Windows

With all of the talk in my previous post about house colors and window trim colors, I figured it was time to show you how Rosie's windows are coming along.

Rosie's windows are a great project for working on in the evenings after work. The pieces are small, take up very little room and can be worked on one at a time, so they make a great mini project when my brain is tired or I don't have time or energy to pull out tons of supplies. What I didn't realize, however, is that Rosie's windows are a major project overall.

The original owner had primed most of the windows and I think they were put together before the paint was completely dry because in attempting to remove the window panes from the frames (which you are supposed to be able to do with working windows), the majority of the windows broke apart - and not in one or two pieces either - many of the frames broke into 4 pieces, and that doesn't include the window pane frames (2 per window)! There are over 20 windows in this house, and having so many pieces that would need to be sanded & glued back together (something I'm not necessarily very good at) seemed like a very daunting task.

Some of the partially repaired windows

 
In addition to the window parts, there are window headers and window sills for most of the windows that will need to be painted as well:

Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I could get them all put back together, at least not well enough to be happy with their appearance. And let's be honest here, if this is going to be my "forever" house, then I'm not aiming for "okay" I'm shooting for damn-near perfect! So for a little while I was unsure of whether or not I would continue working on the house - more of my "all or nothing" attitude that I'm constantly having to work on...

What I ended up doing is working one step at a time - doing each small step and focusing just on that little step, not concentrating on the big overwhelming picture. And although it has taken me weeks to get to this point, I am thrilled to report that the windows are coming along nicely. I can indeed glue window frames back together - sometimes I have to redo them because they aren't glued straight, and sometimes I have to use a little spackle to fill in tiny gaps - but with enough sanding and painting (3 light coats of paint on both sides of the frames and both sides of the window panes)these windows are starting to look pretty nice. Not perfect mind you, but damn-near!

Selecting Rosie's Colors

Who would've thought selecting paint colors for a dollhouse could be such a frustrating process? From the first time I saw Rosie sitting in the driveway of the original owners home, I envisioned her done up in pink... Why pink, you ask? While I can think of all sorts of plausible answers, like "that was my vision for a victorian painted lady" or "I wanted a house in pretty, feminine,soft colors" or even "pink would compliment the color scheme of the room she will be displayed in", the truth is I pictured her in pink simply because I like the color pink. It's one of my favorite colors and much to my friend Kelly's dismay, painting this house pink was the one thing I wasn't willing to budge on.

 But while I envisioned Rosie done up in pink, I didn't really have any clear plan or thought on how to come up with a color theme that would compliment her architectural lines without making her look like a play toy or like she's painted with Pepto-Bismol. So first I needed to select a pink that wasn't so pink that it looked childish (think bubblegum or cotton candy - and they actually do have paint colors by those names!), but at the same time, a pink that would stand out next to whatever trim colors I chose. This turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. I ended up borrowing a historical paint color sampler from Kelly and going to Home Depot and getting all the little pink paint sample cards to compare it with and finally selected "Royal Silk" for my pink.

Main house color

Once I settled on my shade of pink for the main body of the house, I had to select the main trim color as well as secondary trim colors. I wanted an antique white or off white for the main trim color - but this antique white would have to do double duty - besides being the main exterior trim color, this antique white will also be carried into the house interior, and used for any painted woodwork. So in addition to needing an antique white that would look good with the pink exterior, this antique white would also need to compliment the wallpaper colors that would be used on the interior!

 Don't ask me why I decided to paint the interior woodwork rather than stain it - I don't have any answer other than if there's a harder way to do something, I'm pretty good at finding it! Eventually found an antique white that I thought would work for both applications and started painting window trim with it. This is when I discovered that the color on the paint card doesn't necessarily look exactly the same on what you're painting. Silly me for thinking it would... The soft, mellow white on the paint card looked way too white on the window trim. So it was back to the store to pick out another antique/off white that would work.  I finally settled on "Creamy White" which to my eye looks more like an antique white than the one that was called antique white.

Main trim color

 Once I had the main house color & the main trim color selected, I needed to select a secondary trim color to highlight the exterior window trim. I really wanted to keep with the pink theme on the house exterior, so I purchased a sample pot of darker pink & tried it out on the window pane frames. Even I, pinks biggest fan, had to admit that sometimes too much of a good thing is pretty awful. Pink trim inside of white frames on top of a pink house is enough pink to make you gag. So I needed to pick out a different color to compliment the pink. I went back to the color sample of historical Victorian colors and selected a pretty blue to compliment the house. The first blue I picked looked great in the paint can but took on a purple hue once it was too close to the pink house. So back to Home Depot I went and picked a much lighter blue sample pot. I can't believe I'm admitting to all the time, energy (and obsessive concentration) that went into selecting the perfect colors for this house!

Blue trim color

The Entry Hall & My Introduction to Power Tools

Originally Rosie had a large arched doorway between the entry hall and living room.  I purchased a resin arch to trim this doorway, but when I placed the trim against the wall to see how it would look I discovered I didn't particularly care for it.  What I really wanted in this doorway was a set of french doors with lace panels.  Only problem with this idea is that the arched doorway is too wide and too short for french doors. Not to mention arched...

I don't like power tools.  Let me rephrase that: I very much appreciate what power tools are capable of creating in the right hands - but my hands are not the right ones...  Power tools, such as jigsaws, intimidate me. 

Add to this the fact that not only am I incapable of drawing or cutting a straight line, but no matter how many times I measure something, the measurements of my final project always end up a little bit off.  Knowing all of these limitations about myself, you would think that I would have picked a project with less potential for bodily injury or damage to the dollhouse shell.  But I was a woman with a mission and I wasn't going to let a little thing like inexperience stand in my way of getting the doorway cut!

I pulled out the jigsaw, plugged it in & went to work trying to cut out the outline I had drawn on the wall for the french doors.  And promptly broke the blade.  Now, I could've given up there and just waited for Kelly to come over next weekend and rescue my poor house by cutting the doorway herself, but once I decide to do something - for better or worse I do it.  So I taught myself how to change the blade & went back to work on the wall.

Before I show you what I ended up with, let me just point out that spackle is your friend....

As you can see by the photo, I still cannot cut a straight line; however, (patting self on back now) I am proud to announce that the doorway, such as it is, is now large enough for the french doors!  Once I sanded the jagged/lopsided cut and filled in the side of the doorway opening (where it's too wide for the door) with scrap wood  it was ready to spackle & prime.  After priming the wall, it looks (almost)as good as new & ready for wallpaper.

Primed wall