Heritage – Chrysnbon bathroom sink

I used the same gloss ivory color from the bathtub on the sink and sprayed the brackets flat black. I painted the faucets with Testors Aluminum to tone down the shiny appearance and aged them with a wash of black acrylic. I still need to add an overflow outlet, paint the drain and add a little rusty water staining.

The pipe included with the kit would have made the sink too low, so I used a spare pipe I purchased from Sussex Crafts. I need to buy smaller washers but have put one I had on hand in for mockup purposes.

It also bothered the realist in me that there was no way for the water to get to the taps. So, I added two lines of aluminum tubing from the sink to the floor. I’ll need really tiny washers for these. And, I plan to fashion little valve knobs so grandma can turn off the water in an emergency.

It’s a lovely little sink, no?

After having no luck at Lowes or Home Depot, I discovered a fine selection of tiny, thin washers at Ace Hardware. I didn’t have too much time to look around, but it just might become my new favorite store.

I added one washer to the sink bowl and drilled out a hole for the overflow. I placed a piece of black paper behind the overflow so no light would show through. I added a couple of brown paint washes but didn’t dirty it up too much…just enough to tone down the shine and make it look like it has been there awhile.

I bought a packet of miscellaneous watch parts some time ago for various projects I have planned. There are a lot of tiny, tiny parts in there!

Today, I rummaged through it to find suitable shutoff valves. I know these are typically oval, but all I could find were round ones. I drilled holes into the aluminum tubing and glued them in place with super glue gel.

Two more of the tiny washers finish the bottoms of the water pipes where they meet the floor. I bought a washer one size larger for the drain pipe, too.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
April 12, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – bathroom finishing, part 1

How do you get beadboard to look like it has been painted 50 times? You paint it 50 times. Okay, maybe I didn’t paint the bathroom walls 50 times, but I lost track of how many coats of paint I put on it. At least now it’s relatively smooth.

I tackled the flooring next. Using spray adhesive, I mounted the Flower Frenzy paper by We R Memory Keepers onto a sheet of regular drawing paper for stability and then sprayed it with matte sealer. I didn’t want it to be shiny, just a little deeper in color and not so paper-y. I like the way it looks like worn down linoleum.

The wallpaper is Cute Little Diamonds paper by The Paper Studio. I don’t have the paper on the front and outer walls installed permanently yet because I need to finish the chimney. I know Keli would have a fit if I didn’t continue the chimney inside the house! ;D

As I mentioned before, I know that the high tank loo isn’t exactly 1920s. But, I’m picking my battles and sticking with the Chrysnbon toilet assembled right out of the box. I used Krylon Gloss Ivory on the loo and flat black on the seat, lid, tank and brackets. I hand brushed Testors Aluminum paint onto the lever and pipe in the tank. I also painted the main pipe even though it was molded with a chrome finish in the original kit. I didn’t want the pipe to look brand new.

The medicine cabinet is also from the Chrysnbon kit. I painted it with Krylon Almond in satin finish, the same paint I used on the Bespaq bed. I like that it matches somewhat but I didn’t want a glossy finish to compete with the sink. The hinges and knob are painted with Liquitex Iridescent Bronze. I am still working on the Chrysnbon sink.

The wall sconces are Chrysolite kits, though I left off the reflectors.

I painted the brass parts copper to match the bathroom colors and switched out the included wires for replaceable bulb sockets. I painted the wires black to make them less obvious.

The wires go through the wall toward the hallway. I made thin channels in the wood and taped the wires toward the ceiling. These wires will be directed through channels on the attic floor and out the wall to the space allotted in the chimney.

With a piece of white foam core propped in for the ceiling, I can already tell I am going to love this room when it is enclosed and finished. :D

The door is propped in place backwards (door opening out) for now since it will take some work getting the interior trim in place. The beadboard takes up some of the extra wall thickness, so I’ll need to pad the framing around the top and sides of the opening.

I made the small stool from the bath kit, too. I sprayed it flat black, but the top was rough so I had to follow up with acrylic paint. I topped it off with satin varnish, and now it looks like a vintage piece that’s been painted and painted and painted.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
April 11, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – bathroom beadboard

With the window completed, I started cutting strip wood to create a beadboard effect.

The bass wood I’ve been buying lately is in rather rough condition, so it took some work before I could install it. It’s cheaper, and that’s the only positive. I’ve cut the boards the same height as the wall connectors so they blend in.

I sanded each board to remove the majority of the roughness and also sanded the sides while I was at it to make the seams between the board more pronounced. I then painted them Vintage White by Folk Art, taping them onto a painting board for this first coat. I sanded the boards once dry and glued them in place.

I then covered the boards with a second coat of paint. Here you can see the roughness and fuzziness that remains even after all this work.

I then sanded again and again in between thin coats of paint. This should not have taken all day! Next time, I’ll spend the extra money for better wood.

I made templates for the wallpaper from regular paper which I’ll use to cut the scrapbook paper. I’ll also add a strip of wood on top of the beadboard to finish the edges. The baseboard trim is cut but not yet finished and glued in place, and the flooring still needs to be sealed and installed.

I think the tall beadboard finish adds to the vintage farmhouse look.

The Chrysnbon bathroom set is being assembled and painted, so I’ve used my mockup pieces again. The cabinet and accessories will be staying as is.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
April 9, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – bathroom padding completed

The front dormer window is half kit parts and half scratch build, and as such, it didn’t fit seamlessly. I doubt it would have fit seamlessly even if I had used all kit parts. I padded the lower portion of the front wall to build up the wall for the beadboard treatment I have planned for this room. But, that still left gaps in and around the front dormer window.

To finish the inside of the dormer window, I decided to add a thin veneer layer to mask the gaps. I first made a paper template of the entire side wall.

I used that template to cut the pieces of wood veneer.

It took a double layer in a few areas, but I was able to even out the walls and eliminate the gaps. I also filled in the floor of the dormer window with a layer of balsa. Since the window is a little crooked, I’ve decided to just paint this area instead of tiling to the outer window wall.

I used spackling to fill in and smooth the joins. It’s roughly done since the main wall will be covered by wallpaper.

I sanded the area, painted the window and primed the remaining front wall. Once this layer dries, I’ll sand again and paint the final layer.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
April 7, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – foyer wallpaper and trim

Continuing work on the foyer. I reapplied the wallpaper to the foyer and glued the pocket door trim back in place. You can see a little where the wall has a bump where the upper and lower halves meet, but that actually works for my old, settling house. :D And, once everything is in, I doubt it will even be that noticeable.

I saw a wonderful idea on The Dangerous Mezzo’s blog using what’s called anaglypta – textured wallpaper you can paint. I did some looking around on the internet and found the same one. It was $10 for a roll at the local Lowes.

I used the same cut border portion.

An Easy Cutter helps cut the ends straight.

It won’t cut through the material, but it leaves a good crisp line to follow with scissors.

I’m planning to paint this Vintage White by Folk Art to match the rest of the trim, but I’ve put it on the wall with some mini hold wax to see what it will look like. There will be plain off white paper above the border. I think it’s going to look wonderful. It will make the transition between the wall and the ceiling of the foyer blend well and finish off the second floor wall nicely.

From the foyer, it will complement the nice, tall ceiling. :D Love it!

For the upstairs hallway, I opted for a full wall of wallpaper. The only reason I am using the wide anaglypta border in the two story foyer is because the Turquoise Gothic Stripe scrapbook paper has a maximum height of 12 inches and any seam between two sheets of paper would be very obvious. But, there is no reason why I can’t paper the entire hallway-to-bathroom wall with the same pattern. I don’t need to have the anaglypta border on this wall at all since there is no obvious seam to mask.

The border will finish off the foyer and terminate where the balcony railing begins on this wall. I won’t be using these railings but building my own. They will be taller and not painted white.

Finishing here.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
April 7, 2012 | 0 comments