Furniture Store ~ From box to room

Welcome to Kaj Larsen Furniture store.

The first floor of Kaj Larsen Furniture now looks more like a room than a little wooden box.

Once the floor was glued in place it looked a little too shabby. Even though this space is a workroom (Once upon a time the saddler worked here) converted into a shop space, the current owner Kaj Larsen is a man who takes pride in good presentation. I didn't have any furniture wax, but a friend had given me a massive chunk of bees wax. I rubbed that onto the floor and gave it a good rub after warming it up with a hair drier... It did the trick, I think. The worn oak floor now has a rich depth and slight shine to it. 

The skirting boards went on easily, although the tiny pieces into the front door step were incredibly fiddly. 

The window sill is in. Although the thick walls do compromise the already tiny room, I am so glad I made the decision to make them as thick as I did. I can't wait to decorate this little sill - kind of wish I had run a wire for a candle there - Wouldn't that just look super cute?

Never mind... there will be more thick walls and deep sills in this house, so plenty of time for that. 

I popped my small scissors on the floor, so you can better get an idea of just how (deliberately) small this room is. Only 20cm (8") wide and 33cm (13") deep after the thickening of the back wall. So with one corner taken up by the stairs, it is not going to take much Furniture & Curiosities to fill it to the brim.

Stairs

I built the stairs based on the instructions in Lea Frisoni's 'Big Book of a Miniature House' and (almost) completely forgot to take photos while making them. The stairs are mostly made from card stock, with balsa steps. I had to adjust Lea's measurements to fit the space. Since I am hopeless at measuring and ruling straight lines, I drew the stringers (the side bits) to scale on the computer and printed them out. Then I could glue those to the card and simply cut along the printed lines. It worked really well and I will be doing it that way again. 

The side of the long stringer looked a little bare, so I glued a timber molding in place for a bit of subtle decoration. 

The banisters and handrail is all made of wood. I didn't have a handrail and was too impatient to order one and wait for it to arrive. So I decided to try and make one using 2mm thick strip wood

I cut 2 x 5mm wide strips and  1 x 3mm strip and glued them together with the narrow piece in the middle and all of them level on the top edge (apology for the blurry photo - it was the only one I took). The idea behind this was to create a 2mm wide groove to slot the uprights (spindles?) into so the whole structure would be more sturdy. I sanded the upper edge to a smooth round so the mini customers don't get splinters in their little hands. 

Getting the railing structure secured onto the steps proved rather more tricky. One thing was getting the angles right (I used my printed template again so I could glue it laying flat) but I hadn't thought of how I would secure it to the steps...

I ended up drilling tiny holes at the base of each upright and gluing a metal pin into each with super glue. I then super glued the railing in place, pressing the pins into the soft balsa steps. It is not perfect but kind of worked. The railing is securely in place but I am sure there must be a better way of doing it. No more railings in this house, so that discovery will have to wait. 

 I had build the stairs before I even built the room box, so it was a great relief when they actually fit. These are the first stairs I have ever built, so I have to confess to feeling rather pleased with the result.

So this is where it is at. Other than a bit of trimming (beams?) along the top of the walls and getting the ceiling ready, there is not much left for me to do on this box. I cannot wait to fill jam packed with Furniture & Curiosities.

Next up will be the box for the flower shop next door. 

Thank you everyone for stopping by. I cannot tell you how much your support, comments and suggestions means to me.

Have a great week(end)

Anna X