Emma Waddell
Emma Waddell
Been meaning to do this for ages. I get asked about plaster cornice and how hard it is to put up. I found this method which works for me when working around a chimney breast, hope this helps to anyone who’s interested in having a go. Lay the chinmney breast on its back on the floor and work around it, that way you can see how it will fit when it goes up.
I’m now a week behind on my current commission because of this…
I had reccomended a carpenter I knew to make a house for a lady that had to be long rather than tall so she could access it. She ended up with a box with holes for windows resembling a rabbit hutch. When I reccomend someone, I take responsibility so I had to put this right. I worked all week and ended up with this, it’s base coated ready to be painted…my lady now happy.
My client likes the railings on the outside of the Windows, but not the MDF ones that come with the house, nor the ones at the top where you would normally have balustrade. I’m starting to replace things that are more in keeping with a real house, it’s all just base coated and not stuck down, but you can see things starting to change. believe it or not, this is two weeks work, it’s all bespoke.
In every commission I work on, I do an ‘extra’ this is a gift from me for free, it is usually an upgrade of some kind. In this case I thought with the level of the interior finish this lady is having it was a shame to have the paper tiles on the roof, so I stripped them off and I will replace them with something more in keeping with the quality of the rest of the house decor. I don’t know yet, but my time and materials will be at my cost. This is the roof stripped and a base colour of white put on the house, my brief is to age the house…now I have a blank canvas.
It had been painted (not by me) using a textured paint, a lot of time and effort had gone into this, but it came out the same colour as the MDF, see the contrast against the untouched MDF inside? My client has a fine collection and refined taste, so it wasn’t what she really intended for it, so that’s when I got it, what do you think?
Something I have always fancied doing is a step by step on a project. Commissions come to me for so many reasons and for various levels of work. The one thing they all have in common is the owners want something beautiful at the end. This is one from the beginning that just overwhelmed my client because of its size. It started as an Ashtorpe manor by the ‘Dolls House Builder’. I’ll post pics as I change and play about with it….
Before… As delivered to my client.. Follow my progress below if you are interested..
I wanted to highlight the work of a friend of mine, Tanya Harvey from Tanya’s Little Curtains. In this Marie Antonette inspired room she made or dressed most of the furnishings, including the beautiful dress, based on the real wedding dress of the French Queen.
