A Little Musical Suite

Hello Everyone,

Firstly, let me thank you all for your kind emails and comments, my back is getting much better, and even managed to work on Daviot House (without too much bending though!).  Perhaps a half-year hiatus was what I needed to find some inspiration.

 Last year I received a beautiful harpsichord for Daviot House, but I didn't know exactly where to put it....

... Which brought me back to this room, which had been ignored for a while.  However I arranged it, it just didn't work.  Too narrow, a frankly awful fireplace and colours that fought each other all the time.  I didn't relish repainting it totally.  Then I realised, it would be a perfect music room!

The panelling needed some care and attention, and I wanted to replace the fireplace.  I had a beautiful one from Malcolm Hall, so I installed it between Sue Cook columns.

The fireplace had such lovely marble designs, and the colours go well with the wall paint, which was a relief, as I really didn't want to repaint!

The pretty grate is from Sue Cook, and the fender is a piece of antique brass filigree that I bent into shape.  I may have to straighten it a bit though....

There are sconces on the back wall, and I thought I would add two to the left wall to brighten the room.  The cracks in the panelling needed filling, and the back wall needed fixed in place.

To fix sconces to the wall without using white tack, I usually use a belaying pin from model ship building, underneath, I drill a hole for the wires flush with the bottom of the sconce to hide them. 

The sconces were made from small mirrors from Arjen Spinhoven, which I gilded, and then added a an electric candle.  I am having a think about the step into the room...

I had a half metre of marigold silk brocade, that I thought I would never use, as the colour was so bright.  But I really like this colour against the creamy yellow of the walls, and it was a popular colour in the early part of the 18th century.  

The curtains are around a door, to keep guests warm during a recital - Daviot House can be a very cold Scottish stone house!  I am working on a handle for the door...

Next a carpet.  This is a print out of a design I liked, so I imagine I'll be sewing it over the next few years!  The pattern is quite bold, but for some reason, it makes the room seem larger, rather than smaller.  A big print can do this.

  I will live with the printed carpet and see if I still like it in a month or two.  I might experiment with other designs before I make a final decision and start sewing.  Doing needlepoint carpets is a big time investment, so it has to be the right pattern.

A couple of busts from Sue Cook complete the corners.  In a doll-less house, busts and portraits can give the impression of an inhabited house.

                 

I had a collection of various chairs and stools that had gathered over the years.  I harmonised them by upholstering  in the same silk brocade...  

                   

                               

                          ...and of course, adding tassels!

The room is a formal entertaining room, so I like to arrange the chairs against the walls.  This was a typical arrangement in the 18th century, when the room was not in use.  I like the way it gives the room some symmetry.

Now to add the harpsichord!

Such a pretty instrument should dominate the room.

Only in a miniature would I put a candelabra on a musical instrument... candle wax and pianos don't mix, but I think we can get away with it here!

 The candles are made from cold porcelain, and I used hair brush bristles for the burnt wicks.  The beautiful silver candelabra is from Dimtry Schevchenko.

The mirror was a horrible, cheap,  brown plastic thing, that I gilded and I think it is lovely now.  Very Baroque.  The music stand came from Masters Miniatures with the harpsichord.

The inhabitants of Daviot House have the same problem my family does - with four musicians, we have a real problem with piles of sheet music and music books!  

Now the furniture is set out, it is time to check the electrics.  Always a nerve wracking moment, because until the lights are checked, I don't glue in the back wall just in case I have to pull it all out again (I have learnt this the very, very hard way!)  That's why there are still a couple of gaps in the panelling.

Now for the moment of truth...

Tada!   Oh good, no wiring problems!  Which is a good thing, as bending at strange angles is very difficult for me at the moment.

It is impossible to take a good photo with the lights on, but the effect is lovely, a really warm glow emanates from this room.  And the carpet seems less bold now.

Just one more gap to fill...

There, the patron of the arts, looking regal in red.

It is so pleasing to have finished off this room that had bothered me for so long.  Sometimes a break and some fresh eyes are all that is needed. 

I hope you will join me for a small concert,

Jonquil