Bathroom

This is what the bathroom looks like right now. I cannot say I am too happy with the layout. Right now, the sink and toilet are affixed to the wall. The bathtub and the radiator are still movable.

The Chrysnbon Victorian bathroom kit also contained a medicine cabinet, but if I put it above the sink, it conflicts with the window. I wish I could close out that window.

I wish I had planned out the lighting a little better. Since the room is so big, I wanted to move the vanity to this room to create more space in the bedroom. Because of the placement of the wall sconce, it makes most sense to have the vanity right under it.

But, I am not happy with the way the bathtub looks in front of the toilet. I feel like there needs to be some sort of partition between the two.

Inspiration Photo: otterine.com

I found the above inspiration photo on otterine's miniatures. To see more detailed photos of the bathroom, please visit the blog. 

I bought the Chrysnbon Victorian bathroom kit (for $15.50 + $1.86 shipping), but found the stark white bathtub a bit dull.

So, I painted the outside of the tub using DecoArt Dazzling Metallics Bronze acrylic paint. I painted a thin layer of black on top of the bronze layer on the feet, to give them distinction.
 

Through the Keyhole

I am heartbroken. Through the Keyhole, my favorite dollhouse store in Dallas, Texas, is closing. Come to think of it, I believe it was the only store in the Dallas area exclusively dedicated to dollhouse miniatures.

It was such an adorable place: whenever I had visitors from out of town, I would take them there. I will always remember the smiling faces of Dorothy and Gayle, and the friendliest dog who seemed to be everywhere at once.

I visited the store last week, and bought a few minis as mementos.

Brick Border

Over the winter break, I have added brick borders to the windows. I am loving the transformation!

I wanted to keep the architectural detail very simple, since there are 30 windows!

Also, I had planned ahead and added the first floor window borders BEFORE gluing on the porch railing.

Working Cherub Fountain

I found a working cherub fountain for the courtyard! It is an Avon Classical Cherub Fountain from 2002. It runs on batteries, so I did not have to worry about wiring. It was an amazingly lucky find at $9.95 (+ 12.95 shipping). These usually sell for considerably more on eBay.

Fix the Balcony Doors!

I was so happy with my balcony doors, until I tried to open them after I added the balcony railings ... and they wouldn't open all the way. It was then that I realized that the balcony doors have to swing inwards, and not out!

So I had to take off the doors and the side jambs. The hinges came off in the process, but it was nothing SuperGlue couldn't fix.

Once the doors came off, it was quick work to pry off the inside jambs using my Xacto knife.

Then I glued the inside jambs outside, and the outside jambs with the hinged doors inside. It was considerably difficult to align the doors this time, since I had limited space inside the room to maneuver my hands as I worked.

But at least, the doors open all the way now!

However, I am not sure if I can manage fixing the front balcony doors. If I want to do so, I will have to work through the opening of the second floor bay-window.

LESSON LEARNED: the balcony doors must swing in, not out :(

Lighted Aquarium

Ever since I saw it on eBay, I have always wanted a lighted aquarium for my dollhouse ... but at around $25, I never quite bought one. But last year, I got lucky and won it at auction for $10 (with shipping)!!!

The only catch: when it arrived, I saw the wire did not have a plug attached to it. So I could not plug it into the electrical outlet in my dollhouse.

Last week, I finally did something about it. When I soldered the lamps in my dollhouse, I had kept aside the male plugs they came with. I took one of those plugs, pried out the pins using nose pliers, stuck in the exposed wire ends from the aquarium, and pushed the pins back in place. And now, my aquarium works! Look at the happy little fishies :)