Decorating the living area of No 35.

Hello everyone,

Finally we have started June and the weather is warm as ever. I just love this weather and it does agree with me and my health. The kids in just 2 weeks will finish with the summer break and I will have them for 3 whole months I am feeling slightly energetic like my old self but I have to be very cautious not to go overboard. At the end of this month I have to run my last blood tests so I am really looking forward to that and to better days.

I would like to welcome a new follower to my blog. Welcome Jane Rushton. 

I am also pleased to say that My Miniature World Group on Face book has reached over 290 members. It seems that Face Book is quite popular and people tend to use it much more. Thank you so much everyone for joining and being part of it. It is just amazing how great you all are by sharing your works, tips and miniature experiences and mostly your friendship. 

I also wanted to thank you dear friends for your wonderful messages, cards and emails with your warm Birthday messages. I really appreciate it and it means so much to me. I can't thank you enough for your kind gestures and support. You are just fantastic, I don't need nothing more.

The New living room

Today I will be sharing with you what I have been up to in these past few days. I haven't done much but I am pleased with the slow progress.  I have started with the ground floor room which will be the living area of Miss Leah's new home. It is quite a spacious room and for a young lady it will be just fine.

So firstly I started by printing the flooring and wall paper which both where customized by me from real Victorian designed wall paper. I had found a lovely small pattern of an old Victorian design and built the wallpaper. Then I chose a Victorian tile design  to match the wall paper and built the flooring of the room.  

The wall paper and flooring

I started working on the staircase. I didn't like the stair case that came with the kit as it looked like a ladder so I adapted the landing of the top floor by closing the open space. This will be a bit more of an advantage as I will be gaining more floor. I went for a slightly narrower staircase so it won't eat much of the room's space. I added a curved step at the end of the staircase. Then I added the posts and railing.

Adding the curved bannister. 

I wanted something a bit different to compliment with the curved stair at the bottom. Using air dried clay I have finished the rail with a curved bannister. It came as perfect as I hoped for. When the clay was dried I painted the stair case, posts and bannister once again. I finished it by giving it a bit of a used and old style.

The stair Case

The room with the stair case

I then started working on the front opening panel when the main door and bay window are. It always wished to have a bay window in a real house, for some reason I always pictured having a window seat there. So after decorating the wall paper I built a window seat. 

Window seat

It seems that Lulu which is Miss Leah's little pup already found it's favorite spot on the seat,

Making the curtains

I also made some matching curtains to go with the seat and added some lace curtains around the windowsill. I like adding a thin piece of hidden card board behind the curtains to keep the curtains in a nice realistic shape.

Lulu on the window seat

The front wall panel

The Curtains

The lace curtains

I went through my stash to see which pieces of furniture I could find to fit in this room. It is quite spacious. At the back wall I will be adding a Victorian oven and it will look like a small kitchenette. Underneath the stair case I have found this hall side table which I think I will be adding a mirror over it. I have found this round table which will fit perfectly, a nice cabinet and the Chaise lounge. I also found this ceiling light that was just right for the room. I like just trying out pieces of furniture just to have a good idea how I would like to decorate the room. When I will finish with the back wall I will be adding the cornice and the floor skirting to the room. I will also be adding more pieces of furniture. I think Miss Leah is happy with it so far.

The room so far

I am pleased how it looks so far and there is so much that still needs to be added.

And here is a new post from Miss Leah's Diary. 

12th June 1880

Dear Diary,

It has been a long time since my last post. Winter was really cruel to us and quite a lot of folk have lost their lives because of this terrible influenza. I was so scared as we where on the verge of losing my dear sister Quelina. I had to run both shops until finally Matty took over. For some time we had to employ someone to help us open the shop. Constance is a great help to us. In the mean time I had to be next to Quelina most of the day. The fever wouldn't let her go and their where nights that I prayed with all my heart for her to survive. After a month her health started to improve but she was still very weak. I had to cook and make sure that she was comfortable most of the time. It was not easy looking after her and keeping up with the boutique and the antique shop. 

Our father came every weekend to stay with Quelina and when she was in her worst days he stayed with us for the whole fortnight. As Quelina's little home had only one bed room father and Matty had to spend their nights at the Master Swords Man Inn.

I didn't have much time to make arrangements for my new home. I have started to make the little apartment look a bit homely. I have made some curtains and Matty got me some nice furniture pieces. In the mean time Harry the black smith of Le Forge is working on my oven. It seems that Lulu already loves the bay window so she can see the people pass by.

I am off to bed and Quelina is already in bed, Tomorrow is another full day.

Good night my dear companion,

Love.

Leah xxx

Hope you have liked what I have done so far. Keep tuned for the next post and the progress of Miss Leah's new home.

Take Care and see you soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx