First Impression, Foyer Issues

Tried to tackle the Mansion's Foyer in January 2025. The fact that the first week of February is already over should tell you how this is going...

Manufacturer's pic of room

2015 update: Removed the stairs and wall (arrow points to wall remnant), made archway to music room and removed exterior partial wall on the right to better view front door/room

2018 update: hole cut in floor for basement access, electric installed across floor for front coach lights
2025 update: cut away door to Butler's Pantry on the left

I wanted the room to be elegant and impressive: after all, this is the first impression the resident's guests would have of the house. But there were several issues that needed to be addressed:

1. Entryway to Butler's Pantry

I wanted the room behind the foyer to be a butler's pantry that would also have access to the servants area in the basement. I added a hole under the foyer stairs for the staircase that will go to the basement and I had cut a small doorway allowing access to these stairs. But how would the servants get from the butler's pantry to the rest of the house (to deliver meals to the morning room, dining room, bedrooms, and tea to the conservatory)? I wanted a hidden doorway. A door that would blend in with the wall. So I removed the pre-fab door and created my own swinging door:

Taped a threshold to my door and drilled a hole thru for a pin so it will line up exactly at the bottom

Added a pin to the top corner

Pin in threshold (piece previously taped to door)

Drilled a corresponding hole in the wall edge for top pin to slide into

Glued threshold into place and now have a tight fitting door that will hopefully become a hidden door

Now to hide the door behind the foyer's decor. Easier to do on a wall with lots of shadowboxing, paneling, or trims. But I was saddened to see that my cut wallpaper line is quite obvious...

So I had a stellar idea to cover it with framing and a picture. Picked a postcard with an image I liked (from an art museum), cut framing to allow door to still open, painted framing gold to match chandelier, and loosely held it in place.

Disappointment.  It's too low. I needed to have cut the doorway higher. And I can't do that now. So, I've decided to just leave it alone and wait for a genius idea some day in the future. Maybe I'll remove the wallpapered door and put in a wall niche or bookcase type structure that pivots as a door? Still brainstorming a solution to this issue...

2. Flooring

Originally I wanted white marble that would flow into the music room's green marble. But everything else in the room (archway, wallpaper, furniture) is cream, not white. And, although it looked pretty, it wasn't giving impressive vibes. Then my Etsy guy (Gravik's Etsy Page - Last Project I Used Gravik's Things On) sent a sample tile of some wood flooring he made. And I fell in love.

Figured out how many wood tiles I would need and placed an order immediately. It was nice that this issue resolved itself so easily (compared to the other issues).

3. Staircase

I was not impressed with the stairs that came with the house (see photo above of Manufacturer's pic). It was just steps between two walls; very boxy and boring. I ripped out one wall to open up the room and now needed fancy steps that were steep to fit the small narrow space.

Staining the parts

Found stairs I liked and stained them the same as the exterior base trim which is sort of a mix of the mahogany and new walnut stains: I do one coat in Varathane Red Mahogany stain and the second coat in Behr Bombay Mahogany.

Love the spindles on the stairs

Was planning on doing a stair runner but I don't like how the pattern/colors/something is going with the wallpaper.

Ditched the runner

Liking this better without the fancy runner

4. Moldings (aka Mouldings)

I am not happy with the ceiling medallion I had for the room originally. It was oval and very "leafy". Maybe more appropriate for the conservatory, not the foyer. So I ordered a classic simple elegant ceiling medallion from Sue Cook (Sue Cook's Website) along with some crown molding that matched the medallion. Was so pleased at how quickly my Sue Cook order shipped/arrived! But, I realized the crown was too large and too ornate.

It's crowding the archway and making the room look smaller. So I will save this crown molding for the Master Bedroom or the Family Room and have now ordered some smaller crown moldings from Unique Miniatures (Unique Miniatures Etsy Page) that I will paint gold and install as soon as it arrives!

That's the status of the Mansion at the moment! Thought I'd have a finished room to show you, but these little issues have delayed my deadline drastically....Happy February, all!

All About That Base

I've been busy since early summer. My top three miniature goals to achieve by Halloween were:

Goal #1. Deal with the base of the mansion. The house sits on two bases my dad constructed for me. They are MDF wood so I couldn't stain them. But paint lacked the elegance factor I was trying for. Plus, the left base was lower than the right base to allow for higher ceiling heights in the ballroom. But now I was finding the two different levels of the bases distracting and uneven.

House on its bases (left "addition" side base is lower than right "Main house" side)

So, I lifted the base, creating a false front foundation to extend the driveway so the whole front of the house would be the same level. Then I wrapped the bases in faux wood shelf paper and reinforced the corners with wood trims I stained to be the same color. Technically this goal is not complete yet as the back side has not been wrapped and the trims have not been stained or cut for the back yet. But I am working on that over these last 3 days of October.

I raised the front drive and will add a retaining wall at the corner of the addition.

The bay window hanging out on the ballroom patio belongs on the back of the house, but I haven't glued it on yet since I need to create the spiral staircase that goes in it first 

Also added handles to the front to make it easier to pull and push the bases around

Goal #2: Make a protective cover for the mansion. Don't want accidental breakage from someone brushing up against it during one of our birthday, graduation, or poker parties. And all the nieces and nephews who visit during Thanksgiving and Christmas are under the age of 10 so I need to discourage them from poking and touching (especially the delicate front coach lights that I would never be able to replace). So, one plexiglass sheet I cut to the shape of the opening on the side of the house and glued it into some plexiglass track:

Created a frame to put the plexiglass into so side is protected

Then I bought some more plexiglass, cut it to the necessary sizes, and glued it to corner trims that were stained to match the wood tones going on with the bases, windows, and shingles to create a cover across the front of the dollhouse:

Plexiglass covers the front now

Goal #3: Shingle the mansion. I did not fully accomplish this since the addition side is not shingled, and I doubt I'll get the time to finish that between now and Halloween. But as you can see in the photos above (and below), both of the main house's roofs are shingled.

All those angles on the lower roof were not fun to cut!

Also during all this, my eldest got engaged, I took two long weekend vacations with my husband (one trip to Biltmore in North Carolina - before Ashville flooded in the hurricane; one trip to New Hampshire - unfortunately just a tad too early for the leaves changing color), we are in the process of getting all new floors on the main level of our house (install should happen before Thanksgiving, fingers crossed!), my parents and I participated in a miniature show in Frederick, Maryland, my dog got sprayed by a skunk and contaminated the entire house with the smell for days, I tackled a Halloween painting project (gargoyles from Home Depot that I painted to look like stone), and I plan to attend the Philadelphia show next weekend (as a buyer, not going to be selling anything).

Our table at the Frederick, MD show

My Home Depot gargoyles I painted, Gary and Gerry

Gargoyles had lights already but I drilled holes in the skulls and added those red lights.

With the new flooring being installed, the Philadelphia show, and all the family birthdays the week of Thanksgiving, followed immediately by December, I'm not sure I'll be as productive the next few months. But I hope to play with more of my miniature projects before 2025!

Mini Mother's Day (I forgot to post this; how embarrassing)

For Mother's Day I was gifted some free time and I used it to play with FIMO. I created a String of Turtles plant, one little leaf at a time, in order to make sure it draped and hung over the edge of the pot correctly.

Little leaves and strings

Gluing the leaves to the string

My tendrils are ready to be glued into the pot

My finished plant

Ready to be hung on the wall of the restaurant

Feeling pretty confident after that plant success, I continued on with the FIMO and created some popcorn for a future Christmas scene I want to make (probably in 2028 or 2029 at this rate).

Had lots of fun playing, but now my special saw blade for cutting acrylics has arrived and I have purchased the plexiglass sheets so the only thing holding me back from my next project is my procrastination! 

(Update: I forgot to post this back in May! I didn't realize until I got on to share what I've been doing the past few months and discovered it sitting here. So, I'm posting it now and will post again in late October to share the update on my mansion.)

Cottontail Confectionary

Decades ago, some jazz dog statues (yes, jazz dog statues) sparked an idea for a "Sit-and-Stay Dog Cafe" scene in my brain. But before any work was done for the Sit-and-Stay Dog Cafe, other animal themed projects sprung to life (Knitty Kitty and Mother Cluckers) and others were formulated in my imagination (Cottontail Confectionary, Fish Bowl Restaurant, and The Smoking Sloth).

I purchased this Real Good Toys Front Opening Shoppe from another miniaturist who had already finished the exterior in pastel colors and painted the interior all creamy pale yellow with black walnut flooring installed on the first floor.

Pastel green and pale yellow with pink accents and lace curtains!

Move in ready

The colors reminded me of spring and rabbits. And the "Cottontail Confectionery Sweets and Treats" was under way. I've spent the last 5 or 6 years collecting cakes, chocolates, and candies for the shop. Some I even made myself (Chocolate Goodies & candy)! Downstairs would have cakes, cupcakes, and more gourmet treats for adults and the upstairs would be more manufactured candies for kids.

But first, it needed light downstairs. Being a front/top opening structure meant that the top floor was fairly bright enough, but the shelves down below were very dark. So I installed some chandeliers.

And so I also needed to add matching black walnut wood flooring to the upstairs (helps hide the electrical wires) and then I installed some wallpapers (had to make a template for the wall with the stairs):

All electrified, papered, and flooring installed

I had white Bespaq displays for downstairs. I needed some white furniture upstairs that was narrow and shorter than average since the upstairs is not as tall. Found a cute little bookshelf that I could paint:

Unfinished narrow bookshelf

Painted them white, added green/pink painted details, and glued a FIMO pink rabbit I had made in a Ruth Stewart mold to the sides

Up close pic of shelf in place (before flooring was installed)

Front of the bookshelf has green/pink detailed painting

For the back wall I had purchased a laundry room set from Hobby Lobby; I just wanted the upper cabinets and if it worked out in the space I'd go back and get another set or two (and use the other pieces in my other projects). But by the time I tested the fit, Hobby Lobby no longer carried the set! So, my solution was to kit-bash the 3 furniture pieces that came in the set to create a new back wall display counter.

Photo taken from someone on Facebook when they found the set they were looking for in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby; sadly, my Hobby Lobby was sold out.

Sink cabinet on left would need to be cut down to same height as upper cabinets

Removed sink so cabinet is same height as other cabinet, covered hole with wood that I would paint white to match countertops

Turned other cabinet on its side. It too would need to be cut down to a lower countertop height.

All finished and in place

Then it was time to decorate with all my furniture and sweets (many chocolate pieces and cakes came from Elizabeth Murta or Ruth Stewart).

Shelves are still a little bare. I thought I had collected plenty in the last few years but there's so much space!

But the upstairs looks too dark now that the downstairs is all lit up. So I added a strip of warm white LEDs behind a piece of trim and wired that in to the electrical plan.

All lit up, although now downstairs doesn't look as bright - might need to change those bulbs to be warm white like the upstairs. LOL

The pieces for my rabbit lollipop stand (from Alma, who sadly doesn't make miniatures anymore); green tier stand was a kit assembled by my friend Julie for me

My finished rabbit lollipop stand with rabbit lollipops

Upstairs

Cotton Candy Corner

The Pez dispensers, also made by Alma, on the right are my favorite miniature in the upstairs scene

Tulips are on order from an Etsy lady but they won't arrive for another 2 weeks but eventually the flower boxes will be filled with tulips on either side of the rabbit cabbage planters

Now I will either create some plexiglass covers for a customer (and maybe one for myself) or I will pull out the Fimo and make some candies for the shop (and some String of Turtles or String of Pearls plants for the Peruvian scene I was just working on. And some cigars for my next animal themed shop: The Smoking Sloth). We shall see if plexiglass or Fimo wins...or maybe I'll start work on The Sit-n-Stay Dog Cafe or the Irish Cottage.