"Cast Iron" Spiral Stairs

"Cast Iron" Spiral Stairs

There is a balcony off the parlor which needed a spiral staircase to give access to the garden.

To make the cast iron spiral stairs I followed the tutorial http://pequeneces-maragverdugo.blogspot.de/

I found that the fragile bits of fan often split when I tried to drill the hole in the treads for the center pole, so I doubled up the treads and glued them together before drilling.

Instead of using wire for the raining balusters I used Tiny Turnings cut in half. The little points on the bottom fit into the holes in the center of the circle on outside edge of the stair treads and which was really helpful in spacing them evenly and holding them in place while the glue dried.

Before attaching the balusters I used a tiny round file to file a grove into the top of each one to hold the banister. I struggled with the wire for the banister. I couldn't get it to follow the spiral of the tops of the balusters and the circumference of the staircase and  the angle of the rise of the stairs. So I switched tactics and used a piece of round leather lacing which was much more flexible and easier to glue in place.  I glued one end into a curl for the bottom of the banister. I then attached the leather lacing to a few balusters at a time, starting at the bottom and waiting for the glue to dry before doing the next few.  I left a long tail at the top end so I could fit it in place later.

I spray painted the whole thing with flat black paint and voila!

Only one problem... When I went to put it in place I realized that it spirals the wrong direction and would dead end into a wall. Sigh.

So I made another one going the other direction and now have an extra one if someone out there wants it.

Making Flowers

Making Flowers

At the 2016 Philadelphia Miniaturia Show I took a flower-making class which taught me to have great respect for the way artisans price their work. After 8 hours hunched over I came away with one stalk of hollyhocks and a few daisies.

Since then I have been doing lots of research online  Some of my favorites are:

Tutorials:

Hostas

http://weloveminiatures.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Hosta-Great-Expectations.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX4ZlSI2LRI&feature=youtu.be

I made these and added flowers made from disassembled polymer foxgloves:

Nasturtium 

http://miniaturowyblog.blogspot.ca/2013/06/nasturcja.html

I cheated on these. I had a bunch of tiny vintage leaves and used them instead of making my own. 

Clematis 

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/dollhouse_news/JUL2009/miniature-clematis-vine.html

https://www.scribd.com/document/32363428/AIM-Mag-Issue-24-June-July-2010  (Page 95)

Wisteria

http://cositasdecarmen.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/ESCENA%20GLICINIA

Morning Glory

https://www.thespruce.com/make-realistic-miniature-morning-glory-vines-2365681

Lavender

https://www.scribd.com/document/105737480/AIM-Issue-43-Sept-2012 (Page 22)

Japanese Maple

http://debbiestinytreasures.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2014-11-12T16:50:00Z&max-results=7&start=16&by-date=false (Scroll to bottom)

Hens and Chicks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOIFLFl74mU

Garden Ideas and How To's

http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.com/2014/10/more-color.html

I bought a bunch of polymer clay flowers on ebay:

Some I left intact but added more realistic leaves (like the foxgloves and day lilies) 

and some I disassembled and used to make my own flowers (like the delphinium). 

Garden: First Attempts

Garden: First Attempts

I am an avid gardener and so, apparently are the occupants of my minihouse. I have designed the garden so that it is constructed in two wooden trays that can be swapped out for the different seasons.

I have gone completely overboard collecting plant material; everything from model train landscaping materials, artificial plants from Michael's, tiny polymer flowers made in Asia and paper punches to make my own. Talk about a learning curve! Each time I complete something that I;m satisfied with, I look online at other folks fabulous creations and start over.

Last winter's garden was a temporary, thrown together affair which I'll redo this winter.

Last Spring was somewhat better:

By Summer things had improved considerably:

Fall is messy! I used a combination of dried mosses, purchased shrubs and plants and bits of artificial plants.

While binge watching TV I punched out thousands of Fall leaves, mostly from brown paper bags. For the oak tree, I bought a pair of bare tree armatures and cut one's branches off and added them to the other. Then I thinly spread glue over the branches a few at a time and rolled them in a pile of leaves. 

I was so busy this winter that I never got around to setting up the winter garden and now it is nearly Spring again. I'll be setting that one up soon.

Parlor Floor Woodwork

Parlor Floor Woodwork

I have tried to incorporate actual features from the house I live in and from the one my sister lives in, a block away. It is amazing that any of the original details have survived more than 100 years. These houses were originally built as single family homes but were divided up into smaller and smaller apartments and bed-sit rooms. Fortunately, much of the original woodwork remains.

The first part of the parlor floor that I worked on was the hall sine once the room walls were attached it would be difficult to get to. It is a replica of the hall in my house including the mahogany paneling and the little seat part way up the stairs. I obsessed about accuracy and detailing even though when the house is done the hall will only be visible by peering through the doors.

First I assembled the staircase:

Then worked on the wainscotting. The panels are discontinued mahogany from Northeast Lumber. My brother lent me use of his shop and scrap mahogany to make the rest of the pieces.

I assembled the wainscotting on the wall that would be installed later to create the back wall of the rooms and the inner of the two front doors.

These houses had two sets of front doors creating a small vestibule between them.  In my house this has been removed, but at my sister's it is still intact.

Here's the real thing:

And here's the mini version:

The hall worked out so well that when I showed a picture to a friend they thought it was my hall and that we had hung wallpaper.

Parlor Floor Construction:

Parlor Floor Construction:

After building the shell of the parlor floor I headed off on vacation. In the hope that work would proceed without me, I left the workmen on site:

Unfortunately, they did't get much done.

I spotted this wonderful figure at the Philadelphia Miniatura Show, though I foolishly didn't write down the name of the maker. If anyone recognizes this, please let me know so I can give proper credit.

Parlor Floor Learning Curve:

The first thing I learned is that as tempting as it is to go straight for the main rooms, it is much better to start with a less important one so beginner mistakes are less visible.

Tips when using "self adhesive" wood flooring sheets:

Self adhesive wood flooring sheets are not really self adhesive. Sticky, yes. Adhesive, no. I learned to peel off the backing, exposing the adhesive then coating with wood glue. Weigh it down until the glue dries to prevent this from happening:

I also learned (too late) to give the subfloor a coat of paint/stain the color of the flooring so that the inevitable spaces between pieced bits are less obvious.

I ordered fabulous wood inlay from Inlay Product World. They came very fast and were just perfect for the inset strip to run around the floor in each room. Figuring out how to make the designs meet up well at the corners took some experimenting. One pattern required trimming ends leaving the very fine edging attached to one strip and removing the edging from the one that would join it. Others were simple miters. The finished effect was very pleasing.

Garden Floor Learning Curve:

Garden Floor Learning Curve:

Here's a tip I hope will be helpful to other beginners:

Wood glue contains enough water to make beadboard warp. Sigh. Better to use rubber cement.

For the decorative tiled backsplash that runs around the kitchen I used tiles cut from a sheet from starboc1's ebay store. I scored between the tiles and then used an embossing tool on the back of each one to give it some dimension. The finished effect looked great.

Unfortunately, over time the tiles have faded terribly and will need to be replaced. So if you use these, be sure to spray with fixative or sealer before installing.

Other lessons learned on the garden floor: When installing floor sheets that will need to be pieced, start from the back so that overlapping edges face the back wall. This makes them much less visible.

So the plan is to build so that each floor can be lifted off to allow for repairs and future remodeling. After glueing and screwing the ceiling on to the garden floor I realized that I should have left the ceiling separate for easier access. Ho hum.

Garden Floor Construction

A typical brownstone is about 20 feet wide and 50 or 60 feet deep plus a garden in the back and a small area in front. The layout of a brownstone is as follows:
Garden floor. This was where the kitchen, laundry, pantry and servants' area was.
Parlor floor which housed the formal rooms, in this case library, dining room and parlor.
Second floor: Master bedroom, lady's parlor, dressing room and bathroom
Third floor: Children's bedrooms, nanny's room, nursery and bathroom
Fourth floor: Servants quarters, workroom, storage and bathroom

The garden floor which is half below grade in the front and opens to the garden in the back.The entrance is under the stoop.

Here's a picture of the early phase of the garden floor.

 followed by each room in a more completed state:

The floor of the laundry is actual slate from http://www.miniaturebricks.com/. To keep the rows straight and the spaces between the slates even I made a jig from tongue depressors.

Once they were installed I grouted and sealed with diluted PVA glue as recommended by the folks at http://www.miniaturebricks.com/. However, this changed the appearance from natural slate to looking more like vinyl. If I did this again, I would leave them unsealed.