Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Morning Light

The Return of the Sun

We are Finally seeing the lengthening of the Daylight in this part of the world, Dear Readers, and it is Such a Pleasure! The Morning sun is creeping North, day by day, allowing it's early rays to shine Deep into my little house, reaching parts of the room that usually don't see the direct sunbeams. So it is that when I awoke this last Sunday, the morning sunlight was shining onto "The Folly" in such a way as to light all the rooms and the little people therein!
Here, Let me show you!
See, it is lighting up the little bird nest hanging on the eaves......
(Gosh, it makes all the Flaws SO apparent!)

And from the open side you can see the way it makes the rooms come to life.....
casting shadows through the windows........

And in the upstairs bedroom it makes the little window glow.....
and the stars over the bed nook to shine.....

Here, you can see a little closer......
Yes, I STILL have to make the mattress and the rest of the bedding.....
But I LOVE the way the sunlight pours in......

And in the bathroom too... so MUCH still needs doing.....
lights, trim, curtains and everything else too!

And downstairs where Will and Daphne have been discussing
ALL the fascinating ideas of the world.....
(Have they been talking ALL night...?)
The sun slants into the room....
First lighting on Will.....

And then glancing on Daphne in such a way that her hair is aglow......
And Will is Suddenly captivated......


And Meanwhile, in the "Lovely Old Dollhouse" the morning light is working its Magic!
Celeste has been up all night too.....
(she is a Night person and usually tries to Avoid the morning light.....)
but even She is willing to admit that this morning light shining through the lace curtains in the Chinoiserie Bedroom is particularly beautiful!

For some reason she is reminded of a beautiful place she stayed once a long time ago.....
perhaps it was Paris......

And on a less Romantic note...
the sunlight is positively GLARING into the bathroom...
which needs EVERYTHING...!
Curtains would be a good place to start.......

The same could be said for the Master Bedroom.....
but I do LOVE the way the sunlight pours in!

Because Curtains have a Bad habit of BLOCKING most of the LIGHT!
As you can see here in the Living room....
I need to tie the curtains back better......
I think Joanna is telling Victor that she plans to go shopping ......

I just LOVE the way the sunlight comes in through the hall windows.....

And the Kitchen too.....

But it does have a way of highlighting all the things that haven't yet been done.....
(Does nothing ever get put away in this house...?)

Look, it even reaches all the way into the Kitchen in "The Folly"!
I Just LOVE it!

(I hope you didn't mind that little tour of the Morning sun!)

Because, I don't have much Else to show you!
The only WORK I got done was lots of tiny fiddly pieces for the kitchen of the Cupboard House... (and alas, I am afraid the sun has not Yet reached That house....)
But let me show you what I got done.....
I added a shelf over the door on the wall on the dining room side...
And the baseboard and wainscot trim.....

The shelf will hold platters and serving trays and other large dishes......
As you can see below.
And I also adjusted the fit of the Dumb waiter wall and doors...
(but none of that really SHOWS!)
And then I glued the dumb waiter wall in place!

But the most time-consuming piece was the Drying rack for over the stove......
Here you see it in the vertical stored away position.....

But it can be lowered down.......

To a horizontal position.......

Like so!

For drying cloths and linens......

I wasn't sure it would work..... or even look okay.....
but all the Victorian kitchens seemed to have them......
so I gave it a try!

And I think it works pretty well, and even looks okay...
even though it has nothing to do with
Morning Light!

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos in the light of life! :)

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    1. Thanks, Eliana! I just HAD to share! I'm glad you like them!

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  2. Hello Betsy,
    I'm at work, sitting at my desk with my coffe, and I swear if I could I'd shrink down and go spend some time in one of your dollhouses. All your rooms are so enchanting and just have a wonderful peacefull quality.
    I LOVe the drying rack. I'm working on a scullery and the rack is next on my list of projects.
    As always, I LOVE looking at your works of art.
    Enchanting!
    All the best,
    Giac

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    1. Thanks, Giac! I wish I had that mini potion too! There would be whole days that I would stay small! I'm so glad you find my rooms to be Peaceful.... I tend to think of them as "unfinished" and "lived in".... and yes... there is a Peacefulness... especially when I capture the Sun in those very "real" moments of illumination....
      I look forward to seeing YOUR rack for your scullery!

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  3. Oh, I am so glad I finally got here! I love the morning light and I know that the little people do also. I am enjoying your work and the life that is going on in that house.

    I, too, am sitting at my desk and dying to get back to miniatures. Your work is inspiring.

    Very nice "wallpaper" in the Chinoiserie Bedroom. Is it wallpaper or did you paint it?

    Have a great day.

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    1. Hi Iris! Welcome to my blog! I know you are one to appreciate the "Lives" of the little people!
      The Chinoiserie Room walls are painted by me... This house is my childhood dollhouse... but I am adding all the parts it never had to begin with like doors and windows.... And so the painting had to be done on the walls already built... which was a challenge! The earliest posts in this blog tell the story of this house. I also did a post on the Chinoiserie Room in August or Sept of 2010.

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  4. It is amazing how natural light gives your charming dollhouses and rooms a touch of a real life, Betsy!
    And I am in love with your drying rack! Gosh, how I love the miniatures that one can change it's position! It is also a touch of real life!:D

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    1. Isn't it Amazing what the Sunlight will do, Ewa? I am Always SO moved when I see it in the rooms like that! That's why I HAD to share with you!
      I'm glad you like the rack... and I'm glad I made it so it can move! I do LOVE those realistic features!

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  5. I'm loving the photos of your charming, idiosyncratic houses! I adore the plate rail in the kitchen -- the proportions, the colour of the wood, everything! And I think your bathroom is splendid -- love the tiles :) What kind of curtains will you hang there?

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    1. Hi Nina! I'm glad you like my Houses'(ahem)Style...! I usually just think it is a Mess! And NOT Finished!
      The bathroom tiles were inspired by a bathroom in a house I lived in.... they were Black Glass and were from the forties... VERY Glamorous! I don't think this bathroom will be able to live up to that one's level of Style.... I think the curtains will be Lace and linen in various layers.... We'll see if I can make it resemble my mental picture..!

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  6. You always give us lots to look at - keep the pics coming! I'm very impressed with your airer too.

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    1. Thanks, Irene! I LOVE the Visual aspect of these mini worlds.... being a photo addict... I have LOTS to share! I am only glad you enjoy them and are not bored!
      I didn't know it was called an "Airer"! But of Course you Scots would have a name for it like that!

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  7. Betsy, your panted walls are amazing. I love them, they are so whimsica and so real, fabuolous.
    The drying rack is a touch of genius :o)
    Rosanna

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    1. Thank you, Rosanna! I do LOVE to paint... so I have to keep finding excuses to paint my mini Rooms! I'm glad you like the Rack!

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  8. Hi--Wonderful pictures! Did you paint the murals yourself? I love them! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi Angela, welcome to my blog! I'm glad you like the murals! The only one I painted myself is the Chinoiserie Room. The others are wallpapers, the hunting scenic and Tudor Frieze wallpapers, made for miniature rooms.

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  9. Enchanting! I so enjoy taking a peek in your houses ;)

    Hugs,
    Victoria

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    1. Thanks, Victoria! I LOVE to have you come over for a peek!

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  10. Well, the comment box turned up!
    I love this sunny blog. And I love the music.
    All your houses are in early morning disarray, just the way they would be if they were big.
    Love you, too -
    Mom

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    1. Yay, Mom! It worked! I LOVE your comments! And the morning disarray is more of a permanent disarray... but, yeah, it is like real life houses... at least like MINE!

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  11. That's it, Betsey, I'm flying you down here to Florida right now so you can take things in my dollhouse that I glue to walls and pretend they move, and you can make all my accessories go up and down and open and close and swing and lift and...well, you get the idea! How often do I come across a miniature artisan who appreciates the animation made by morning light, the beauty of a painted wall, and the functionality of dumb waiters and drying racks and window sashes? Hardly ever! It's you!
    I bow to you. And let me just say, the mural in the Master bedroom-what a lovely thing.

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    1. Thanks, Amy! I DO LOVE that bit of realism that you get with the opening window and doors.... not to mention crazy things like Dumb Waiters! We will see if I STILL like that idea when I am trying to fit it into EVERY floor of the House!
      I wish I could just come on over and add that magic motion to your Houses! (Maybe SOMEDAY!)
      As for the way LIGHT adds LIFE to these little scenes... I will NEVER get over THAT!
      As for the mural in the Master bedroom.. I did not paint that one... it is dollhouse wallpaper in a Hunting Scenic Mural... I ADORE it! It was one of those "AHA" moments for me in this Dollhouse... SO PERFECT! But the Chinoiserie Bedroom I DID paint.... inside the already built house... tiny bit by tiny bit.... I DO LOVE to paint things like that!

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  12. me encanta... esta magnifica mil felicidades y saludos
    cristina.flores.20@hotmail.com

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  13. I am flabbergasted and amazed and blown away. I thought my dish rack was ...(don't dare say it now) but your multi-purpose, movable and mind boggling rack..o my, if you are not such a sweetie, I will hate you :). The kitchen alone belongs to our art and science museum, Bets!

    Love your choices for your walls but that mural you did top them all even though that hunting wallpaper in your bedroom is really crazy beautiful.

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