Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The Conservatory Elevation




Taking the Next Steps.....

I was finally able to spend several days devoted to my mini projects, Dear Readers, and made considerable progress with the Conservatory! I managed to get the end walls aligned and held together with a serious 1 and 1/4 inch screw to counteract the warped wall section which you can almost see in the next picture. (I will apologize now for the poor lighting... my house is old and lacks overhead lights and it is the time of year when it is dark almost all the time!) I ended up drilling through the upper corner of the wall decoration bracket, and into the side wall, and using a screw to pull the sections together. You can see the screw if you look carefully. I will need to add a plug to cover the end of the screw head. After that I completed the new roof cornice sections on this end of the Conservatory, and except for attaching the roof sections, that pretty much completes the basic structure of this building! Hooray! I have succeeded in my original plan to make the building have opening sides! Now I could move on to the tile floor! Or so I thought.

It was about this time that I had an idea.... 
an idea that would actually make the Conservatory function better... 
and look better.... and I thought I better give it a test to see if I liked it.
The idea was to raise the conservatory up on an elevated "foundation" base!
This would be especially helpful when opening the side wall "doors".  
Because if the conservatory sits right at ground level, 
when the doors are opened they sweep all the things in front of them out of the way....
which basically means there could be no garden flowers 
or urns or fountains sitting along this whole side of the building. 
Whereas, if I raise it up on a foundation by two inches or so.... 
the ground at the base could be planted with flower beds 
and they would not be disturbed by the swing of the doors when you open the side walls!

So I bought some pink foam insulation panels 
and cut a piece the same size as the conservatory base. 
And set the Conservatory upon it like so.
I think it makes it look much more realistic, and impressive this way!
Of course, then you need to add steps up to the doors....!
Which requires a little bit more "landscape" around the Conservatory....
and I think you can guess where this is going!

I was planning all along to have a "small" amount of landscape 
surrounding the Conservatory.... 
because I cannot imagine a Conservatory without any Garden...!

But how much is a "small amount" of landscape?
Should the steps have a walkway at the bottom.... 
or dump the little people right off the base onto the floor?
And should there be a "small" amount of terrace at the end where the doors open....
a space where the citrus trees are wheeled out for the milder months.....
or where you can arrange a table and chairs.... 
or build another set of grander steps leading down into a sunken Garden.....
And if there is a Terrace, should there be a bit of a wall a the back....
to keep things from falling off.....?
Oh, why do I get so carried away? 
I do not have space in my house for a large garden around the Conservatory....
but I can maybe justify a small terrace.....
And at the very least.... 
I think the elevation is a good idea with the sides opening....

Because otherwise nothing can "grow" along the side of the conservatory!
So while I am wrestling with the practical aspects 
of increasing the Conservatory Landscape...
I have also started to work on the floor inside.
I originally wanted just to use up the tiles 
I had left over from the Castle Great Hall floor.
And I had arranged them in a "patterned" arrangement 
on a piece of cardboard so they could easily be 
moved out of the way and not be disarranged.


The idea is that they might look a little like a "rug" made of tiles.
So I began experimenting with different borders to surround the rug section...

And I made a lot more tiles in different colors, but undecorated, 
and tried them out as borders for the rug section.

And then tried some of the other patterned tiles....

With some other color tile borders.....
Oh, I really love that blue....!
This could take me a while to decide!
Meanwhile I do need to make a lot more tiles... 
even some of them with patterns.....

Because what I have doesn't quite cover half of the floor space!
And there will need to be another entire "rug" at this end.

And I will need to decide how much "terrace" to add at the end.....

And this new foundation is going to require 
a whole lot more bricks as well, Dear Readers!
I am going to be making Bricks and Tiles for quite a while!
I think it is gradually becoming clear that 
the Elevation of the Conservatory
 is going to require a whole lot more 
than just a few Next Steps!

18 comments:

  1. The floor is original and beautiful.

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  2. Love it love it love it. Have I said I love it already? :D Your conservatory is superb and yes I also love the tiles but I am sure I already wrote that when you were posting castle's floor. :) :) :) Can't wit to see progress!
    Hugs

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  3. HELLO BETSY! :D
    The idea for elevating your conservatory is a stroke of Genius! Not only does it solve the problem of the swinging doors, but now forces you to make a small garden which is what you have been hankering to do for a very long time now. I Love both sets of stairs leading into the structure and I think that your plans for the terrace will look Fabulous!
    I'm not envying you the task of producing a gazillion tiles and bricks, but I know that you are never deterred by these kinds of projects. Go for it Betsy and don't stop now. You have an Outstanding Structure and a future garden just waiting to happen! :D

    elizabeth

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  4. Elizabeth already said it: Elevating the conservatory is a stroke of Genius! It looks (who would ever have thought this possible?!) even more impressive now, the doors open well and yes, there must be a garden now... there has to be a garden! A Betsy-Garden... full with wonderful flowers and enchanting things like fountains. And hey, no laments about not having enough space for a garden... Anybody who has a park in the house has space for a garden, too! *teehee* And as usual I am in love with your tile floor... it's awesome and although you'll have to make uncountable numbers of tiles and bricks now it will be worth it!

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  5. Greetings Betsy, yes, your leap to the idea of elevating the conservatory is inspired. I like the idea of the carpet tile in the interior ... MMM thinking it wild be so interesting to have a vine or fern motif to tie I. With the greenery theme.
    You could go with larger pavers on the exterior.
    What a wonderful project full of exciting possibilities.
    All the best
    Regards Janine

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  6. What a genius idea for elevating the conservatory, Betsy! Have I ever said that I love the creative way of thinking by you :D LOL!? But it will also be lots of work to make all those new tiles and floors, not to speak about making a whole park/garden outside your conservatory.........!! Using the floor tiles, like a pattern of a rug is another wonderful idea. Being a huge fan of the blue color, I LOVE your new tiles "D!!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  7. You are going to be very busy alright, Besty....but you know it will be worth it!
    All the best
    Vivian

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  8. Te va quedando precioso el conservatorio, esas baldosas te llevarán más tiempo pero lucirán mucho.
    Un abrazo
    Maite

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  9. Your conservatory will be beautiful. It already is! ♥ I can image how pretty it will look after the small amount of garden around. I also like the tiles very much. :)
    Hugs, piikko

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  10. I see I've missed two chapters!
    Life has been a bit complicated - now I'll go read the New Years one.
    Love,
    Mom

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  11. The foundation makes the whole conservatory look grander and even more realistic! Some people might see a lovely garden while waiting for their tour group to arrive. It gets better and better. The bricks may be tedious, but I'll bet you can do it easily and many at a time.

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  12. Está quedando precioso y las baldosas, aunque den mas trabajo, dejaran un suelo perfecto..¡felicidades por un excelente trabajo! Un beso

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  13. Elevation is brilliant! And it feels great to solve problems.

    I adore this project and am enjoying watching you work.

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  14. Your conservatory is amazing. I also like your doors.

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  15. Hello Betsy,
    It is so much more work, but totally worth it. The base adds so much grandeur to the conservatory and also just steps the realism up a notch. The floor is stunning and would be perfect in such a wonderful, sunny room. Bravo Betsy!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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