Stayed up way too late watching Nathan Chen win the Gold Medal for Men’s Figure Skating but it was worth it!
I did a lot of grouting and aging work on the English Cottage yesterday – also known as Dove Cottage, but I never seem to call it by that name. I had come to the conclusion that the stones looked too pristine, like a new house that is trying to echo the past, but looks like an imposter. So, I got the grout and some water and some rags, as well as various tools to apply said grout – including a toothpick and a popsicle stick functioning as a spatula. It’s messy work. I had to vacuum the area around the dollhouse, as well as the floor.
I’m pleased with the results. The front of the house and one of the side walls are finished. Just one more wall to go. It’s tedious, but it pays off. When this is done, I can deal with the porch and window boxes.
It always helps to see a before and after progression:
The exterior of the house on the day I rescued it from the town dump. This is the Arthur, a Greenleaf dollhouse, and it was meant to have a porch and railings – they were missing when I adopted it. I could have recreated it, but I didn’t want that look.
The interior:
The interior on the day I brought it home. I eventually removed the interior wall and stairs. As you can see, both of those elements limited what I could do with the house. Let’s not even talk about my efforts to remove that green carpet, if you can call it that, and the tile in the kitchen. Remember the hours I spent with a hair dryer softening the badly applied glue?
Taken after priming and making the decision to cover the exterior with ‘stones.’
That little process took forever.
I primed the inside as well.
The interior now (still needs more work done.)
Wallpaper added, as well as ceiling beams, wood floors in every room, new acrylic inserts for the windows, new trim (from the backup Arthur kit that Barbara graciously sent me.) New door (from the same backup kit.) The wood beam trim in the studio was added because I screwed up the wallpaper application. I made the desk. I made the painter’s box. I refinished an unfinished armoire, as well as the island in the kitchen.
And the exterior, after grouting and aging.
I’m very happy with the results. I’m going to age the roof a bit, too. Eventually. Who knows, I may do it right away as I seem to be on a roll.
(Maybe I’m avoiding the massive amount of work that needs to be done on the Beacon Hill.)
Stay safe.
Happy Thursday.
The house is beautiful and the grout work looks amazing.
Thank you, Julie!
Stay safe.
I agree it looks SO good! You have great vision! I also stayed up to watch Nathan Chen skate – it was so late but totally worth it!
Thank you, Pam!
Wasn’t Chen great?
Stay safe.
Wow! You are totally amazing!
Take Care,
Kaye
Park City, UT
Thank you, Kaye!
Stay safe.
Looks beautiful!
Thank you, Betsy!
Stay safe.
All I can say is WOW!
Thank you, April!
Stay safe.
The grout was a great decision! The cottage just keeps looking better and better.
Thank you, Anne!
Stay safe!
Wow Claudia….it sure has come a long way. The stones, grout and aging are spot on. I do believe you have a knack for this…lol!
Enjoy your day! ;)
Thank you, Donnamae!
Stay safe.
That house has come a long way since you rescued it! Love the aging on the outside. Well done. I also stayed up late watching Nathan Chen and was so thrilled to see him win a gold medal. He is such a talented skater. Looking forward to more doll house photos. Hugs
Thank you, Linda!
Stay safe.
Can not get over the way you have acquired your doll houses. It is a joy to watch the way you are designing the interior. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Rose!
Stay safe.
As I was looking at the transformation, I became aware that you have created an “open concept” living space. This evolved into the thought ~ Claudia needs to pitch a dollhouse remodel show to HGTV. I love what you have done so far! Also, I am blaming you for my current Blythe doll obsession as my first one is on it’s way to my house. I just wish that I could channel my grandmother’s talent for knitting and sewing. She made some wonderful sweaters and hats for my dolls. You continue to be an inspiration.
Love,
Susan and Oliver
Yay! You are going to have your own Blythe doll! Send me a photo if you can – when you get her.
Thanks so much, Susan.
Stay safe!
You’ve made great choices, but the most important thing is that you’ve pleased yourself.
Thank you, Linda!
Stay safe.
The transformation of the cottage is beautiful! I can’t believe all that you can do! You are so talented.
Thank you, Cindy!
Stay safe.
Aging the brick gave the house so much more depth. I would age the roof also. I have a question. If it were not for covid would CL have sent someone to your home to photograph the egg cups?
No, I seriously doubt it. If they were photographing the interiors of my home, yes. But for something like this, the expense and time to come to the house would cost far more than the cost of shipping the egg cups to their headquarters.
Thanks, Olivia.
Stay safe.
It’s a precious house and the work you’ve done on it is simply wonderful, Claudia.
How’s your weather now? We’re 90 degrees this afternoon out here on West Coast; breaking all kinds of heat records. And it’s so windy; the Santa Anas never seem to stop.
Whenever my husband isn’t working at his part-time job now, and ever since the dog died (since we can’t stand to be inside the house without her [yet]), we drive up and down the beaches, a hundred miles north and a hundred miles south. It’s of course ‘avoidance’ (can’t continue; wasting too much gasoline) and we need to deal better with ‘acceptance’ but we’re grieving and we need the solace of the outdoor spaces.
Yesterday, we shared a big wide empty beach (which goes for several miles), with only the nicest (very-few) people in our midst, dogs diving in the breaking waves to catch a ball thrown by their human, four dolphins close to shore (low tide) which we watched frolic for quite a long while (how can you not smile when dolphin friends are so near!), and then there were the two ladies with beautiful horses.
The one lady rode the whole time, from the time they walked the horses down a bluff to the hard sand near the water line, but the other lady was having quite a time with her horse, although she explained to us she expected it, because he was young, and she was trying to acclimate him to a beach environment. He wasn’t accustomed to the sound of the waves, the feel of hard-wet sand under his ‘shoes’, or even the sounds of gulls, the feel of the seabreeze in his face and I guess even the smell of fish (the lady would hold up large wads/ropes of washed-up wet seaweed for him to smell).
This horse was really spirited and at one point reared up on his hind legs; so, she never really sat on him and instead just led him slowly which calmed him down. It really was rather interesting to watch all this ‘action’ of equine, canine and various other aquatic mammals and marine birds. Sure beats staying home in the silent tomb which has become my house.
My husband is already (online) searching the local shelters for another dog to adopt. He promised me he wouldn’t do it. But we both fell in love with a 10-yr-old golden lab (80-pounder) at the beach yesterday who was practically drowning herself looking for her ball. She was a salty wet mess but happy as a clam, just like a little pup all over again, which is why her owner had driven twenty miles from home to give her the best place to chase, and get the kinks out of a troublesome hip with some healthy exercise (all veterinarian-sanctioned; the owner was giving her multiple periods of rest in between the running to the water’s edge).
Anyway, I don’t know what to do about this with my husband except to stay calm when I don’t feel calm; he’s not himself, and I told him he can’t replace our other dog so quickly; that we need time. Especially because, for years, we’d said, “This is it. No more dogs after her. We’re to old(er) now.” Mutuality is needed; I want no surprises. (I had to gently make this clear.) One dog, unbeknownst to me, whom my husband was ‘following’ (a 5-year-old shepherd-setter), fortunately was adopted before my husband could go any further with it. At least he told me. Sigh.
This is the tough part. When to get another dog? With Don and me, one is usually ready and the other isn’t. And until we’re BOTH ready, if that even happens, we wait. But we’re further away from the death of Scout so it gives us some perspective.
Stay safe, Vicki.