The final room in The Haunted Heritage is the third floor attic space. This was a lot of fun to put together, and I am sure to add a few more things to it over the years.
In my world, grandma is able to navigate those pull down attic stairs easily, walk about the attic without hitting her head and sit comfortably for hours in a space that doesn’t appear to have any airflow for the warmer months or heating for the colder ones. :D To that end, the attic is a collection of fine (or not so fine) antiques set into vignettes where grandma can get away from it all.
Structurally, this area is pretty much right out of the kit. I did replace the attic floor plywood since I made so many modifications to the lower floors (bath and ceiling boards as well as the bedroom ceiling board). Most of the wiring for the second floor runs through the attic boards. Look at this craziness!
The attic floor line overall ended up a little crooked. Apparently, the bathroom and bedroom interior walls were slightly off in measurement from one another and the parlor ceiling had started to sag. It’s a good thing this was meant to be an old house!
Using one long strip of corner trim across the back edge of the attic floor helps disguise the minor warp between the three boards that make up the second floor ceiling. The back surface of the trim is painted dark brown, but I painted the top portion to match the attic floor. The warp is barely noticeable in the end.
I finished the walls with faux slats and rafters and painted them to look like old, dusty wood.
The floor was done in the same manner. The floor appears dustier than the walls, which is the look I was aiming for.
I love the atmosphere of this space.
I installed faux attic stairs as I had done for Baslow Ranch based on the Greenleaf tutorial. I altered the upper portion a little, making the door taller than the sides.
Some of the chimney is visible in the attic. It lines up so well, but once the extra roof wall was put in place you were no longer able to see it. :\ At least I have the photo to prove it!
I still love the look, even if it’s less clear how precise the alignment is.
The two lights are from The Lighting Bug. Love these bare bulb fixtures!
I think their hanging bare bulb light is my all time favorite. It so reminds me of my childhood farmhouse.
These are the perfect lights for the attic.
I aged the ceiling plate and socket with acrylic paint.
I love this fixture!!! :D
The attic has a lot of minis. L Delaney made this lovely book – Sinking of the Titanic, Thrilling Stories Told by Survivors.
I was the lucky winner of Andrea’s giveaway on her new blog, and I chose her Farm Animals Funny Cubes in miniature for grandma’s attic…so vintage, so cute!!! :D Aw, look at the cute Piggie! Each cube measures 1/4″ and each side has part of one of six animals, the others being Kitty, Doggie, Fox, Cow, and Bunny.
Stacks of vintage suitcases are all over the design blogs and Pinterest. They combine nostalgia and beauty. I knew I wanted a set for grandma’s attic, and there is no better artisan to turn to than Fran at FranMadeMinis. I sent her some of my favorite pictures of vintage suitcases, and she knocked it out of the park once again!
This lovely painting is a miniature reproduction of one created by my dear friend Lyssa. This is here in the attic only for holding. It will be proudly displayed in a future house. The wood and brass toy train was in a miniatures lot I bought on craigslist. It’s very well made, and the wheels turn. It actually rolls around along the uneven attic floor.
The wood and brass toy train was in a miniatures lot I bought on craigslist. It’s very well made, and the wheels turn. It actually rolls around along the uneven attic floor.
With my work bonus, I spoiled myself a little and bought this 1908 Miniature Underwood Typewriter by Ken Byers of Shaker Works West. The horse is from Anna.
It fits wonderfully in grandma’s attic, though I foresee this piece making the rounds in my various builds.
The sewing machine box is from Four Little Walls. It’s sitting on a crate with some random books I made in front.
There’s a vintage race car in red, suitably aged and well loved.
This insanely tiny piece was made by Andrea Thieck, and yes, the wheels turn!
The dress drawings with fabric swatches are also from L Delaney.
I’d love to find this tulip dress pattern in real life size and make one for myself.
The red vintage sofa is one of my favorite pieces, but I couldn’t imagine making a whole room around it. It fits perfectly in the attic. Lyssa sent me the Summer Sisters book, a miniature of the one she lent me to read. Marion sent me the most adorable plush sea otter that she made!!! :D He’s so well made and soft, standing at 2 7/8″ tall. He’s poseable, too!
Here he is admiring his snazzy tie in the mirror. He makes me smile. He was meant for the Heritage attic, but he might have to get his own abode some day. :D
Glenda sold a few of her fine artisan miniatures that she didn’t end up using in her projects, and I offered a new home to an adorable little mouse made by Kristy of Mini Menagerie. Kristy stopped making mini animals, and I was sad that I might never be able to have one of her creations for my own. Thanks to Glenda, I was able to add this one to my collection along with the lovely green rug Glenda sent along with him. Here he is holding a spinning top from CW Lubin, though he came with a strawberry.
The vintage kitty doll is from my childhood dollhouse.
The little fuzzy lamb pull toy is from Barb’s Corner.
The Lincoln chest is from miniatures.com, the hat boxes are from Thyme Soul Miniatures, and the green shoes are from Spencer’s Nook.
I want these in real life size! :D
I entered a competition hosted by Minimum World in the UK, and each contestant was sent a prize for participating. My gift was a lovely set of granny boots, a fancy hat with stand and a parasol by Katy Sue Designs. They are lovely and the perfect addition for grandma’s attic!
The box of Christmas items was made by M Carmen; the snowman bead and primitive snowman statue were purchased. Caterina sent me the Christmas Carol book.
Now, the primitive snowman has an interesting story to tell. I once noticed he was facing backwards. I thought this was odd of me to do, but I just shrugged and turned him around. About a week later I went to set up an attic scene, and he was facing backwards again!!!! :O Haunted attic indeed! I was seriously disturbed by this because I knew I had turned him around days earlier. Later that day, I was using the scroll saw and something fell out of the Heritage (the saw is attached to the same table). After picking up the wayward mini, I checked the attic and sure enough, that snowman had walked forward! Mystery solved…or was it? Hmm….
Lyssa attempted to scare the bejesus out of me by sending a clown in the mail. But, I am fearless!!! So there….
The ornaments were made by Jane of MiniFanaticus.
The catacombs case clock is the debut miniature from Tony at Miniature Treasures.
It’s just so gorgeous, so well made. I tell you – it even smells awesome!!!! :D It smells of wood and parchment and leather. The scent reminds me of ‘new car smell’ most of all.
Tony used a skull carved from genuine bone, genuine 18th century vellum, optical glass from a pair of broken Victorian spectacles, a hand carved rutile quartz skull, and items from broken watches and clocks.
The tiny mouse is from Sussex Crafts.
Here is the third dress sketch along with another book from L Delaney.
The magazines were won in a giveaway from Dolly’s Gallery. Gail sent me two lovely Saturday Evening Post magazines.
When it comes to vintage magazines, the ads on the back are just as interesting as the covers.
