Oklahoma City Day Trip

Now that I have your attention ...

Just kidding..  This was our desert after a great concert this afternoon.  We attended my daughter's All-State Choir Concert in Oklahoma City.  I am so proud of her!

We got there a little early and I noticed a bunch of shops across the street.  We wandered over and browsed.   I think I may have found one of my new favorite shops !

 I had not seen this great Reutter bathroom accessories package before.

 I really liked this bathroom set, I am thinking something like this in my Victorian house.

 I envisioned some great bedding on the these.

 I think I have all of these red velvet chairs, but I loved the pink and floral day bed.  I also liked the fireplace behind the red chairs, the cabinet above it had tiny metal screens and glass in each of the doors.

 This desk and chair were very detailed.

 I really loved these two green chairs.

Lots of great pieces for a shop. Man I have expensive tastes!

 There are those chairs again !

 I have seen these stoves in catalogs, but not in person.  Very detailed

I liked these white pieces - it would be great in a some sort of shop.  My wife will be glad to know, that I didn't but anything, but I did envision future trips to Oklahoma City with stops to this shop.

Artist Inspiration Cabin

A while back, I saw this artist cabin come up for auction.  I was drawn in by some of its features.   I like the copper roof, although parts of it seem a little out of scale.  Parts of the house intrigued me and inspired me.  

I like the use of the glass tiles for accent colors.  I love the little porch on the second floor that also helps define the the main entrance below with a small gable roof.

The wrap around porch adds a lot the character of this house and I really like the round entry at the front and the spindles that connect it to the porch. I also like the artsy corner window on the second floor.  It helps to visually balance the asymmetrical front facade.

 Inside, the wood paneled walls really add a vintage feel to the house.

 Most of the windows are leaded stained glass.  Another nice feature, but perhaps feel a little bit out of scale.

The trim around the doors and windows add a nice level of detail.  I also like how every once and while there is a pop of color, like on the door under the stairs.  I also like the wood tiles on the floor - they reminded me of scrabble pieces!

 The stone fireplace is tucked under the second floor and under a whimsical corner turret .  After viewing some of the elements, it made me want to do some 'out of the ordinary' things to my cabin that I am working on.  

The fireplace appears to be the only pained feature inside aside from a door here and there. I like idea of using the glass tiles and the built-in mirror.  The cabin ended up being out of my price range, but I kept some pictures for inspiration on my future projects.

Cozy Cabin

I did a dry run on the log stairs in my cabin last night. I shot this picture through the side door.  Not sure what happened with the flash, but I like it!  It almost looks like an actual construction site.

 I cut the two stair stringers from bass wood and cut a bunch of logs to the same width then carefully ran them through my table saw. ( I still have all my fingers! )

The staircase will divide the dining room and the living room.  I want to find some special pieces of wood to use for the newel posts and the handrail. some burled or knotty pieces.  We lost a tree to an ice storm a couple of years ago and I saved a bucket of wood for this very purpose.  I have not decided what to do with the finish on the stair stringers.  I may try a color,  it may look better if it wasn't so light ? 

I came across these metal ceiling panels online and may try something like this in the dining area next to the stairs.

This is the current view of the living room.  I stuck an extra door in the side door, but I think I will build a custom door.  I have an old screen door that I want to use there too.  I used some windows from the local hobby store and painted them dark green with red(ish) sashes.  If I have learned anything about painting dollhouse windows, it is to use spray paint if you want them to be operable.  I have been going back and forth on what to do with the fireplace.  River rock or stacked stone ?

This is my sketch of the Living room fireplace not sure if I want to carry the stonework up to the ceiling or not.

This is the fireplace in the master bedroom.  I will probably use the same treatment on this fireplace that I use in the living room, but at a smaller scale.  I am going to convert the white half dome light fixtures into something a little more rustic.  (see the sketch below) will need to figure out a way to make it amber looking instead of white.

This is my sketch of the fireplace and light fixture concept - pine tree silhouettes against a moon

 The front of the house and front porch. I don't think the columns are leaning as bad as it appears in the photo.  I want construct stone bases around the columns and build some sort of stone patio/porch as well.  The stone will continue around the base of the house to hide the pine frame.  Another decision I have been grappling with is if I want to add chinking to the exterior.  ( this is the filler between the logs to weatherproof them)

This is my sketch of how the stone might work at the base of the columns and around the porch and around the house. 

This is the exterior of the living room fireplace. I will cover it with some paperclay "stones" then finish the roof around it.  I created a small stoop at the side door to display some fishing gear.

This is the fireplace at the master bedroom.  I made the base taller here to conceal the fuse and light controls.  I will cover the fireplace, and area to the side with paperclay "stone" and maybe construct a planter or stack some firewood.

I had to play a little with some Adirondack chairs and wirebrush trees before I went to bed.

Cabin Fever

My son Cole has been working on his cabin too!

I purchased these plastic deer at a garage sale for 25 cents each.  Initially I was going to use the antlers for a chandelier, but they are pretty skinny and not as easy to work with as the homemade paperclay ones.

 My son enjoyed sawing the head off one for a trophy in his cabin.  If anyone needs a plastic deer torso, let me know!

We are going to mount it on a stained wood plaque and hang it on the wall. More on his cabin at: http://tulsatinystuff.blogspot.com/2010/01/coles-cabin.html

Cozy Cabin

I purchased this cabin kit at a garage sale during State Day in Oklahoma City a few of years ago.  The 'bulking' box was full of what looked like big Lincoln Logs from my childhood and the tattered box was held together with duct tape.  The seller assured me all of the pieces were there, as were the instructions.  I have not really worked on the cabin in a while, but as I have been gearing up for my Victorian house project, the cabin has been calling to me.

Whenever I pick up a item at an 'estate sale' or a 'garage sale' or even something eBay that kind of have a 'cabin feel', I stick it in the cabin.  I was looking at it the other day thinking, "I should really work on that."  I have accumulated quite a collection of stuff for this place:
fabric, a canoe, a sled, a 1940's Strombecker grand piano, a bear skin rug, lots of fishing gear, books, and even some snow shoes !

The large grid window is the enclosed breezeway that I turned into a small kitchen.

When I brought the kit home, took out all the pieces and compared them to the parts list.  The parts list had a brief history of the house and a photo of the Kenneth W. Keller.  The note with the following text was included: 

"Kenneth W. Keller died June 26, 1988 at the age of 14 years of cancer.  He was treated at OMH Childgren's Hospital from December 1985 'till his death.  The log cabins were in part, his idea.  As a living memorial to our son, a portion of each cabin will go to the hospital.  The research and development must go on if we are to spare our children - signed John and Debbie Keller"

I studied the homemade, yellowing instructions and layouts that came with the kit and decided immediately that I wanted to change the layout to allow for more rooms. .

Page from instructions

Page from Instructions

Fireplace instructions

The original kit called for the kitchen to be located in a separate building connected to the main house by a breezeway or "dog run".  I decided to enclose the "dog run" and locate the kitchen there.  This would allow me to locate a master bedroom in the space that is supposed to be the kitchen.  It would have a great big cozy fireplace.

I experimented with paper clay when my daughter Carolyn and I built her house.  I plan on using paper clay again to create a lot of the stone-work for this project, including the porches, fireplaces, and column bases.  Carolyn's place and our paperclay rocks can be seen here:  http://tulsatinystuff.blogspot.com/2010/01/carolyns-place.html


Another change I made was flipping the upstairs floor to the middle of the house instead of locating it on the end.  I figured it would look more symmetrical.  I plan on building a rustic staircase with half-log steps and twig railings.  I have added real logs here and there to help get a rustic feel.

I added a front porch to the house to define the front entrance and give the cabin a little more character. ( note my paper door - I am working on a kind of Arts & Crafts design for the entry with some sort of art glass)

I cut some cedar strips from a large board and made some decorative trusses for the roof/ceiling.  I also bought some wood strips to use for the roof.  The original plan had some pre-cut pieces of old wall paneling. I also added copper flashing to the roof valleys and will probably trim the edges with it as well or maybe create some sort of rain gutters.

I converted a standard formal brass light fixture into a deer antler chandelier. for the living room.

More posts to come - I welcome your comments and suggestions!

McLaughin Folding Doll House

I came across this McLaughin Folding Doll House on an online auction site while doing some research for my Victorian house.

I like the detail in this kitchen

Detail of the kitchen floor tile

The Dining room features paneled walls, built-in shelves, and a fireplace with deer antlers hanging overhead.


There is fully furnished folding house at the McKendry website.

The exterior has a brick pattern printed on it with detailed doors and windows that correspond with the doors and windows on the interior.

The original box includes the name of the room.

 The date on the box is 1894


There was another one on eBay not too long ago.  It had some great straight on looking photos, I may try to enlarge them and print them off.