"Creole Townhouse Front Facade Lights"

I am using the same coach lights that I used on the millinery shop dollhouse along with two ornate wrought iron lights on the ceiling of the second floor balcony. I have wired the front separately from the main body of the house.

"Mostly" Finished Front of the Creole Townhouse

 I used a scrap piece to fill in the hole for the lower right door and I will add trim and glue the shutters in place permanently. I am using this door in the kitchen to access the courtyard. I need to decide on my treatment for the door to the carriage way on the left and replace the missing pin. I plan to finish the bricks out front, put the plastic back in the doors, attach doorknobs and wire the lights.

The Original Design

I bought these on my vacation in New Orleans

I used reindeer moss as a filler and support for the leaves

I bought the hangers from miniatures.com

inspiration photo

Creole Townhouse Courtyard

I used left-over wooden floor sheet to cover the balcony

This is the outbuilding for servants, laundry and storage

The courtyard will be freestanding and butt against the townhouse

The carriageway that leads to the courtyard

This is an interior view of the kit basement with the new walls and openings added

This was the first time I have ever used a jigsaw, I had trouble cutting the arches out with the scroll saw. I used the table saw for the straight cuts on the walls and base from $6 MDF from Home  Depot. I bought the railing from Miniatures.com and used spindles from the wood section at Hobby Lobby. I cut an opening for the kitchen window, which was originally a part of the conservatory kit by RGT.

Weathered Effects on the Townhouse Facade

 front with the sandstone paint before the final acrylic color

Started painting the bricks too

I painted the exterior walls of the townhouse with the textured paint that I used on the hat shop as a base coat.  I glued the fleur-de-lis wooden appliqué in place and painted over it with the sandstone texture paint. I then painted the facade of the townhouse's exterior Peaches and Cream color in acrylic paint. From a design standpoint, I am having trouble seeing how to incorporate "real windows" into the interior with the best furniture placement. The townhouse is like a row house with buildings on both sides. I hated feeling like the best part of the exterior is the front opening with nothing else externally of interest, so I plan to add faux windows (closed shutters) to the back of the house.

New Books for Townhouse Inspiration

I have different ideas of what I want to do to the interior versus the ones shown in my two books on New Orleans. I am struggling now to stay true to the style. I recently saw this video on Creating Dollhouse Miniatures Blog   Piper Tuner's Video/French Miniature House Part 1  and feel in love with the house and then I went to the author's blog and was inspired to purchase the book for myself. I went to Amazon's site to buy it and found the second book on Edwardian Furniture, a good book as well. It is the best book that I have ever bought but can hardly read, its in French. It is beautifully laid out and I would buy it just for the pictures. The book shows you how to build the house and furniture from scratch and very inexpensively! Great buy if you like the shabby chic look. I took 2 years of French but more is needed to fully enjoy the book. Where is the App for that! But I am determined to figure it out. The interior in the French book looks a lot like the pictures from the New Orleans books. So I am hoping I might discover a compromise I can live with and enjoy creating. I am planning a trip to New Orleans next month. Decision: Do what I want or follow the books

Skateboarder Caught in the Act: New Resin Dolls

I paid a visit to Hobby Lobby thanks to my friend Tanya's post in our mini online group, ty-nee stuff. They now carry a few resin dolls and they happened to be ones on my wish list and there is sale on miniature furniture and accessories. While there I always visit the Xmas ornament section (were I purchased the ballerinas), they had a 50% off sale. I happened to see this little skateboarder and knew actually where he should go. I used wire cutters to snap the springs and removed the extra wire and the eye hook from the top of his head. I was pleasantly surprised that he could stand by himself with one foot on the skateboard. I also picked up the little girl, baby and Grandma June, I have a future home in mind for them. I just need to purchase Grandpa now, who was not available in the store.

Carson thought it would be fun to tryout his new skateboard

then suddenly...

Carson was frozen in action

Officer Bill was not happy

Creole Townhouse: Shutters and Railings

I made these 1st  floor shutters from skinny sticks and wood (S hooks are temporary)

I made more hanging baskets from Champagne tops

I cut the handrails to the length of the rails and glued them inside the channels

I added a second pair of shuttters to the bottom to allow the shutters to match the height of the doors

spray painted the railings black

I love the rich black coverage and the fumes are very low

spray paint base coat

 I then cut porch posts to size and spray painted them black along with the plastic railings to create a unified wrought iron look. I ordered two sets of large louvered shatters to add to the windows. I had to cut the second set down to make them match the height of the doors. I made more of the Champagne flower baskets and spray painted them black. I bought some artificial ferns from Hobby Lobby to use in the baskets later.