Sunday 17 March 2013

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! 





25 comments:

  1. Wow, it's already looking very Swedish and 'high society' stylish. Such a good idea to make the walls detachable!

    So far, I've only done that where there are built in cupboards/fireplaces.

    Isn't it a problem that the house becomes heavier with every wall-side you add? My house already weighs something like 70 lbs as it's made of 9 and 12 mm plywood and I couldn't add that kind of extra weight, I was thinking of cardboard detachable walls in the last 2 rooms, but that may be too weak?

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    1. Hi Indske!
      Well yes, the house is becoming a little heavy. I haven't weighed it yet, but I can still lift it on my own, so I think it is about 17 kg/40 lbs. I made the inner walls and shell just a little thicker than the detachable walls so that it doesn't get too heavy.

      I am going to see how it goes, and how easy it makes things. It is the first time I have tried this so it was kind of experimental. I might do it different next time if it isn't so useful!

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  2. Thank you for this great tutorial!!!

    Hugs, Lina

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  3. Hello,
    It already looks so elegant and simple at the same time. Thanks for that tutorial as well. I used already made doors but with your tutorial I feel now capable of doing doors as well. Yours look exactly right. Is is difficult to find hinges and doorknobs? From Thailand, I probably will have to order them.
    I am still working on the sketches for the Chinese shop house.
    Have a nice week.
    Cheers
    Patric

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    1. I am glad to be of help Patrick!
      I am actually surprised it worked so well! I am surprised I didn't think of it earlier too.

      I am still looking for some appropriate door handles and hinges, haven't found any yet. I will do I post when I hang the door though.

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  4. Marvelous doors! :D It's going to be a gorgeous room!

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    1. Thanks! I am following your little studio with interest too!

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  5. It is good to see how you make your doors they look great and so does the room already, it is amazing what a chandelier will do. Love your inspiration pics and those little chairs.

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    1. Hi Margret, thanks for your kind words and encouragement! Stay tuned to see how the room progresses (albeit slowly!).

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  6. The doors look wonderful! I like the unpretentious elegance of the Swedish neoclassical houses. I look forward to your tiled stove. Are you using real tiles or paper ones?

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    1. Hi Josje
      Yes I agree, the light and pretty elegance of Swedish houses is so lovely. I cant decide how I will do my tiles, but I was thinking of pressing card tiles to a wood center. I haven't yet decided!

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  7. Wow! What fantastic progress. It's looking wonderful, I can see it's going to be an elegant room. I like the way you have photographed it.The chandelier looks stunning.

    Fi x

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    1. Thanks Fi! I can't wait to furnish it when it is finished.

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  8. Even in its unfinished state, I can see what a beautiful dining room this is going to be. I'm looking forward to the finished house!

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    1. Thanks Anna! It is a slow process that I have to be patient because I am looking forward to it being finished too, thanks for your kind words!

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  9. Hello Emily,
    That is looking fantastic. The woodwork and doors is stunning. what a grand roomit will be.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  10. It's not such a small property! Thank you for sharing your process for making the doors and I like the staircase. This is going to be such an interesting project to follow.

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  11. Oh... Wow this looks fantastic!!! It's stunnig. Check out my blog: www.littlegeorgianera.blogspot.it
    Good day!
    D.

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  12. What a fantastic progress, Emily! Thank you for sahring how you made the doors, they look very realistic. The chandelier is stunning!
    I'll follow this project with interest!
    Greetings, Ilona

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  13. Me gustan tus tutoriales, son sencillos y dan un resultado genial. Besos

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