Elizabeth Wharton Drexel

I visited the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island many years ago. It’s a beautiful place and the mansions are well worth touring if you are ever in the area. It is amazing to see the wealth and art that went into the places.

In one of the mansions, The Elms, hangs a beautiful painting by Giovanni Boldini of Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, 1905. I loved the painting the moment I saw it, and when planning the Heritage parlor I thought it would be perfect.

I bought the frame at a local mini show for its shape, size and detailing, though I didn’t care much for the color. It’s too bright for the room and the only gold piece. Here is the frame before refinishing and the painting as an unaltered paper printout.

 I used Liquitex Iridescent Bronze paint to darken the bright gold finish. It’s a subtle change, but it makes such a difference.

I sharpened and brightened the painting image in PhotoShop and printed on bond paper. It has a less shiny surface than regular computer paper. I think the painting looks older and richer now.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
March 16, 2012 | 0 comments

Parlor ceiling and related progress, part 2

Continuing work on the parlor ceiling. I pasted in the remaining foyer wallpaper piece now that I had the new ceiling board cut.

As you can see, the front and side walls have wallpaper continuing up to the second story while the pocket door wall is short. Since I couldn’t build the pocket door wall as a single two-story wall, I’ll have to piece the wallpaper on this side. If the seam is very noticeable, I’ll add some decorative trim to cover it.

I liked the heat register in the kitchen so well that I’ll add another here in the parlor behind the staircase. It will barely show since it’s a dark corner, but I add these relatively hidden details just for myself. For right now, I have a straight piece of baseboard cut to fit behind the stairs. I will work on the heat register and final baseboard trim behind the stairs after I get the stairs installed permanently. Since this in near the open back, it’s not necessary to complete it before the ceiling board is in place.

Baseboard really brings forth a lot of realism.

The baseboard on either side of the fireplace was tricky since it doesn’t have flat sides. I shaped the baseboard to wrap around the fireplace as well as I could possibly do, but there were still gaps that distracted me.

Since it would be difficult to add spackling after installation, I coated the ends with some of the material before gluing the pieces in place.

While the spackling was still wet, I was able to shape it with a toothpick. Even before touching up with paint, the joins are less distracting now.

For the crown molding, I went with a fancy real life sized carved trim that ties in well with the large medallion. I’ve painted the trim white to match the ceiling. I decided to finish cutting the crown molding pieces while the ceiling board was removable but I won’t install them until later. I might have to re-cut one piece that seems temperamental, but it’s a good start.

I then glued the ceiling board in place. I used a large clamp to hold the side wall inward and canned goods for weight along the outer edge. So far, so good.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
March 15, 2012 | 0 comments

Parlor ceiling and related progress, part 1

The padding I added to the side wall ended up a little higher than the padding on the front wall when I assembled the house, so I added a slim strip of wood to make up the difference.

This shim will keep the ceiling board level. I am already planning to use crown molding in the room so it won’t show later on.

For the ceiling board, I was able to use the plywood board that I had cut incorrectly when making the pocket door wall. Nothing goes to waste! :D I added the additional depth needed and measured for the placement of the stairs.

The board is relatively flat to begin with, so I am hopeful there will be minimal warping once the flooring and trims are installed. I plan to prime it on both sides and press it while it dries to help with this, too.

I positioned the stairs in such a way that they stick up above the plywood. This will allow for the thickness of the second story flooring materials.

I taped a ceiling medallion by Unique Miniatures on the ceiling, using the Katie Arthur rug as a guide. There will be a chandelier in this room that coordinates with the sconces above the fireplace. The ceiling, crown molding and medallion will all be painted white to lighten the rather dark room.

I have a hard time with fancy rooms since they aren’t my usual thing.

The next order of business was cutting the wire channels for the parlor ceiling light as well as the two kitchen ceiling fixtures. These wires all terminate inside the chimney. The lights in the upstairs rooms will run along the attic floor and out to the chimney.

I already had the front window trim painted and ready to install. When I cut this new opening, however, I must have measured incorrectly since there is a lot of space on either side of the window.

I was lucky that the outer trim covered this completely. I wanted to make sure no light would show through, so I added some strip wood to plug the gaps.

Once the trim was glued in place, I filled in any gaps, touched up the paint and added a window pull. I plan to add some drapery to this window, but it already looks so much more realistic. I think Miss Kitty approves. :D

Part 2 here.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
March 14, 2012 | 0 comments

Chrysolite gaslight chandelier kit

The chandelier was plated in a brass finish, which is not to my taste.

I taped the pieces to a board and sprayed all the pieces flat black. The chandelier kit version I chose had replaceable bulbs but with white wires that were relatively thick. I used candle sockets with varnished wires instead.

The sconces were very easy to put together, but this contraption took some doing. You basically cut two of the bulb wires short to attach to the longer third, twist all the wires together and feed this spidery assembly through the plastic pieces. Right. Soldering was suggested, but I’ve never done any soldering and certainly don’t have the supplies to do so.

I used shrink tubes to keep the wires together, but in fiddling with them some of the varnish came off the wires in places not covered by the shrink tubes. I bought a jar of liquid electrical tape some time ago but had yet to try it out. I figured this was the best time to test it out. I put a small dab on my “glue” board and applied it to the wire connections with a toothpick. There were no instructions on the bottle, mind you.

You’re supposed to feed half of the wires through the top channel and the other half through the bottom channel. After three failed attempts, I twisted the wires for each bulb together and fed them through the bottom channel.

This meant I had to run the wires around the scroll details which were supposedly “snap in place” wire holders.  I glued the scrolls in place.

I’ll install the chandelier so the wires face the front wall. I’ll also paint them black to match as I had done for the wall sconces.

I tested the bulbs repeatedly during the process to make sure they were all working. They are temperamental, but they work! Here’s the chandelier in place without its chain, which is at the moment brass in color. I am going to attempt to spray paint it when I do the touch-ups on the chandelier paint.

I love it with the large medallion!

I placed a piece of large crown molding in for mockup purposes, too. The one I plan to use is about the same size but a little fancier.

I next added the chain to the chandelier, using half of the length provided in the kit.

Once assembled, I suspended the fixture from a piece of cardboard and sprayed painted the chain and wires as well as a few of the areas marred by the construction process. I had a few areas of brass chain and red wire still showing, so I touched those up with black acrylic paint and a tiny paintbrush.

It’s a little crooked here, but the nice thing about the varnished wires is the fact that they are more rigid than the typical white wires. You can bend and position them, and they stay put. This helps combat the fact that this plastic chandelier is too lightweight for gravity to hold it straight.

Painting the ceiling, medallion and crown molding all white really helped unify the look. I think it’s going to work really well for this room.

You can’t see much through the front door, but I like this photo. :D

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
March 10, 2012 | 0 comments

Beautiful Bespaq vanity and heart-shaped chair

Those of you who know me in real life know that I wear skirts and dresses 360 days a year, even in the dead of a Chicago winter. But, my home isn’t excessively girly or feminine. It’s more New England cottage meets French Country rustic.

However, I am head over heels for this tiny, ultra feminine Bespaq vanity and heart-shaped chair. :D It’s from Small World Miniatures. I think they look wonderful against the Out of Time scrapbook paper by Recollections that I plan to use as wallpaper in the bedroom. The hand painted details are incredible.

The vanity tray I made fits perfectly on one side with the C. Rohal peacock box and Art of Mini lamp on the other. Not much room for anything else besides a small book. At first I thought the lamp might be too big for the vanity, but I rather like it. It has a warm glow and the perfect vintage feel.

I’ve lined the drawer with pretty parchment paper and added a few things I had on hand. The laser cut hair combs are from The Dolls House Mall. The letter is just a paper cutout for now, but I’ll have to make a pretty opening envelop and letter for the drawer. The laser cut key is by le mini di Pierliugi, purchased at one of the Bishop shows. Grandma’s lucky gold coin is made by Phoenix Models.

The vanity and chair are the perfect pieces I was looking for and will be wonderful in the Heritage bedroom!

Categories: Furniture, The Haunted Heritage
March 8, 2012 | 0 comments