Working on the Citadel

Now that the HBS Contest is done, I've had a little time to get back to working on the Citadel. First I've been working on the lighting.   Several months ago I purchased a couple of the Alvar Aalto vases from Modern Mini Fan (AKA Modern Mini Houses) to make a light out of.  I started thinking about it and thought a larger version would be really cool as an overhead light so I contacted her and asked if she could make it in a larger size. She was very acomodating and quickly made a larger version.  I was originally going to use it for a dining chandelier, but since the ceilings are tall in the Citadel I thought it would be a great ceiling light. 

 Though the room has no finishings and I haven't decided what room it will be (probably a bathroom or office) I think the light looks awesome!

Next I got the recessed lights working in the kitchen.  

I've been admiring the colored cookers at Elf Miniatures for some time and of course my favorite color is orange.  I wanted to make a fridge that matches the cooker so I asked Elizabeth at Elf if she could either make one or send me a piece of the same orange plastic to make a matching fridge myself.  She blew me away by making a kit version of a picture of a fridge that I sent her. First, it's awesome and second very affordable.

I started laying out the kitchen using the cooker and fridge kits that I already put together from Elf Miniatures. 

 I  "planted" some succulents in the built in planter and added some paneling in the entry way.

The clock and cactus coat tree are from Piccoleidee Moderne on Etsy. I blogged about them recently here. I used pre-made single french doors for the rooms, but frosted the windows for privacy.  I started making my own doors but then decided it was a bit of a pain in the ass so I bought these from Miniatures.com  They are by Houseworks and you can remove the "glass" part to paint the frames and in my case frost the "glass".

I addition, I have done a little bit on Don Draper's Mad Men office

 The ceiling is done and the windows installed.

This is my third try on the carpeting.  The first one I cut one inch short, the second showed glue (water based) on the nice side that could not be remedied and the third time I tried spray glue to install the "carpeting" which is just faux suede. As you can see, even the spray glue shows through the fabric.  Next try will either something I already have or felt but I really don't want to go back to the fabric store. Besides when I was there I looked at the felt and I couldn't find the right shade of grey.

#HBSCreatincontest2015

New Year, New Project...Sort Of

As you may know, I decided a few months ago to ditch the idea I had for the 2015 HBS contest house and gut what I did and start over.  Well, that's exactly what I did. 

Now that the holidays are over, I've had a little time to work on Don Draper's Mad Men office. Primarily, I've been working on doing a dropped office ceiling.

 I started by adding 1/2" x 1/16" wood to the bottom of the center beams and 1/4" x 1/16" on the sides.  They leave just enough of a shelf to rest the dropped ceiling on. It also leaves plenty of room for the wiring. I found this sliver of plastic overhead lighting cover at work.

To make acoustic tiles for the ceiling, I cut to size pieces of mat board to fit in the spaces then attached self adhesive cork and painted it white.

 To make sure the acoustic tiles and plastic conform to the curve of the beams, I put in little blocks to keep them from moving.

Voila, a dropped ceiling. 

While I'm in an MCM mood: I decided to do a little scene in the CItadel.

 The TV is a vintage salt shaker ( I got the idea from Otterine), The phone, coffee mug,, end table and some other accessories are from Ebay.  The floor lamp and magazine rack are AG Minis, The light and dark coffee table and incredible clock are by Minisx2. The book case is vintage German, the cat statue is from an Egypt Toob toy,  the yellow ash tray is by Mike Urkovik of Atomic Miniature, the table lamp is from Minimum World, Tha african sculpture is by Minismodernas, The sofa and pillows are by me.

Merry New Year! Cheers to new adventures!

#HBSCreatincontest2015