Well, I made good use of the time I had yesterday, and got a lot of work done on the kitchen, namely the plastering (but not the painting) and the kitchen fireplace mantle.
I cut out the opening in the foam, and backed it with a bit of cardboard. The mantle itself is made from carved balsa wood, stained Mission Oak. I just need to make a couple of brackets and attach them under the mantle shelf (and touch up the stain) and the surround is done. Then I need to line the interior with brick and add a hearth. But I'm quite pleased!
I also plastered the two foam walls of the kitchen, using PolyFilla mixed with white glue (because I wasn't at all sure that PolyFilla on its own would stick to the polystyrene). Incredibly messy and strangely satisfying, and it worked just fine -- now I need to paint them so they're not so stark white :)
And I got a lovely package full of doors yesterday -- five interior doors and the big front door for the house! I've never made a proper house before (the Castle is really just a series of giant room boxes) so I've never had real doors, and it's quite exciting :)
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It's looking fabulous! I hope that you'll have a long dining table in your house ;) Pop in my blog so you'll understand :D
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that stain you've used on the mantle and the doors :)
Glad you tried the polyfilla and pva mix Nina on the foam walls as thats what I was worried about, it getting all wet and soggy and falling to bits! Glad it worked out ok, and the fireplace look fab! Kate xx
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the fireplace! Gosh you are really moving along with this project. It looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Ira, I left a message for you on your blog, you sweet thing, you! Kate -- I had seen someone mention mixing pva into polyyfilla somewhere (either on a blog or in one of the many books I have :) and thought it would be a good idea. I don't think the polystyrene will go soggy -- in fact, I was worried about the opposite, that the polyfilla would just slide off the foam :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catherine -- I've got loads of wallpaper on order, and am sorta waiting for it -- many of the next steps depend on having it. And my parlour fireplace, which I've just ordered :) Well, no avoiding it any longer -- I need to build the ground floor stairway!
Me encanta como te ha quedado la chimenea, en casa de mis abuelos habia una muy parecida que estaba fabricada con las traviesas de una via.
ReplyDeletebesitos ascension
Hi there, I'm enjoying seeing the progress! I use spackle all the time on foam (builder's foam, not styrofoam) without any glue mixed in, and it has no problem sticking on there. Might save you a step in the future! Also, you can mix paint directly into it and then plaster, no follow-up painting needed! For stucco I mix sand into the spackle, it gives a nice mini-scale texture.
ReplyDelete- Grace
Have fun with all the doors!:D I just love to watch the processes of your projects!Again already beautiful kitchen!Can't wait to see this loong table!;)
ReplyDeleteWow - you're a fast worker! It's looking really great already, Nina.
ReplyDeleteCynthia
Te ha quedado genial, me gustan mucho como has hecho las vigas.
ReplyDeleteBesitos, May
What a creative burst of energy at your place at the moment!! It's all looking exceelnt, Nina, and thankyou so muc for sharing the process. Your post on the wood flooring has helped so much for me to get going on mine :)))
ReplyDeleteWow. Everything is looking great. You should check out the workshop at Camp Mini Ha Ha since you are in the same province. This year the project is a tudor castle. The link is www.campminihaha.com Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteBoy, you're really storming ahead with this one and the fireplace looks great. I used pva/pollyfilla on The Tenement. I read somewhere that the pva prevents the pollyfilla from cracking. I'm really enjoying your progress with this.
ReplyDeleteLooking VERY nice Nina ... and quick too! Using the foam is certainly the quick way to go. One of the nice points of it is that it is so stable, even when wet. It won't warp like thin wood does.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Tom
loving everything but especially the tiles and the door!
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