a Stately Home Guide Book.

Another little addition, this time in the Dining Room.   I felt there was too much brown in the original photo so I added a tablecloth.

............and finally.    A decision has been taken regarding the furniture in the Drawing Room.   I'm going with the club sofa and chairs.    I fiddled with this for ages before settling on the layout.  

There's still a fair bit to do (including changing the colour of the table) and lots more accessories to add (to relieve all the brown) but I think I'm happy with this set up.   Thank you all again for your very helpful suggestions.

The Kitchen and Still Room

Quite some time ago I posted pictures of The Kitchen despite the fact that it was quite sparsely furnished.   I was waiting for the time when it would be complete and full of accessories but I managed to get myself distracted with other rooms.  

The Kitchen still isn't fully accessorised but there's enough in there now for me to show you the whole space.

This is the photo you've probably seen previously

The door to the back right gives access to The Wine Cellar

To the front left of the room is an archway leading to a room I don't think I've mentioned previously, The Still Room -

The Still Room, in Medieval times, was where beer and ale were brewed, herbs were prepared for flavouring food, making ointments and also soaps and polishes.   Later on it was where the Lady of the House would teach her daughters the ways of running a household.    It then became the place where delicacies were prepared, jams, pickles, preserves, desserts and cakes. 

This is the space - to the right is the archway through to the Kitchen, the door (back right) leads to The Servant's Hall, stairs leading to the back of The Dining Room and the green baize door and to the left is The Servant's Corridor with the dumb waiter at the far end (which you can just see the edge of).

There is a mirror and brush at the foot of the stairs so that the staff can check their appearance before ascending to the Dining Room and also a better (but not great) picture showing the Dumb Waiter through the internal window.

Items can be passed through the window on the right (from the Kitchen) and taken upstairs when ready.

Looking at the picture below, I think I'll add a cloth.

A little view through to the Servant's Corridor.

There is more to be added to the spaces in and around the sink but I've still to think about what that might be. 

A slightly better view of the Dumb Waiter (sorry, it's the best I could do!)

The Servant's Corridor - complete with bell board, rules and fire buckets.

Going outside, to the Kitchen entrance, there is a small table with a very swanky beer barrel and a pint of ale.    The fruit and veg man would deliver the order to the Kitchen door and while The Cook was checking for quality etc. the man would be given a glass of ale while he waited.    The baskets of fruit and vegetables are from Country Contrast

Finally, thank you all for your helpful comments regarding the "chair debate" I had in my last post.   All suggestions were very helpful but I've still not made up my mind!   The Drawing Room now has curtains so some progress is being made.   It would help if I could get a clear picture in my head of where this room was going but I'm struggling a bit so thought it better to leave things alone in that space for a while until inspiration strikes.