Hanging and Ageing Tiny Doors - A Tutorial

Preparing and hanging doors is a tricky business. To get a real aged look you have to create wear and tear.

Lightly sand the surface and then smudge it very lightly with grey chalk pastel. Be sure to smudge only where ordinary wear and tear would be, such as around the door handle. 

To add more realism I made a faux door catch by cutting an indent on one door (above) and gluing a small brass square on the other (below).

I hung the door using hinges rather than using a pin (which is easier).

This required carefully cutting in where the hinges will go.

I superglued the hinges on, and then drilled little holes for the nails. This makes it much easier than trying to nail it when it is not fixed in place. Also, be sure to drill the holes and glue in the nails rather than nailing them in with a hammer. If you nail them in the chances are the delicate wood of your door will split. 

It is important to ensure your hinges are perfectly lined up and horizontal, otherwise the door will not open or the hinges will break when you open it.

The result is pleasing.

Baltic Pine Floors for the Swedish House

This weekend I spent making the floors for the upper levels of the Swedish house. I decided to go for a plain design of broad boards, common in a lot of farm houses. They often had one broad board cutting through the centre of the room, usually mirroring a beam underneath.

I cut a sheet of card to the size of the room, and began making the floor. I used thin veneer timber of Tasmanian oak. This is a blonde timber, and gave the best imitation of baltic pine.  

I sanded it and and filled the bigger gaps with wood coloured timber filler. 

I gave the floor one coat of french polish which brought out the yellow tones in the wood. I wanted a more weathered and bleached look though, so after the coat of french polish I sanded the floor lightly. This gave a realistic effect, especially around the hearth and door, because I sanded more heavily there.

I then made a typical Swedish three panelled door, using the same technique as the last door I made.

Here is the unfinished door in situ. 

I also made a threshold, and sanded it down for a worn look. This added another element of realism and I was quite happy with it. 

Slowly it is all coming together, not long before the light fittings go in, and I can begin the facade.    

Bungalow Exterior Windows and Doors

Today I made some progress on the bungalow. Before I glue the bottom floor walls up I need to finish the exterior and interior walls. This meant I had to finish all the outside walls and windows first. 

I decided I wanted more windows than the kit provided for, so I cut some holes in one of the side walls. These will be small ornamental windows on either side of the mantle piece in the lounge room. This meant I had to make these windows from scratch. I first made the inserts.

Then I set about making the outside architraves in the same style as the large windows.

Next I did the interior of the windows - being the small glass pane dividers. I "dove tailed" them for a neater and stronger fit. 

I used some spare bits of wood underneath when I glued these pieces in, that way they ended up in the middle of the frame uniformly - avoiding a lot of cursing and stuffing around!

I didn't like the front door provided by the kit, so I decided to improve it. 

I picked it apart, and turned it upside down. 

Then I used some spare base wood to patch the base up, which weighted it correctly and stopped it from looking like it was upside down. 

Then I added a solid divider in the centre and parallel dividers on the top window. I also turned the door frame around so that the external architraves are now internal, and made a new frame which matched the windows for the exterior. 

I finally got the right colour combination too, a deep forrest green/blue with a yellow tinted cream for trim. 

Soon I will glue the walls up, but for now they are just balancing so I can get a feel for the finished product. 

Door Tutorial and a Small Bit of Progress on the Swedish House

Since I have spent so much time on the American House, my little Swedish House has been quite neglected. I had the whole weekend to work on it. At the beginning of the weekend it was still just a shell, but I have done some work now to make it look much more like a little house. 

I decided to being with the bottom right hand room, which is to be the dinning room. The first thing I needed to do was to make some nice doors. I have noticed that in many neoclassical scandinavian country houses small double doors are used in the main rooms. 

Simple and low wall panelling was common too. I think this was mainly because of the habit of placing chairs against the walls. The wood panelling saved the wallpaper from scuffs. 

To make the doors I started with two thicknesses of basewood. Basewood is a type of hardwood that is similar to balsa wood in appearance, but not so soft that it is damaged easily.

I cut the basewood to the correct door shapes.

I layered it once it was cut so that the thicker piece was in the centre, and the on either side were the thinner pieces. 

Before I glued it I cut the panel pattern out of the thin pieces for the outside. 

Then I glued the three layers together. 

Once they were together I lined the inside of the panels with some moulding, and added a smaller panel of wood to the centre. 

This gave quite a realistic finish without too much trouble. 

 I then worked on the walls (because they detach from the room) and added architrave and panelling. I used a very similar technique to the doors for the wall panelling.

I did a base coat of white paint on the panelling and doors and temporarily hung the chandelier. I really like how it is shaping up, even though the walls are still raw MDF.

I will now have to finish the panelling. After that, I will have to decide on a colour scheme for the walls, be it wall paper or trompt l'oeil. Then I will have to construct a tiled stove or kakelugn, and do the floors!