Inside nearly complete

The two floors of my pied-a-terre in an Haussmann Building in Paris are nearly complete.

Waiting for Dorota to come back to send me a coffe machine, trying to decide what the kind of dining table and chairs and a few other things in the lounge.

Easy.... the right idea will come in good time. And then I will show the pix..

So, now to the upper floor in this apartment:

The slanted roof on two sides (it is a corner house) were tricky because I wanted to fit window-doors in there as well. Loved to figure this out :-)

When it came to hide the window trimming inside, I decided to laser arched in very thin wood. That works if all the arches are the same ... haha.

I was so lucky that I did this some 14 days ago before the fablab closed because of corona!

Now I am stuck with the drawings for the wrought iron balustrades: can't 3d print them unless I order in the Netherlands. Not that I need them right now but I would love to see if they work out...

I tackled the bathroom first.

Shower? Bathtub? both? and (typically French) bidet as well??
Decided on combo bath/shower because I needed walk-through space for the dressing room in the back of the bathroom.

I used my Shapeways tub and fitted a polystyrol casing around it, so that it looks as if it is one piece.
Instead of tiling it I used 'vinyl' wallpaper (works perfectly in real bathrooms, too.

How-to : Bathroom Mirror Cabinet

I wanted to try some different lighting for the mirror cabinet.
What you need:

• 3mm round perpex rods
• 4 nano lights from https://evandesigns.com/products/chip-nano-pico-leds
• a glue that is multi surface, I used The Ultimate
• card- or foamboard 1cm
• mirror
• bendable metal strips

I painted silver so that the white does not show up between the mirror pieces..

• Glue the nanos to each side of the perspex rod. If you want the light to be seen I suggest to sand the perspex to make it matte. 
• First I made the 'cabinet' with the foamboard. Then I painted the back area of the lights in silver and cut small openings for the wires to go to the back. I made a hole in the back of the foamboard to stash away the resistors from the 4 lights.
• Then I cut plastic casings (used semi transparent stationary presentation cover).
• Attached all this with double sided sticky tape to the sides of the cabinet.
• Then glue the mirror to the cabinet, try to sandwich the inside light casing between the mirror the light rod.
• And cover-up of where the lights are glued onto the rod by bending metal sheet strips.

How-to : walking closet :-)

Adpated from an idea I have seen on FB - I searched for a nice background photo - et voilà!!

Just imagine making so many shirts and dresses and all.... no way!!!



Bedroom

Nothing really complicated here except on deciding about colors, style and all..
Piece of cake, right?

I've seen this and loved it instantly.

The interpretation for this setting:

The console table comes from Queenofdiamonds.miniatures (Etsy) in South Africa

The lamps were the fiddly part though. Very happy with the reading and floor light, a bit unhappy about the 2,d bedside lamp (stem too thick for the size...). It sometimes is painful to be a perfecitonist in these things :-(



Ah, and here shots of the staircase completed!

Displaying the trouvailles I found at the Milan mini fair a couple of weeks ago...

Fact is: nobody really can see this because it is hidden behind the bedroom!!!
But I know....and it simply had to be perfect, too :-)

So, that about sums it up.
Loooong blog...
Never mind if you don't read all the text - the pictures are the really interesting part ;-)

Now to the roof and then the outside...

Hugs from Switzerland - not total lockdown, just partial one....
Marion

Kitchen Loft Style

Going to the 1:12 Fair in Rheda, Germany, and seeing my mini friends has inspired me again!
So, I finally completed the kitchen in my loft.

I thought that this kind of apartment does not need a kitchen fan - enough air circulating ;-)
I found these handles in a shop for model airplanes.

Here some details...

Note the light in this cupboard and I managed to put rails for the shutter on the sides. Bending the brass without losing the grove of the rail was the challenge...
The toaster and kettle are from Minifanaberia - just perfect as always!

I even fround garlic, onions and potatoes for the basekt!

Oops, the soap seems to fall over just now! But the industrial look faucet from Mini Arquitect Fransciso is super realistic!

The tools on the wall are from various sources: Minifanaberia, Pierluigi and the brush I made myself.

And the bathroom is now fully equiped with toothbruh, towels and all. I have not managed to find a shaver as yet, since Ulus Miniatures does not sell online any longer... just at fairs ;-(.

Next up: making furniture for the lounge...

Marion

1:1 renovation completed

I promised to show some before/after photos... here they are!

before

after

Fireplace before

Fireplace and lounge after 

Kitchen before

Kitchen after: movable bar counter, and a dishwash drawer (!) at working height 

before; TV corner

after : dining area

Entrance before

Entrance after - with a open closet for ALL my shoes, coats and handbags!!!

Before, my office

After, my bedroom with en suite bath

Before: sun room and where I stored my mini houses (round the corner on the left..)

After: sun room with foldable guest bed.. and I just love this wallpaper!

After: making one room out of the kids bedrooms for minis and office

Building can be painless with the right workmen: mine were tremendous, they worked hand-in-hand with each other. They were done in 9 weeks with all the new floors, walls, false ceilings, electrical wiring, new bathrooms, custom made kitchen, plumbing and all. I was afraid that all this indirect LED lighting would not be homely - but, boy, the technology today is just fantastic!

Moved in mid December again - love the wood and bright-airy look. My mini models certainly inspired me to design this concept. And - cleaning out loads of stuff was such a relief! 

So, now I am walking around with a constant smile :-))))

Still need to make a few curtains and things and then I am back into mini-building again.

Marion

Industrial miniature bathroom

Let me first share with you the completion of the bathroom in this loft.

Industrial is industrial - and that is why the corrugated iron looks perfect in here

This spotlight was a bit of a find in a railway model bulding store. More below...

Spotlight: it even moves...

The 12v bulb was not strong enough though - so, I replaced it with this one

Supplier

Mini Group in Switzerland

And then, I met a great mini group here in Switzerland at the Fair in Rheda in spring. They meet regularly, mainly in the Basel region. But this time, we met at my place and had a fun evening making toothbrushes.

We tried out many materials, mainly cocktail sticks. And I told them the story of Pepper losing her clear toothbrush handle on the floor ... spending hours to find it again!

Guess what????? Carmen dropped hers as well - but even on my parquet floor we never found the (one and only) she made 😉😉 !!! She went home empty handed... 😒😒

But now my mini activity will come to a stand-still for a while!

I have decided to re-do my entire ground-floor apartment in real life: kitchen, walls, bathroom, floor - the works.

Funny, how one can plan and re-design for others - but my own home....
So, I hired an architect friend with a really creative mind and he came up with a plan that totally convinces me. And since I am the only person living here I can decide about everything :-)

It will change from this....

to this...

... with double the size studio than I have now! So, I can build and store many more houses!!

of course, I had to make a model ;-)

This means putting everything in storage once I start building - just as if moved house. Perfect occasion to clear up and throw out. 

I will 'camp' in the guest bedroom and bathroom (these rooms only get a new floor) during construction to be here to supervise work. And for the weekends I count on my friends...

Since I already renovated a number of flats and houses in real life, I will do the project management. Right now I am busy doing the specs for the builders and getting the quotes. 

It is all sooooo exciting! But it means as well loads of decision making.... 

I will keep you updated though and share this adventure to some extent with you all ;-)

Take care

Marion