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Tiny bedroom syndrome is a major miniaturist’s malaise brought about by a surfeit of tweenies in the attic or the strong desire to hotelerise an unsuitable cottage. If you recognise the syndrome you will greet the solution with glee; it’s a Victorian Side by Side kit from A & G Sledge. This would be gorgeous in a polished wood finish in an up market hotel, it would be divinely down market desperately distressed in a bed sit, lovely in black lacquer or fabulous cluttered up with junk spilling from every drawer. The possibilities are endless. I plumped for Victorian gothic, it is seriously impossible to overdo.
Actual construction is quite straightforward for anyone with some kit experience. The wood is smooth, accurately cut and comes in a lovely honey colour. You could finish it and varnish it in an afternoon. However, whilst I took only 2 1/2 hours to build it, using Evo Stick Resin W Extra Fast wood glue, I took 10 hours to decorate it but enjoyed every minute. There are only three tricky bits of construction. The first is the wardrobe door. As it came it fitted perfectly but with several coats of paint it didn’t! So take the thickness of your final finish into account and sand accordingly. The same applies to drawers. These are supplied oversize to allow for different miniaturists building the kit in different ways. This is a good idea. The big drawers are lovely; they have proper rebates for the drawer base. I experimented by sanding some of the drawer parts before gluing, gluing the other drawers first and sanding after. The second option is easier, providing you don’t get carried away and sand off the stops that prevent the drawers falling back into the holes. |
The only really tricky bit is step 11, fitting the drawer assembly onto the wardrobe side. Proper sanding and practice dry fitting before you glue is the answer but I found that swearing helped.
As with all furniture kits decide on the finish before you begin construction. If staining, stain all the parts first and allow them to dry, then glue as stain will not take over glue, it leaves a white patch. If varnishing, construct and glue first then varnish. You could use this method too, if painting all one colour.
I assembled the carcass leaving the wardrobe top and the base and legs off so I could paint the door flat on the table. I did the same with the mirror section; I decorated and varnished each piece separately. When I painted the chest top and wardrobe side I left a wood strip bare where the mirror stretcher and supports fitted so the wood glue could bond wood to wood, rather than paint.
The ’carving’ is easy, it’s really gesso! Gesso is liquid plaster available from art shops. A jar will cost about a tenner and last your whole miniature career. It will cover rough surfaces and leave a smooth beautiful surface to paint on, or, as here, simulate carving. The flowers are just gesso blobs applied with a toothpick or paintbrush and slowly built up, to the desired height. I carved and sanded the cabriole legs to make ball and claw feet. In the course of this I over enthusiastically chopped one of my balls off but I didn’t cry at all, merely replacing it with gesso, which I also used to build up the claws and embellish the knees.
Don’t worry if you can’t paint, neither can I. If you take a good look you can see that most of the decoration is lines and dots and blobs. To paint the picture, which is meant to be the Lady of Shallot but looks more like the Lady of Pickled Onions in my rendition, I creased flimsy paper into the recess on the door to make a template, and drew as many compositions as needed till I came up with a reasonable picture. I painted the background which, so the colours would be true, drew the picture on the door and paint it. If this is beyond you, you could decorate as I have decorated the wardrobe interior. I made a template (graph paper will help with straight lines) then cut it in small patterned wrapping paper, or DHW cut-outs.
I used matt paint, which is easier to control, and finished with a coat of varnish. In the tiny bedroom where my Victorian doll waits impatiently, the finish will look so sumptuously over the top gothic, I just know she is going to spend all of her time gazing in the mirror, hoping for a hero. Especially if I stick her feet to the floor.
for further details...Links to reviews: Edwardian Dressing Table | Davenport | Hallstand 1 | Kitchen Furniture | Hallstand 2 | Mackintosh Wardrobe | Teapoy | Side-by-Side | Rosella Frame
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Updated 26th April 2003