A little Aside (room)

I have been working on this room throughout November and December, and it certainly has a wintry feel!  On the ground floor of Daviot House, the front door opens into an entrance hall in the centre, with the kitchen to the right.  For a long time the room on the left of the hall was earmarked as a scullery/pantry.  

However, I had a few pieces of furniture that could not find a home, and I wanted a room that was very Stuart-era in feel.  Also, the hall is quite small and narrow, and I thought that Daviot House deserved a grander space to welcome guests and visitors before they entered the rest of the house. 

 A grand downstairs entrance room was also the place where the Laird would accept the rents from the tenants on his land, and perhaps also transact business.  

These days are long over for Daviot House - it is 17th century in terms of history and  architecture, but pretty timeless otherwise - but I like the idea of a welcoming room where you could take off your coats and sip a warming mulled wine  while waiting to be admitted.

I had a few sources of inspiration: The fireplace from Walter Scott's Abottsford, one of my favourite places to visit in the Scottish Borders - I was delighted to find a mini version from Sue Cook!

The second was the small room in the Petronella Dunois House in the Rijksmuseum, where the owner of the house is collecting rent or doing business with a farmer.

I painted the walls quite a stark white - suitable for the ground floor of the House.  I used ceiling coving to give a shape to the ceiling, and also to construct the chimney brace.  This gives a little bit of added interest to an otherwise plain square room.  The ogee shape is very 17th century, and is mirrored in the shape of the fireplace opening.

I printed out a cardboard floor first, to be absolutely sure that I wanted a checkerboard marble floor, rather than a stone floor like in the hall and kitchen.  I often use a print out of a mock up when I am thinking about a room, and sometimes it can take me hours of staring and weeks of deciding.  I like the slow process of miniatures!

The light fixtures were some of the last Ray Storey lights I managed to buy before he retired, and I am so glad that I did!  I like the simple black sconces - not too ornate for a functional public room.  The tiles in the fireplace are by Kruger Tiles on Etsy, lovely little birds that evoke fat pheasants of the autumn countryside.  

I took ages to choose the tiles, as I had a certain budget, and found that real marble tiles by miniaturists were very expensive.  Also, they were often in the UK, which is terrible for Europeans, as the shipping and tax situation has changed and adds a nasty extra cost to the order! 

 I finally found a craft mosaic shop here in France that had lovely real marble tiles in various colours, just the right size for 12th scale, and very reasonably priced.  I was also extremely happy that the tiles fit perfectly in the room with no need to cut them!

I have a real appreciation for rocks, and the veining in the marble is fantastic.  I gave them a light coat of varnish, which brought out the beautiful variations in the stone.  I chose a white veined with pinkish-red rather than pure white, which gives a slightly warmer effect, especially as a constrast to the stark-white walls.

The tiles grouted really easily, and it really gave a realistic aspect to the floor.  And they are very cold!  Perfect for an old Scottish House!

The black of the tiles and the sconces goes really well with the beautiful carriage clock by Keith Bourgourd of SmallTime.  I added a couple of bronze candlesticks from David Iriarte, which look appropriately Baroque.

I decided to paint the portrait above the mantlepiece myself.  I am new to miniature oil painting, and have a lot to learn.  

This lady took a few gos to get right- at first she was horribly grumpy, and I tried a few times to get her expression just right.  

The frame is a vintage one made of real life size beading, and though it is slightly out of scale, I like the heavy aspect it lends to the room.  You can tell this painting hasn't been moved for centuries!

On top of the log basket is a box of Scottish Bluebell matches, which are not made anymore, sadly...

The fire grate that I originally used in the fireplace was a little bright and silver.  I'm planning to darken it up and fill it with burning logs, but in the meantime I have pinched a couple of Sue Cook andirons from another part of the house, which go really well with the candlesticks.  However, they are a little large for the fireplace, and they obscure the hearth tiles, so we shall see if I keep them there.

With the lights lit, you can really see the effect of the coving!  The ogee shape is repeated in the carved top of the 17th century Brian Rumble chairs.

When I first bought these from ebay, I was a little disappointed, as they seemed to be very large compared to the other chairs in Daviot House.  This happens quite a lot with online purchases - 12th scale turns out to be 1/10 or 1/16 scale.  I did a little research, and found that these style of chairs are really quite enormous, and the heavy appearance is ideal for the 17th century.  So that turned out well!

On the chair is a little burr wood box that I made with silver fittings.  It is the first I have ever made, and while extremely far from the amazing boxes by Malcolm Hall for example, I was pleased with the ancient aspect - perhaps it is a well-used rent money coffer!

The framed engraving is of William Wallace, and he is joined by a tiny engraving of Mary Stuart on the left.

I made some red silk curtains, and adorned them with tassles (of course!)  I repeated the ogee form in the pelmet, which adds a little much-needed warmth to an otherwise austere room.

The table below the widow was a cheap plastic one that I bought for 1 euro years ago in a junk shop.  I think it came from a magazine, one of the build-your-own dolls house types.  It languished in my odds and ends drawer until I gave it a coat of gold paint and marbled the top.  I think it fits just perfectly in the small space, and adds a little lightness to the heavy furniture.

The table also provides a display space - at the moment, the House is preparing for Christmas, and the beautiful cherub vase by BigmanSmallworld has been filled with deep red roses and white Christmas roses from Pascale Garnier kits.  It is always a great pleasure making her flowers!  I also added some tendrils of ivy and, of course, holly with berries.  The vase will go either in the Dining Room or the Drawing Room after the festivities.

On the left of the window is the second chair; I have four in total, but the room is small, and I didn't want it to look overpowered by furniture.  There is just enough (not too comfortable) seating for any waiting visitors.

Here she is, a rather morose Mary Queen of Scots, or Marie Stuart as she is known here in France.  A nice little nod to my two nations, as we often forget that Mary was also, briefly, Queen of France.

The powder horn is a 'place keeper' for one that I will make.  I really liked this horn when I saw it dangling from my sons' Lord of the Rings figurines... I have negotiated hard to keep it, with the caveat that I will make my own one 'as soon as is humanly possible'.... that's me told!

Most of the armoury in Daviot House has been filched from various toys...

On the right hand side wall I have hung a heavy baroque mirror by Tarbena.  The top has a lovely broken bonnet shape, which is again a repetition of the ogee motif around the room.  I like to use repeating shapes to bring all of the pieces together.

Beneath is a lovely turned wall bracket on which I put a Vic Pain silver box.  It has lovely Celtic chasing around the edges, which is very appropriate.  I wonder why it has pride of place there?  Maybe it contains an important item to Daviot House... perhaps the original key to the ancient tower?  

This is the first chair that I made completely from scratch, and I was happy with the result.  Instead of upholstering a chair that someone else had made, I wanted to make one from start to finish.  I chose an easy shape to do (no arms!)

I did the needlepoint over the Christmas holidays last year in Scotland, and the pattern is my own design.  The colours are particularly Wintry!  I used overdyed cotton threads for a faded, aged effect, and I picked out the details in very fine silk.

The asymmetric design was very popular during the first half of the eighteenth century.  I added some birds to the seat, and this is why I used the bird tiles in the fireplace... a nice theme connecting the pieces to the room.

The tree of life was also a very popular design, and it fits nicely on the chairback.

I like this shot; it exaggerates the length of the room, which is a perfect square, but it gives you a good sense of the nature of the room, an antechamber for visitors.  It is almost monochrome, with flashes of red.

This room is at the bottom left of Daviot House, and does not receive a lot of light, so it is very difficult to photograph.  Sometimes the sun shines through, and it seems almost cheerful!

The table is a beautiful piece by Gary Larsen.  I love the contrasting woods and the little finials.  This table was the reason the antechamber was made rather than a scullery, as I didn't have room to display it properly in the rest of the house.  I am glad I didn't dedicate this space to slops and buckets, I think Daviot House needs a few grand rooms!

The vase is filled with firs, rowan tree branches and wild, white roses.  These are typical plants that you find in Scotland.

Two bone goblets by Michaels Miniature Treasures wait on a tray for guests to pour mulled wine from the jug by Stephen J Randall.

This is the 'head in my house' shot, what I see when I am working on the room.  This time, on the table there is the marvellous bone and ebony casket that contains a real 17th century button.  The casket mirrors the clock on the mantlepiece, little touches of black and white that are typical of this century.

This room has been in my head for the better part of a year, and it's great to see it finally come to life.  It is always a satisfying moment, but bittersweet too, as Daviot House gently inches towards completion...

                                                  

                                                                           Jonquil