Thursday 29 September 2011

And so to bed!


This is the main bedroom in my house. I didn't really have a complete plan of what I wanted to do with this room when I started, I just liked the wallpaper when I saw it. It has a slightly chinoiserie meets chintz feeling to it! I am pleased with how this room is progressing. Most of the furniture is made from wooden kits by McQueenie miniatures (four poster, half-tester bed, dressing table and dressing table mirror, stool and side table) the chest of drawers is by Dovetail miniatures. The Chippendale style birdcage mirror above the fireplace is by Lucy Askew, and I think works really well in this room. The exotic birds on the mirror led me to purchase the birds of paradise figurines (by Veronique Cornish) on the mantle shelf, and I think that the room is now coming together. You may notice the lack of bed covers/curtains etc, I have purchased some nice silk dupion from John Lewis, in a buttermilk shade, but just haven't been brave enough to get the needle and thread out again yet! I keep hoping some little elves might pop in one night and do them for me!! lol!

For more details about the furniture kits see:
http://www.mcqueenieminiatures.co.uk/

18 comments:

  1. I think you've caught the light, airy feel very nicely. I like this!

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  2. Thanks Irene, yes it does feel light and airy in the bedroom more than any of the others!

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  3. Hello Andy, your work it's so amazing the way you do the rooms are wonderful, you put a lot of details, congratulations a love your work.

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  4. Hi Cunha, many thanks for those kind words, I am pleased you like my dollshouse!

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  5. Andy, you're so right about everything working so well together! Not sure about the 'elves' though.

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  6. Tiene muy buen aspecto esta habitación, se ve muy ordenada y agradable!! Un buen trabajo!!

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  7. Gracias una vez más, Pedrete, me alegra que te guste lo que he hecho con esta habitación

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  8. Hi John, yes, shame about those eleves, they didn't come overnight! Oh well looks like I'll need to dig out the sewing box after all. Pleased you like the room!

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  9. Hi Andy, I have just joined your blog whilst searching for Georgian Kitchens.

    You have a beautiful Dollhouse and I feel very fortunate to have found your blog. I am looking for inspiration and direction. I bought a Dollhouse for my 12 year old daughter and promised to decorate it for her, once I got started i found myself completely hooked.

    It is lovely to find a Georgian Doll house blog. I have found lots of French and "shabby" Doll houses which are all very beautiful but ours will be Georgian influenced so to find something as beautifully detailed as yours is inspirational.

    I look forward to following its truly amazing,

    Kind regards, Fiona

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  10. Hi Fiona, Thank you for your high praise! I am pleased that you have enjoyed looking at my dolls house. I have had lots of fun creating it, reading up on teh subject, and having excuses to visit lots of Georgian houses for my research!! I am very much interested in architectural history and have amassed a small library of books on the subject. If you want some ideas for your own house take a look in your local library or book shop to see if they have any books on the subject, and google images will be a valuable tool for you too! Are you looking for Georgian kitchens to get more ideas for your dollshouse? I was planning to post some pictures of the kitchens of my dollshouse in the next few days, so feel free to take a look!

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  11. Thanks Andy,

    I am working on our kitchen at the moment so i will be looking forward to seeing yours. I have been searching google images for Georgian interiors and that is how I came across your doll House.
    I wish I had the access to georgian houses......as you can imagine they are few and far between here in Australia as are miniaturists. Our house is not Palladian but more later Georgian period.....it was chosen by my daughter and she has a good eye, I feel its a great opportunity for her to develop an interest in design.
    We will gather some more reading material and continue to get inspiration from blogs such as yours, it's so wonderful that the internet can bring common interests together.

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  12. Hello again Fi, I hope to see all your work one day. Sounds like you're having a great deal of fun working on your project, and doing your research, I wish you luck! I think I have one or two pictures of kitchens from the 18th and early 19th century from when I was researching for mine, I'll see if I can find them!

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  13. Hi Andy,
    yes we are having fun and thank you again for all your information, your knowledge is extensive.

    Perhaps when we have a bit more to show we will start a blog. The lighting is done and now I'm working on the floors. Did you do one room at a time or one stage at a time?

    You can send me an email through my google account if you like.

    I truly appreciate your encouragement. Fi

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  14. Now, the electrics for my house were one of the hardest things I found to do. I still have two lights in the house that refuse to light up! But I do have to remember that it was my first attempt at making a dollshouse, so there were bound to be some problems. I hope yours has gone better! I can't wait to see your blog if you get one set up, It's good to see work progressing too, like on Simon's and John's blogs!

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  15. Well so far so good with my lighting, I have finished all but one and they are working but I probably don't have as many as you. I used the copper tape method but I am beginning to regret that all ready. I was told that I could always add lights later but as my ideas got grander I realised if I were to cover the tape with wood panelling I couldn't access the tape any way.... : (

    As far as my blog goes I am some what intimidated by the standard of the work you are all doing.This doll house plan has evolved and was originally for my daughter to play with, fortunately we invested in a good quality one so as she has matured her ideas have developed and it is reasonable to invest the time and money into the rest. Her determination to have an AGA oven and a toilet complicates the period in which the house is set but I think I can work with that.

    Now as it is stands I feel terribly rude filling up your blog talking about my DH so after the final stage of my life size renovation is finished in the next two weeks I will indeed start a blog.

    Many many thanks for your encouragement Andy. Hugs, Fi

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  16. I used copper tape too, and think that is te problem, I think in future i will be more sellective about where I use tape, I have even thought of crating gaps between floors and walls to run the wires through, like in real houses!

    If your daughter wants AGAs and toilets etc, why not compromise a little, create a period house in a modern setting, as if it was liek one of our National Trust houses, you could still have 'antiques' and paintings etc, and create a period kitchen alongside something more modern. It would give you more scope to play around with ideas and blend furniture from different periods, so comfy sofas and table lamps could be added to formal rooms and not look out of place. Does it sound feasible?

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  17. Yes Andy, thats exactly what I thought I would do, I love the simplicity of the Georgian, period, the balance and scale. We have collected lots of pictures of Georgian Decor and I think I can balance it all.

    I plan to do some chinoiserie panels in the lounge and my Daughter has done a good job on picking some Antiques. The Art work will be interesting to choose, it's my special interest. Do you have a favourite Artist for the period?

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  18. I'm sure you'll do a good job Fi! sounds like you have plenty of ideas!

    Wow! there's a question, my favourite artist? well, I'm not a lover of Gainsborough, seriously, if you look at some of his work, the heads don't sit on the bodies at all well, I imagine Gainsborough just painted the faces and an apprentice did the rest, I don't think Reynolds is much better, but they were both popular at the time. You would certainly have had portraits of the family in the house. Portraits were often hung in dining rooms. See also Allan Ramsay a Scottish portrait artist of the period ,who painted a good portrait of King George III, and Thomas Hudson. Hogarth painted portraits too, but wasn't really accepted by the landed gentry, his printed engravings were very popular with the masses though!

    A gentleman would probably want a portrait of his horse painted, and it would have been given pride of place in a hall, or perhaps the library, which was very much a gentleman's retreat. Stubbs and Wootton were two well known painters of animals during this period.

    My personal favourites are landscapes. Claude Lorrain is a 17th century landscape painter, and I have a Claude-esque landscape in my drawing room (see photo). I love his work! Most gentlemen would pick up paintings on their Grand Tours, so an Italian capriccio (works based on romantic ideals of italian landscapes and ruins) or view of Venice would fit into your house well. Canaletto was one of the most prized Venitain artists alongside Guardi, but many very poor paintings were picked up on the Grand Tour too by 'gentlemen' more interested in gambling and flesh than purchsing great artworks!!

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