Drink anyone?!

Every now and then a random idea pops into my head of something La Maisonnette needs.

At the beginning of lockdown (6 weeks ago now) I thought I should make a drinks trolley.

It turned out to be one of the most frustrating things I've ever tried to make.

The whole thing kept twisting out of shape and it was always leaning forwards.

 In the end I had to pull it apart and remake it.

It's now been standing up straight for weeks! 

But because there's no reason to hurry during a lockdown I have only just set it up with drinks.

Now, I'm no drinker so the labels on the pink bottles are just random labels, I don't even think they're wine labels. But when I found I had a green bottle...well...I've watched Moulin Rouge the movie enough times to know I needed a bottle of absinthe in there!

The big challenge now is finding the right place to put it.

Here it is to the left of the fireplace. 

If it stays there it can't be seen when you're looking in the house from the outside...and it's very hard to photograph there!

Here it is to the right of the fireplace.

Not easily viewed there either.

How about near the dining table?

By the stairs?

Next to the couch?

Tricky to photograph there too, makes it look wonky!

Let me know your thoughts on where it should go!

This is how it looks most of the time 😂

Anyone else knock things over all the time?!?!

The other thing I made months ago is the coffee table.

I seem to be obsessed with the antique gold finish on things in this house.

That's not a mirror in it, it's 'glass'.

The outside of the house is now finished! 

A major accomplishment - hooray for lockdown! Pictures coming soon.

Thanks for stopping by here, let me know your thoughts on where that drinks trolley should go.

La Patisserie - the renovation

Well, this lockdown started out being two weeks then it was extended to four weeks and now we're into week five!! I've been working most days on getting this little project finished. 

This is the third and FINAL transformation of this room.

I still love that Rossevelt Rose wallpaper but the time has come to change this room completely and make it look more like it belongs with the two floors above in the maisonette. 

I didn't rip the wallpaper out, I've just covered it up - in case I change my mind again one day, so if someone in the future renovates it they'll find the original paper like in a real reno! 

The ceiling is staying as is. It's vintage tin looking scrapbook paper.

As you can see in the first pic there is a hole in the right wall where there used to be a door. 

I was thinking I could cover it up or put another door there or a window then suddenly - brainwave - it became the perfect spot for a built-in cupboard.

So I built a cupboard!

I decided to panel the walls in a similar style to the room upstairs in the maisonette.

And I added a wall inside the front door to make the space less of a box.

And then...

those of you who come here often will know that I just had to build a glass wall somewhere!

The Farmhouse has a couple of them and the maisonette kitchen has one and I thought this one would make the perfect cosy nook for a couple of cafe tables.

The fact that things fit together is always a miracle!

I've told you before measuring isn't one of my strengths.

I really wanted to paint the walls white but I have no white paint left. I've left it too long to use and it's all gone hard and lockdown means I can't buy any so I had to use an off white colour which I am now thrilled with!

The floor...I have no wood to make a floor with and I went through my vast collection of scrapbook paper but there was nothing suitable. 

This flooring is some vintage wallpaper. It's grown on me and it's the perfect colour with the walls.

I'm hoping it looks like a painted floor. 

I added a scrap of the orignal wallpaper in the drawer as a nod to the past!

So the next step is to make furniture...as I said I need two cafe tables in there, making two of anything is always a challenge. I don't even want to think about chairs.

Now the light was a challenge. Once I knew what I wanted there I set about making it.

 It took three attemps to get it right. 💃 I don't give up easily!!

There is also a light in the glassed in space but I don't have a pic of it. It's close to the ceiling so it can't be seen as I didn't want it to compete with the stained glass window.

I've finished all the lighting - and it works!

There you can see the other light in the patisserie.

I'm also finishing off lots of fiddly little things that no one will notice - the annoying things that take so much time.

Now I'm working on finishing the exterior - stairs are needed to get into the maisonette. I cannot say that I like making stairs. Frustratingly I have run out of the paint I used on the exterior and there is one wall unpainted.

Our lockdown level is supposed to change onTuesday at midnight.

As I work in a school that means I'll have to go to in from Wednesday to help supervise the children of essential workers. So I'm trying really hard to get this building finished in the next few days.

Don't ask me how I'm going to get to work by 8:30am when I've barely been awake by then during lockdown!

Thank you all for stopping by!

La Maisonnette - Entrance Hall

I have no idea what they call the entrance hall in France.

This is the view from where the actual outside door will be.

I am happy to report that after months of the door languishing on my husband's workbench, now we're in lockdown he has fixed it for me.

Just love the lighting in this pic!

I looked through my vast stash of dollhouse furniture trying to find the right piece for the entry.

But it suddenly dawned on me that so far I have made every piece of furniture in this little apartment myself. 

So really there was only one thing I could do!

I would love to have a bow front chest of drawers in the real house but as I can't (too expensive) I made them in miniature (from cardboard) instead. I wasn't going to make them so they could open but I just couldn't bring myself to make them 'pretend' drawers so they do open. 

Because this whole room had to accommodate the kitchen, lounge and dining rooms and the staircase I wasn't sure I should waste any space on an entrance hall. 

(Yes, I've been working on the lighting too...but that's another post!)

But I also didn't want the tiny occupants to walk straight into the kitchen from the outside. 

As it turned out I needed a wall there for the kitchen anyway. 

It think it took longer to decide what should be displayed on top of the drawers 

than it did to make the drawers. 

The angel came from a hairclip I bought on my first overseas trip to Los Angeles in 1992. 

The clip had a row of those little angels. 

It eventually broke and that angel has been patiently waiting for decades for his turn to be upcycled!

It took even longer to find something to go on the wall!

That picture of the water lily is from a very fancy wine bottle wrapper. A friend was about to throw it out when she heard me gasp...so pretty, I've been waiting a couple of years to use it.

I'm using this time in lockdown wisely.

Not too much baking...more mini making.

The government just gave us another two weeks!! 

I live in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city - that's where this Covid Delta outbreak is concentrated.

Here are the current rules we're living under:

Today I started installing that exterior door.

The Patisserie has almost been transformed - VERY exciting!!!

Hopefully that will be next weeks post.

Thank you all for your comments! You've no idea the difference they make to my day.