... around the corner and going up.
While working on the stairs for the flower shop, I did ask myself why I didn't just plan for a straight flight of stairs... or even better a fake door with an imaginary stairwell behind it ???
The answer is; I had a picture in my head.. a hint steps at the back of the room.
I wanted steps or stairs to help create a bit of structural interest to the otherwise very square box that will be the shop. This would also allow for a small partition to form a bit of a work and storage space for the florist under and behind the stairs at the back of the shop.
I had only build one set of stairs before, those for the furniture store next door. These stairs are similar, only this time there will be no landing instead the steps 'turn' around the corner.
As with the
previous stairs, I started by creating a 'model' on the computer - pretty much like stacking boxes to replicate the steps and risers, making sure the finished height matches the height of the wall.
To work out the three steps that turn the corner, I simply divided the 'landing' from the previous stairs into three wedges and crossed my fingers it would work out.
Once the dimensions were worked out, I printed them off and then stuck the paper onto card stock and cut them out (a little like you would put a paper pattern onto fabric when sewing). This saves trying to measure and cut everything square - which I am absolutely not very good at.
Once the side pieces were cut out, I cut the pieces for the risers and it all went together surprisingly smoothly.
Since these stairs will be fully enclosed by walls, there is no need for a handrail, nor did I need to worry about keeping the sides clean and tidy. I undercoated the risers with black gesso - I like using black, it gives a different 'worn' depth to the top colour.
I then cut the steps from 3mm balsa, sanded the front edges to round them off, then painted them with an oak stain before sanding each step again to give the worn patches in the middle.
After testing the stairs for size and fit in the room, I began building the partition walls around them and suddenly realised I would have to decide on a paint colour for the walls in the stairwell even though it will never be seen once the stairs are in place.
As you can see the top riser goes above the wall to allow for the first floor.
Once the stair and partition structure is in place, the storage space under the stairs is really tight as you can see below so I haven't glued in place yet. I will wait and do that after I have had fun decorating the back.
I started by cladding the back of the partition wall under the stairs with narrow strips of wood and painted this wall a warm clotted cream before adding the beige trim and skirting.
I then added a short wall piece, cladded and painted the same way to act as the back of the shelving. Once the shelves were in place, it left just enough room for a little row of hooks to hold a few items out of view from the shop floor. The little brush and dust pan are by
María José
miniatures and are just so beautifully made.
This is were I left off a few months ago...
...and I think it will be nice - and fun - to get back into this project by decorating this tiny space. After all, it is only small and there is no way I will be able to get to it easily once it is in place.
We have a vineyard, are heading into harvest but at the same time are suddenly having to get property packed up and ready for sale, so as you can imagine I have a lot going on and will have very limited mini time (and energy) in the next few months. Playing with this little space might just turn out to be a nice and manageable distraction from what is going on around me.
Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Anna X
