The Artist’s Studio – Wood stove, part 1

Here’s a quick reminder of my wood stove, shown in (very rough) paper mockup form.

This stove from Charnwood is my main inspiration.

And my sketch for the version I plan to make.

Inspired by the work of Kris at 1 Inch Minis, I’ve opted for mat board. Since I am using a Grandt Line O scale diamond pattern window (3743) to serve as the door, I started there. I traced around the inside of the door frame and then marked the outline for the front.

I used circle templates to make the lower curve detailing. I added a little height to this piece since my mockup was too short in relation to the furnishings. This includes the wood storage area on the bottom. My stove measurements ended up being 1 15/16″ wide by 3″ tall.

Hello, lovely scroll saw! ;D

I don’t have a lot of practice cutting curves on the scroll saw…in fact, this was my first! So, the two sides were a little uneven. I flipped the cutout over and traced the outline onto the opposite side.

I used files and a sanding stick to even out the design. I also sanded the edges slightly to make it more rounded as though it were shaped from metal. Mine is a little fancier than the inspiration piece, but it will work well with the fancier door I have planned. I cut the back to match the front, leaving off the curved detailing.

I measured the depth required to hold the small fire from Mainly Minis and cut two pieces the same height as the front and back using this measurement as the width.

I cut an interior base to fit inside these four pieces from foam core board. I wanted a sturdy base to hold the fire inside the stove. I marked the line where the foam core shelf will sit inside the stove.

I tested the stove for fit in the room, and it looked good overall. I won’t need to adjust the brick surround much.

I think I need to switch this small fire with the wider fire I usually use, though. :D There’s a lot of space inside the stove, so I think I’m going to start by lining the sides and back of the interior with foam core.

Categories: The Artist's Studio
February 19, 2013 | 0 comments

The Artist’s Studio – Interior progress, continued

Continuing progress on the interior. Before I could install the wallpaper, I needed to make outlets for the two lamps that would be plugged into the walls. I usually make my faux outlets from wood, but this time I tried out the glossy printed ones from miniatures.com. They work well here since this is a more modern build.

I decided to go with the silver lamp from The Dolls House Emporium, simply because it looked the most like a work lamp. I will build a taller table for it to work better with the easel.

I then glued in the wallpaper…always a test of patience. I also glued the Southern Pine flooring sheet to the ceiling board. I had to use four rows of boards from a second sheet to cover the entire ceiling.

Once dry, I used the same Delta Ceramcoat satin varnish that I had used on the flooring. It warmed the wood tones slightly.

Just a quick note on why I initially wanted a natural wood ceiling and decided to stick with that idea. I guess I’ve considered this building to be an extra space built on a larger lot with a residence…like an efficiency apartment. So, it wasn’t built with the idea of its being a studio, per se, but a small retreat or guest cottage. Now, it is occupied by an artist, and the cozy warmth inside inspires creativity even if it’s not designed to be the most efficient artist studio with the best possible lighting and tons of storage.

I installed the Lundby sconces in the living area. Since these will need to be removable for rewiring, they are held in place with mini hold wax. On the outside, I ran the wires through the channels to the open area. Since I don’t want the wires to stick to the tape keeping them in place, I added quilling paper to the tape.

This will keep the wires in the channels but able to move freely in case of rewiring.

For the Lundby sconce above the door, I needed to glue in the wallpaper first. But, I can’t install the exterior coach lamp until after the siding is on the outside. But, I can’t install the siding until the ceiling is on and the recessed can light is wired. Oy.

So, I glued the part of the interior wallpaper that covers the Lundby sconce hole but left the lower portion free so I can wire the coach lamp later on.

Since I had the wiring completed on the back wall, I decided to glue on the exterior siding template to see how easy it was (or not) to do. I spread Aleene’s Quick Dry glue on the back of the template and dotted it with dabs of super glue gel. I pressed it in place and taped it across. So far so good.

I painted the baseboard trim Warm White by Americana. Why that color and not true white? It’s softer, and I had an extra bottle of it from The Aero Squadron Lounge. Since the interior is still in progress, only the back and outer side baseboards are installed at this point. The outlet stickers worked very well.

I accomplished quite a lot over the long weekend.

The work lamp can double as a table lamp by the daybed, too.

Categories: The Artist's Studio
February 18, 2013 | 0 comments

The Artist’s Studio – Interior progress

Today, I spent some time on the interior. I chose the darker of the two wallpapers – Daler-Rowney Dreadnought Grey. I tried both papers out with the whimsical cabinet by minisx2 and some scrapbook paper art I have planned for the space. The darker grey just set the pieces apart.

The lighter Canson Pearl Grey was too washed out in comparison.

After putting the interior wall in permanently, my initial removable wall was no longer a good fit. I cut a new wall from 1/8″ plywood and 1/4″ foam core board. The two thicknesses glued together will be the size needed for a Houseworks door.

None of the wallpaper is glued in place yet since I have some lighting to work on first, but I tried out the wood ceiling with the new grey paper in place. I liked it well enough to cut the window openings for a more in depth mockup. I love the warmth and visual interest it adds.

Since the bathroom wall will be removable, I’m going to finish the front edge of the dividing wall with 1/2″ wide half round trim. This will have the slightest overhang on either side of the 3/8″ thick wall and give some stability to the removable wall. It will also mask where the wallpaper ends on that removable wall.

For comparison, here is the Studio with a plain white ceiling.

I’m sure some will like it better, but to me it seems too plain.

Categories: The Artist's Studio
February 17, 2013 | 0 comments

The Artist’s Studio – Rustic wood siding

I had a lot of Corona Concepts 3/4″ birch siding strips leftover from Baslow Ranch. When Lyssa started working on her Mt. Ollopa Lodge earlier this year, she needed siding. I sent her what I had and didn’t think any more about it. When I started working on the Studio, I realized I needed the excess siding after all. I asked her if she had any left, and she did! So, some packages traveled back up to my place. There wasn’t quite enough, so I bought another package from Greenleaf.

After putting in the wiring channels, I discovered that the recessed ceiling lights would have to be installed before the exterior siding, which is exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do.  I prefer to mount siding when the walls are unassembled so I can press them flat to dry as needed. But, I had a lot of success using drawing paper templates for the Heritage attic walls, so that would be my solution.

Even though I am not ready to install the siding yet, I decided to work on the templates today. I bought a package of 12″ x 18″ black construction paper since the store I was at didn’t have larger sheets of colored drawing paper. I started with the back, and the 18″ wide sheet was exactly the measurement needed. I cut the shorter side down, taking into account that the ceiling board will cover the top edge.  I cut out the window holes as well.

The two sides are slightly taller than the 12″ height of the paper, so I had to piece it at the very top.

I cut around the openings for the exposed wires for the Lundby sconces. (For more on that, see this previous post.)

I did the same for the opposite side.

I had numbered the siding pieces for each side wall to use in order. These had been measured to fit up to the exposed wires. I used Aleene’s Quick Dry glue to attach the siding pieces to the paper template, covering any holes in the template for now. Even though I planned to paint instead of stain, I was still careful to keep glue off the exterior surface.

I pressed the templates flat to dry under magazines.  Once dry, I cut the openings in each piece.

I tested the fit to make sure everything was working.

I chose Barn Red by Apple Barrel. It’s such a fine barn red. :D I painted two thin coats back to back.

I left the sided templates uncovered to dry until the paint was no longer tacky. I then covered the templates with waxed paper and pressed them flat to dry with magazines. I’ll keep these unattached until later in the build.

Categories: The Artist's Studio
February 16, 2013 | 0 comments

The Artist’s Studio – Rustic wood floor, completed

Lucille suggested using a template, so that is where I started with the rustic wood floor. I moved the boards I cut previously onto the kitchen counter.

I cut a template from regular drawing paper. I had used a darker color for the Heritage attic, but I didn’t feel like running to the store just for a piece of paper. I didn’t think much of the white paper would show ultimately.

I glued the boards in place with the template inside the Studio. I hoped it would make for a better fit. It was such a great fit that I had a hard time taking the assembled floor back out of the structure. :D

I sanded the boards with my Dremel Multi-Max oscillating tool, first using a medium grit paper followed by a fine grit paper.

The end result was a smoother surface, but I took Mike’s advice and left it a little uneven to keep the rustic beauty.

For finishing, I brushed on two coats of Delta Ceramcoat satin varnish. It warmed the wood slightly and gave it a subtle sheen.

I used a modest amount of glue to install the flooring since the thicker boards were relatively flat. Love it!

Categories: The Artist's Studio
February 15, 2013 | 0 comments