The Terrace, Diagon Alley - distressing time, shiny happy wallpaper...not!

If you're wanting to see nice pristine wallpaper and the like, look away now...or better still, take yourself off and make a pot of tea and have a nice slice of cake with it instead! lol :oP   

Anyhow, here's an update on the terrace!  Well, I had an experiment with distressing the shiny wallpaper first and that was quite a challenge! I tried acrylic varnish, tea and sanding. Well only the sanding worked and even then it takes care and attention. Any photo's that appear to still have shiny wallpaper, it isn't, it's just where the light is hitting the back wall because the terrace is now tilted backwards. ;o) When sanding, one mustn't use a coarse grade of paper, use only the finest grade otherwise you will achieve the wrong look entirely. My photo's are still very much WIP and I will wait till I turn the project back the right way up before I do any of the other rooms.

Remember you are looking at a lot of flipped photo's because the terrace is still upside down so I can work on it, so many things are still defying the pull of gravity! ;o)) I've also included photo's with and without the flash so you can see the difference colour tones!  

I've been working on the interior doors, I'm not sure if they will all be this cream colour, or whether the other rooms will be either stained or just a darker paint. I forgot to take my camera into the cabin for 2 days, so I have fewer progress photo's! Grrr!

One door shown has just been primed/under-coated several times and then with 2 coats of top coat colour applied. The other after ageing etc. They were a bit time intensive and although they may need a few finishing touches I am mostly happy with them, I really wanted a dirty look. You can see the my Brews & Stews B and B will be a bit of a dive! lol 

The other side which is will be seen in the bedroom...not quite as dirty as you may have noticed! lol The separate architrave has had the same 'treatment'! lol 

 I did the other door slightly more dirty, the hallway door infact! lol

 Trying the door in situ. ;o))

This is my favourite bedroom, yes, all rotten and all! :o)

The wallpaper after some acrylic ageing wash. This is a slow job, never be overly keen to do too much at once and always remove the excess water with a cloth, otherwise you may find your wallpaper suffers a bit too much to look remotely realistic! lol     

I wanted to show some peeling wallpaper...all still very much WIP and I will continue once the terrace is turned the right way up so I can see where the light is throwing itself into the room etc.

I'm mostly okay with the results so far, but I am hoping to get it looking more authentic, the paper isn't the easiest to work with, ;o/

The larger of the two bedrooms, this room still needs a lot of tweaking! 

 This room for some reason works better for the ageing! That isn't shine on the back wall just where the light is hitting...I can't angle the camera to miss it!

The skirting board still needs to be added to all the attic rooms. 

 The false door on the false wall in the bathroom, before ageing... 

 The false door, after ageing....this door is really dirty! lol

I have also started on the bathroom itself! Yay!!! I'm having tongue and groove in here, so I didn't use a whole sheet of wallpaper on the wall. ;o)) 

The wallpaper so far, I won't do the other wall until the false wall is glued in situ, as I want to try and have one strip of wallpaper so no more joins to hide.

 Cutting the tongue and groove. I started off with the back wall.

 Again I won't cut the remainder until the false wall and door are glue in situ. ;o))  

 I wanted to add texture and roughness to my tongue and groove, to give the appearance of many layers of ageing paint underneath the green!   

The distressing has began....whilst I painted it on the first coat (not sure if will have another coat)! lol  

The bathroom rafters have been cut and primed. I will paint them the same colour as the ceiling paper. All the ceilings need a lot more ageing and dirt added!

 The top landing that will hardly be seen...but as you can never be sure what can be seen, I still wanted some decoration etc.

How the false door will look in the bathroom. The bath will probably go on the back wall. ;o))

The other lower rooms (not the ground floor) have all had their papers distressed (sanded only at this point)...they may have some more sanding done to them. It was very messy and dusty work and wearing a mask is  highly advised!

It's getting there.... ;o)) Still the cornicing, skirting boards to name a few things to be added yet. 

I hope you don’t mind my ramblings and madness! :o))

Michelle xxxx

The Terrace of shops - Diagon Alley

An update on the terrace so far...it's not quick work! lol  I currently have the kit upside (I've swivelled the photo's round the right way up) down, so this is why some items you may see on the ceiling defy gravity! lol ;oP   

Almost all the rooms are mostly wallpapered, not all and some not all the walls! This is because there is an outside wall where clay and plasterwork needs to be done and I don't want the paper ruined. The Magic Neep isn't finished with its papering either. I love the patterns, what I'm not keen on is the shine on the paper, you can't see it in real life too much, only when you point a camera at it with a flash on! The shine has its pluses and minus's....hmmm. None of the wallpapers have been aged or distressed, I'm still deciding on how much to do of that.  

The inside of two of the shop doors with their inner locks being added...and mighty fiddly they were too! None of the pieces had flat backs so I had to drill tiny holes and try and align all the lock components....a joyless task! lol   

I added interior window frames too.

The two dormer  windows with their clay bricks sculpted on. I won't paint the bricks on until I have completely put the dormers together.....I think. 

The corner shop, Twilfitt & Tattings had rather more modern windows, and I wanted them to have either Georgian or Victorian window bars added.

After a bit of fiddling around I managed to change them to how I wanted them. ;o)

The outside to two of the shops...with the bowed window bits balanced on to see how it all fits together!

I wanted to add some fancy embellishment to my grocers window, The Magic Neep, so I added some fine wood trim. 

 I also wanted to embellish the whole window, so I added some trim down the sides.

The acetate had a protective layer of plastic on both sides...some only have one. So I removed one side so I could work on the outside. I've kept the other protective side on until it's complete. 

 With the added fancy trims down the sides, I also wanted to add Georgian or Victorian window bars on this window too...

So I cut some extra wood pieces and painted them etc.

 The window look liked this on the instructions....

 Measuring up to see how big to make my window panes.

 I added an extra vertical bar....because the window panes would have been too big compared to the real window.

I experimented....and I hated this look! It was all wrong, too many panes with the wood being too wide!

This is what the window ended looking like! Please note, the super bright colours....ghastly, ghastly, ghastly!!!! lol All before ageing, so it all tones down....lots! 

 My very kind and  talented friend made me the hanging scales for the shop window. We aren't sure if these are the prototype...or whether I will will just age and distress them! 

 The terrace.....the quill shop and the Magic Neep are the only rooms with non shiny paper! lol I adore the patterns though....a small sacrifice maybe. Though once I age etc., this may all pan out okay.

The larger of the two attic bedrooms with their rafters added on the ceiling.

 The smaller attic bedroom.

 The bathroom with tiny hallway that will be concealed by a false wall and a door.... The part that is papered is the part that that will mostly be hidden from view...I just didn't want to leave it nude just incase it can be seen from the kitchen stair well below or through the bedroom door. 

With the dividing wall glued in..

I added the same lino as in The Magic Neep shop,  the false wall will go on the front of this and the door on the front of that. When you see a photo it will be clearer. :o)

The living room, a hive of activity! I purchased 3 crazy characters a few years back, they inspired me to do the B&B! The wallpaper is much darker in real life.

The dressmaker's work room. I chose a dark wallpaper because many of the items that will fill it will be bright! I'm hoping to fit a false door on the back wall, but not sure if there's room with a fireplace in situ. 

I'm currently working on the arched windows interior frames so I can attach the acetate to it.

Working on the roof....here you see the whole kit upside down! lol 

I hope you don’t mind my ramblings and madness! :o))

Michelle xxxx