Kitchen Part 1 - The Floor



The heat is unbearable outside in the real world, so what better excuse than to get on with the new kitchen at Daviot House.  I say new, but we're aiming for the 1920s here, and in an old stable block too, so a little bit shabby.  I can't believe that I had originally thought it a good idea to exclude a kitchen.  I am having so much fun with this room, and the opporunities for accessorizing it are endless!



Of course, in this heat we decided to redecorate our RL living room... great idea!  But I did manage to collect a lot of sample paint pots, and claimed the rejects for Daviot House supplies.  The paint colour here is Farrow and Ball's Pale Powder, which in my RL living room looked a horrible, wan shade of green, but on this scale has turned out to be slightly blue-ish.  So not a compete waste of a tester pot! 



I painted the ceiling an off white and installed some small beams... just like in my RL kitchen. They'll be great to hang herbs from.  Then I made a back wall to house the larder and aga.  I bought this stove ages ago on Etsy and instantly hated the colour and chunkiness, but I couldn't find anything I liked better.  The right hand wall will have a fake door connecting the kitchen with the rest of Daviot House.  It is becoming quite a sprawling property!


Now for the floor.  I wanted terracotta tiles, and so used my go-to material, DAS clay.  I'm thinking of taking out shares in the company, or maybe they could sponsor Daviot House.  I use a lot, because I think it gives the best and easiest effect. 

 Here I rolled out a very thin layer of terracotta clay, and then scored the tiles with the edge of a metal metre ruler.  I had tried making the tiles individually, but without a mould the sizes ended up too varied.  I then discoloured them with several washes of water colour paint to get that individual tile look, and then sealed them with a coat of mod podge.


For all the real life DIY going on, I sadly had no grout to hand, and had to think of things I had that could work.  I used a thick mix of plaster that I have been using for moulding (for another room...) smearing it into the grooves and then instantly wiping it off.  Just like grouting, except it was trickier to get off (and messier), and the plaster did smear over all the tiles.



Not to worry, I just gave the whole lot another few washes of dirty watercolour paint, and again sealed it with modpodge.  I think the excess plaster actually gave an interesting texture, and aged the tiles more.


I love the warm baked colour of the tiles, and I think it goes well with the green/blue/green/grey/green of the walls!  The tiles are nice and uneven, as if they have been well worn over the years by busy feet, and stained here and there by a few cooking accidents!


Next, the larder....


I added a little transom at the top for some interest, and there is a light gidden at the top...  the shelves were made very basically from lolly sitcks, and painted a few times ...  now all I have to do is to fill them up with things!


Next up, wall tiles, stone work and a kitchen sink....!


Jonquil

Comments

  1. Hello jonquil,
    how beautiful. I love the larder and the stove nook. Everything is beautifully aged and the floor is fantastic! You really have created, even in this unfinished state, a room that feels realistic. I can't wait to see more.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Hi Giac,
      I'm glad the floor ended up looking ok, because there were some hairy moments with the plaster! I'll be posting more very soon, this kitchen is turning out to be one of my favourite projects!

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  2. Great floor, thanks for sharing your way of making it.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tessa, thanks so much, I hope it was easy to follow the different steps,

      Jonquil

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  3. La forma de hacer el suelo me parece muy buena y queda muy bonito. Me encantan los rincones de la cocina y la despensa.

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    Replies
    1. Hola Isabel,

      gracias por tu commentario, mi gusta tambien la despensa y tengo mucho espacio para llenarlo con compras!

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  4. Oh, what a wonderful kitchen this is becoming! I LOVE the color you painted that ugly stove! And the larder is a great idea.... I wish I had room for one in my Lovely Old Dollhouse! Your floor tiles do look wonderfully aged by use! I have never tried the DAS clay.... but clearly you have great success with it! I can't wait to see more of this kitchen!!! (And I admire your courage to tackle home renovations in RL too!!!

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    1. Yes, the stove was pretty ugly... I'll post about the tranformation soon, but I need to finish off a few things first, but even just giving it a coat of paint made a big difference! We always seem to be renovating something, but I don't mind, as i gives me a chance to sneak some materials into my craft room!

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  5. i like how you did the floor,thanks for the great tip

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    1. Thanks! You know, necessity is the mother of invention, and I only had the plaster available... so I'm really happy that it actually worked!

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  6. Paint transforms EVERYTHING! and the color of your new stove is Lovely! I think that this is going to be quite a lovely looking kitchen by the time you get done, because it is already off to a Great Start! :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth, I think paint hides a number of sins ;) including the hideous stove! I can't wait to show you the sink in my next post, and hopefully I'll finish off the kitchen before back to school time!

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  7. Nice everything : the floor, the shelves room, and you choosed pretty colors. I'll wait for the next step. Claire

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    1. Thank you Claire - I hope I won't keep you waiting for the next part too long!

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  8. Fine kitchen! Tiles are very realistic, very true! Great idea with a larder and a very well chosen color. I love this kitchen!
    Прекрасная кухня! Плитки очень реалистичные, очень настоящие! Замечательная идея с кладовой и очень хорошо выбран цвет. Люблю эту кухню!

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    1. Thanks so much - I think the colour is really calming, nice in a hot, busy kitchen!

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  9. wonderful, wonderful. I am a great believer in breaking up boring back walls into different depths. Great now and going to be even greater

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    1. Thank you, thank you! Yes, different depths gives it much more scope for the imagination, and makes me want to peer around corners and into cupboards!

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  10. You're certainly a dab hand with the DAS and I just love following a project from the "empty space" stage through to completion. Breaking up the plain wall with the recess and cooker area certainly makes for more interest (isn't foamboard wonderful?) and already I can imagine trays of goodies appearing on the kitchen table.

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