La Patisserie

              I know it's been a while...but life seems to throw unhelpful situations at me these days!                                                               

Progress has been made on the patisserie.

I've built a bakery counter with a marble top.

Not exactly sure where it should go yet.

I made the display case next.

Then the cabinet for it to sit on

with drawers for supplies in the shop.

There was a weekend I was obsessed with making plates!

You can find the tutorial I watched here.

The plates are made from scrapbook paper.

I made the coffee pots from paper too.

I guess it's possible to make anything from paper if you put your mind to it!

It's getting there!

All the beautiful cakes were made by Kim Saulter. 

Eight years have gone by since I visited Kim in California...It still seems like yesterday!

Maybe now I'll try and decorate the Maisonette for Christmas.

I hope you're all having a great December.

I've been thinking this year I should make gifts using only the stuff I already have.

However, even after three months of lockdown all I have made are two Christmas decorations from felt I've had since I was a teenager!

Outside and in again...and where the drinks trolley ended up!

Let's start with the outside...or if you want to see where the drinks trolley found it's home you can scroll down first.

It took a mammoth effort to finish the exterior of the Maisonette but I am so glad it's (mostly) done!

I figured there would never be a better time than Lockdown to get things finished.

I'll no doubt still add things to it...there's always another idea!

The stairs were challenging as they needed to be quite steep.

That funny little booth with the map is hiding the back of the built in cupboard in the patisserie.

I found some paint that was a close enough colour to the other walls I had already painted so I was able to finish this wall.

I didn't use anything fancy to make the stairs...just whatever I had lying around.

I don't buy cardboard I use anything nearby, that cardboard was some packaging.

I've already added an 'Apartment for Rent' sign.

This wall looked far too bare...

That's better!

I finished all the trim around the edges of the walls to tidy it up.

Then after I took the pics I realised I'd forgotten the trim on the inside kitchen wall.

Lights!

Back inside now...I've been adding little details...the fun things that make it feel cosy. 

Looks like someone's been reading.

Cushions have been made...

As I'm challenging myself to make everything in this little apartment I decided I should try making a fire screen. 

And in this pic you can see the drinks trolley has ended up on the right side of the fireplace which was where most of you thought it should live. Thank you so much for all your comments, they were very helpful!

Now I'm thinking about what to make next.

I haven't made furniture for the Patisserie yet. 

I have to be in the mood and I'm waiting for inspiration to hit!

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!