October is National Dollhouse and Miniatures Month

October is National Dollhouse and Miniatures Month in the U.S.  I'm not sure who made that designation, but isn't it fun nonetheless?

In any case, this is a great time to begin planning your mini projects for the months ahead, when most of us will be spending lots of time indoors.

One thing I really need to do is get cracking on my Parisian townhouse.  The shell is done but I have had trouble coming up with the right color paint for the windows.  Of course I got distracted by my website but I think I have some good candiate colors now so I am planning to pull those windows out and get to work.

This is the house what the house looked like when I bought it already built.  Not exactly my style.

This is the look I am going for, based on a townhouse in Paris that you can see from the windows of a friend's house. 

Of course, it is also inspired to some extent by the famous Pistner House (but a far less grand version).

So Michael Walton (the furniture maker, who is also a very good dollhouse maker) helped me make a new facade.  We moved the door to the right and Michael made the curved window top.  I wanted to use the double doors I already had since my research showed that many Parisian houses in this style have doors like these.  I am hopeful I can find the right kind of hardware but haven't had any luck so far.  If anyone has any suggestions for where to look, please let me know.  Michael also remade the windows on the second floor.  They were originally standard (Houseworks) French doors but they were too wide for the rest of the windows, which were made by Dijon in the U.K.    The oeil de boeuf windows are Lawbre.

This is what the house looked like when I brought it home from his workshop.  It looks a lot more French, doesn't it?

So far all I have done is paint the exterior with Ralph Lauren textured paint to look like stone.  I've also either made or commissioned floors for every room but the biggest one on top floor.  That room is going to have a chevron floor; the pieces are all cut, the pattern is made....another thing I need to sit down and do.  It just feels a little daunting for some reason.

What are you planning to work on this winter?  Let's hear about your projects!