Monday, September 11, 2017

Pollyanna's Problem.....




Disorganized.....

It was one of Those weekends, Dear Readers, when very little got accomplished in my mini worlds, and there was really no excuse other than Dithering and perhaps more Daydreaming than Day-doing! I was trying to put a little bit of order into many parts of my life and not feeling successful at most of it. And so as a last moment attempt to feel productive, I decided to (finally) help Pollyanna with her workroom in the attic of The Lovely Old Dollhouse! From the start she knew it would need some attention to make it into a space that could be used for more than storage. And being optimistic, she was sure it would not take very much work! Fortunately for me, she doesn't measure the passing of Time quite the same way that I do.... so it was surely only a short while ago that she began to make her list of what would be needed...

Chief on her list was more work tables 
for all those dollhouses that had suddenly appeared!
But I knew that there were some more serious building "upgrades" 
that needed to happen before any more tables were added! 

To begin with, some of you might remember almost a year ago 
when I re-positioned the walls in the attic area, 
moving them closer to the stairwell 
and giving more room to the rooms on each side.
Because this is a retrofit on the old dollhouse 
and the walls could not be routed into the floor, 
I needed to support them with sturdy bracing at the ceiling and floor.
I had simply moved the bracing from the previous position 
to the new one, as you can see in the picture above, 
but I had not added the bracing along the floor
 at the rear section of each wall.
 
 
I decided that if I got nothing else done, 
I could at least attach that bracing!
It meant clearing out the furniture...
 and doing a lot of fidgety drilling 
and tightening screws in tight corners.... 

I used the last remaining pieces of bracing that I had removed last year... 
that way it matched the bracing already in place. 
I know these braces look large and rough and out of scale.... 
but this is supposed to be an old house with rooms tucked into the attic!
And you might notice the electrical "outlet" there in the back....
 I might have to upgrade the electrical too....
That is the only power coming up to the attic! 
But more on that another time.


Once I had added the wall bracing....
 I decided there was still time to start on the knee walls.
You can see in the above picture that the eaves are so low 
that the space is wasted and the furniture has nothing to lean up against....

The solution is a knee wall at the back of the room.
This is still not attached... I need to decide 
whether to leave access to the space behind 
in case I need to fiddle with the wiring which runs behind it... 
 
 and for the moment works.....!
I think the answer is yes, I do!
But meanwhile, the space is so inviting... 
it is irresistible to try out the new furniture arrangements!
 
Look at how much space there is here 
once the furniture is pushed against the wall!

Pollyanna has been borrowing tables from everywhere she can.....
really just to see what will fit and what is needed...

Of course, she keeps bringing in more projects.....
And while she is busy with arranging her room,
 I am building the knee wall for the bedroom across the hall....

Here you can see it has the same problem with the low eaves....
the furniture can only go so far back....

This wall is also not attached.... 
the electrical issues will have to be addressed first!

Here you can see it with the furniture in place.
It is barely noticeable but it does make a difference!

Oh look! Pollyanna has found another table!
This way she can have space in the middle of the room
 to work on her current project....

I can tell she has lots of ideas....!
Well, Dear Readers, I may be Disorganized....
but I managed to make a little bit of progress
helping Pollyanna with her Problem!

30 comments:

  1. Oh my! Looks like a very good amount of progress to me.

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    1. Thanks Sheila! It was one of those "not much work makes a big difference" sort of progress! Looooong overdue!

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  2. Lovely! I'm also looking at two attic rooms in my dollhouse that have never been utilized. One will be a bathroom and the other a study. I love your knee wall! Makes so much sense.

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    1. Thanks Megan! I have been intending to build the knee-walls for Forever! Wonder what took me so long! LOL!

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  3. Disorganized?? You?? Oh no, I think you've done a great job by placing these knee walls, Betsy, you've cleaned up well the attic and Pollyanna gave you hints with the rest of her plans ;)! I think your attic is still just a little bit messy, but therefor it's an attic. And it's even cosy, just the right place to work at current and older projects.
    Have a great week.
    Warm hugs, Ilona

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    1. Thank you Ilona! Yes, it is an attic and will always be a bit messy ! I just want to make it a "finished" mess! Lol!

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  4. Work in the attic is going well. Good luck!

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    1. Thank you Fabi! I have been planning it for a long time!

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  5. I think you made a ton of progress. Look at how much room there is in that attic workroom! What a difference it made moving all the junk out and putting in the knee wall - who knew? Lucky Pollyanna - she will have lots of fun in her new work space!
    Love, Mom

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    1. Hi Mom! It is amazing what a difference the knee-walls make! Love you too! :)

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  6. I'm so happy to see you working on The Lovely Old Dollhouse again! I love that dollhouse! You've made significant improvements that really do help to make the space more functional! I bet Pollyanna is very pleased!

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    1. Hi Jodi! I Love to hear that you love this house! It is by far my favorite for reasons of attachment to childhood and all those years of dreaming! In a way that makes it harder to get around to making changes.... even ones I have been dreaming of for years and years! But some changes are Clearly needed! LOL!

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  7. I am quite impressed with how you've been able to organize Pollyanna's workroom. That knee wall makes such a difference to both rooms, but Isn't it paradoxical how cutting off and dividing floor space with addition of walls, can actually increase it? :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Hi Elizabeth! It is one of those paradoxes....! I have been planning these knee-walls since I was a teenager! It's about time that I got them built!

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  8. I think you've been very productive, Betsy - getting two rooms organized while creating more functional space and providing Pollyanna with all those tables. No small feat! That attic is so useful; I'm sure that Pollyanna will make good use of all that new space. Now it's her turn to be productive!
    Marjorie

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    1. Hi Marjorie! I am so glad I finally did the wall-building! It has been on my "to-do list" for so long... I can't even remember when it wasn't! LOL!

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  9. Unas ideas fantásticas , cuando lo termines te quedará genial, me encanta la solucion para la iluminación.:-)

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  10. Oh, how mwny cuties !! I love the mini dollshouses and you have done a great job in the attic.The new floor plan is definitely clever !

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    1. Thank you Rosanna! I have been "playing" with the Teeny-tiny dollhouse scales.... now I have a whole "workroom" full of them! LOL!

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  11. Another word with double meaning to put on my list... "disorganized" can also mean very productive, coming up with brilliant solutions... ;O) Pollyanna is so lucky to have you by her side helping her to get a fantastic workroom. The knee walls really make the difference, the best change you could make (says the woman who is just sitting in front of a knee wall... *teehee*) Pollyanna already owns a stunning variety of lovely dollhouse projects, it was fun to see them again... and I have no doubt she will enjoy herself very much and will come up with many, many more projects. And before I forget - I really enjoyed your photos... looking like a real construction zone including the electric wires.

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. Dear Birgit, you know it is always darkest before the dawn.... meaning it is always disorganized until you organize it! LOL! Yes, the knee-walls are miracle workers! I truly have been planning to build them ever since I was sixteen years old! (In fact I tried back then, but they didn't last.... this time they are better built!) I am really happy to know that you can vouch for their usefulness! :):) And I am so glad you like my photos....! :)

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  12. I like all of her miniature projects - it looks like a fun room to organize!

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    1. Hi Troy! There is still quite a bit of building to do before the room is finished... but I can't resist having the mini houses set up!

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  13. Time definitely well spent, it looks great and such a lot of mini mini houses. Looks like you had a lot of fun playing with that space!

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    1. Hi Irene! This house is so much fun for me... being the house of my childhood and filled with so many dreams! It does feel good to finally get some more building done! And the tiny houses are just enchanting to me!

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  14. Hello Betsy,
    I think the addition of the knee wall was brilliant. It really makes the room look more finished and it already makes furniture placement easier. You always manage to make a great space better. I think the bracing adds nice attic-architecture to the space. I really love those wonderful teeny tiny dollhouses. It is a feast for the eyes.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Hi Giac! I have been planning the knee-walls since I was young.... it is about time I built them! LOL! They really do make all the difference to using the space. I still have quite a bit of work to do in this attic... even before I tackle the mini-mini houses! LOL!

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  15. Hello! Have you ever considered LED lighting to replace what you have? I used it in a room box not long ago for the first time and it is GREAT, Easy, bright, versatile, and cheap!! LEDs last for something like 50,000 hours and you can run a ridiculous number of them from one 9V battery, easily hidden in your attic kneewall! I bought mine from this US business http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com. They were patient with me contacting them a million times with questions and always helpful. It is actually very easy, but I was so nervous about messing up I wouldn't proceed until I double checked everything with them...twice... LOL They have a gallery at the top of their web page and my little room box is even on page 3 of the miniatures/dollhouses...a porch on the left and a sewing/hobby room on the right. Check them out before you do another wiring project!

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    1. Hi Debbi! Yes, I have bought those LED's from Model Train and used them mostly in my Tree House project (which is still not all finished) because they are small and versatile and don't require a plug and transformer. But with this house I have already been using the round wire lamps and since most of the wires are permanently buried in the walls I am not planning to undo them! But I do use those single battery-powered lamps from time to time.... ! I will have to go look at your little house in their gallery! Thank you so much for commenting.... I have so many projects and some of them are definitely the LED candidates!

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