A Window, A Door, Five Walls, and a Floor!

Now that the Villa del Vigneto ground-level rooms have ceilings, it's time to become upwardly mobile and go on to the second level. I've been shifting a big stack of walls around from one spot to another for months, waiting for just this moment. It's time to paint! I want the three bedrooms and the bathroom to have a fresh simplicity that befits a rural retreat, and white has been my chosen color from the beginning. 

I was torn between a cool, stark white and a slightly warmer not-quite-stark shade. The warmth won, possibly because I started painting as snow fell outside my workroom window. Cool didn't have the same appeal as it formerly had. I mixed up a warm white color, and the fun began!

I used one end of my work table for the painting and found space where I could for the pieces to dry.  By the time I finished painting, days later, the snow had come and gone, but the warm white paint stayed.

There is only one small window on the east side of the house, and I constructed it using the same technique that I had used on the living room windows. I bashed ready-made windows to make two window panels. I dislike the waste, but it's the easiest way I know to get the window that I wanted. 

The window frames received the same paint as the walls.

The plastic material for the window panes is barely visible here. I had to cut each pane separately, since the frame size is very inconsistent. You can see the two drawer pulls that I turned sideways and used for window pulls.

The window panels are installed in the opening, but some extra fitting and repair work was necessary.

The interior side is finished; the pulls have been attached to the window frames.

The exterior also needed some personal attention to make the window panels fit properly. (Actually, they still fit improperly, but I'm not admitting that. Disregard the photographic evidence.)

The interior doors for the three bedrooms and the bath won't be needed for a while, but I thought I'd experiment with a design for the first one. These are the various components that I decided to use.

That's a bunch of doorknobs and backplates; and a whole lot of bright, shining brass!

A few dabs of dark paint take away the brassy glitter - and a slight smear of white glue dims down the crystal doorknobs.

The brass hinges earn the same treatment of dark paint.

I created a door panel with thin strips of wood and metal beading...

...and added a bit of embellishment in the center of the panel...

...then applied a few coats of paint over all. I liked the rough, aged texture of the door so decided not to sand it smooth.

The door knob goes on; 

 the hinges are attached; and - it's a bedroom door!

At LAST - another milestone; the FIRST wall goes up on the second level! It's permanently attached with toothpicks and glue.

If you're on the outside looking in, you can see a long way down the back hallway through the arched door on the east. 

Or you might be on the inside looking out.

I must be on a roll - this is the SECOND wall to go up! This is the east bedroom, the smallest of the three; it opens onto the back hallway. I have applied a bead of spackling to the corner and the bottom of the wall. 

Same wall, this view from the back of the villa. I love the DAP spackling that squeezes from a tube; it goes on pink, leaving no doubt as to what a messy worker I am. But it dries white, erasing all the erratic evidence.

Here are walls number three, four, and five! I AM on a roll - something must be wrong. I'd better check my construction time line again if I dare. You can see the thick white line starting at the east bedroom doorway; an interior wall will be erected here, separating the two bedrooms.

These are the same walls as above, seen from the back hallway.

I know that we've already looked down this hallway, but now there are walls on one side, making it look more like a real hall that serves a purpose. You can see the bedroom door on the left.

We've seen enough walls for now; it's time for a downward turn. This is a basket of leftovers from the lower level tile floors that I made from cork coasters. I kept them, knowing that there would surely be a use for them somewhere, sometime. 

I had already decided that the tiles for the hallway floor would be the same size as the ones that I used in the lower level entrance hall, which are smaller than the 1" tiles in the main rooms. All the leftovers were strips that were already marked into smaller squares that needed only a bit of trimming. I used some of the large strips to cut into thinner strips for a variation in the tile pattern.

The floor is complete in the back hallway. It needs only to turn the corner into the shorter hallway, and I think I have enough of the leftover tiles to cover that area. Such a serendipitous time saver!

Unfortunately, the tile pattern scarcely shows in the photos.

A long view of the completed floor seen through the arched doorway. In order to discourage a "tunnel effect" when the back wall goes up, I will install sconce lighting and hang a mirror and paintings on the walls. Meanwhile, the villa construction will continue with MORE walls, MORE floors, and MORE doors. (Such Excitement!)

I bought myself a gift to celebrate the end of February. My new work apron is a cheerful (and hopeful) reminder that Spring Will Come Again. Soon and Very Soon. 

The only drawback is that I can't bear to mess up the apron with paint and glue and joint compound and sanding dust and spackling and varnish and bits of smashed styrofoam. Maybe I'll just keep it for "best." Or at least until Spring has Sprung. 

HAPPY MARCH!! HAPPY SPRING!!

Lit Up and Battened Down

At last, I feel that I'm moving forward with the actual construction process of the Villa del Vigneto. I know that the tasks I've accomplished recently were important and needed to be done, but all involved many "finishing up" details that I usually take care of AFTER construction is complete. Possibly that's the reason that I've felt sort of "stalled out." But I'm ready to get moving again. Hanging some ceiling lights and chandeliers were the last things to be done before I was ready - FINALLY - to install the ceilings for the lower level. My progress has been slow, but more or less steady, so at least I have some results to show for the month of January.

I chose these two ceiling-mounted light fixtures for the villa kitchen. But, as usual, I needed to change them a little; the trim was so brassy!

So I dulled down the shining brass with some brownish-black paint. I rubbed the blackish finish so that some glowing brass still peeked through.

After the lights were installed and the photo taken, I realized that the trim still looks shiny. But it isn't! All the ceiling pieces for the lower level are only loosely installed at this point; after securing all the ceilings, I will need to touch up all the edges where the ceiling meets the walls. 

I chose two identical chandeliers from J. Getzan for the dining room and the living room. Then I happened to come across two filagreed medallions that I thought would work well to highlight the chandeliers.  

The dining room chandelier is up and working (!) There are always some tense moments after all the wires are connected but before the power is switched on!

The chandelier will hang directly over the dining table. 

I decided to add more detail on the ceiling before the living room chandelier was installed.

I used three different colors for the stencil.

The chandelier, the medallion, and the stencil form a nice threesome.

And another threesome involves the chandelier and two wall sconces.

All the ceiling pieces are on, the lights are installed, and the electrical wires are all protected by duct tape. It's dark inside this villa! Thank goodness for electricity.

It's time for a "trial run" to make sure that the upper-level walls fit before I start securing them with toothpicks and glue, my usual method. I've turned on the lights - much better. 

We'll take a quick tour around the outside of the villa. (You know I love tours!)

This is the east end, over the kitchen. There is a small front bedroom that has a single east window, and a long hallway runs along the back as far as the center bedroom. There will be a small balcony outside the hallway's tall door (or window?) opening.

Now we turn the corner to the front of the villa, where you can see the loggia outside the kitchen and the small east bedroom's front opening.

This is the center bedroom, over the dining room. It has a door (not seen here) that opens to a short hallway. The short hallway leads back to the long hallway or through an archway to the stair landing. 

This bedroom opens onto a long front balcony.

We just passed the stair landing and are in front of the west bedroom. This bedroom also opens onto a long front balcony. There is another short hallway that gives access through an archway to the landing or through a doorway to the bathroom at the back corner of the villa.

And we've come all the way to the west end, where you see the bedroom's single window and a large opening into the bathroom at the back.

You can get a glimpse inside the bathroom and see the door that leads to the short hallway. Pay no attention to the weirdly uneven back corner. Styrofoam allows me to make corrections and repairs as I go. (Styrofoam is so forgiving!) Now that I know the walls seem to fit where they belong, it's time to tear them all down. I'll put them up again one by one over a LONG period of time!

I've battened down the hatches! I've also applied a coat of paint to cover any white that may show between the floor tiles when I lay them. I left the bathroom corner white; I may decide to use a light-colored tile there, although that remains to be seen. 

The villa is now ready for the second level! YIKES!

Even in the midst of bleak and dark times, there can be moments of sparkling brightness. Following a treacherous ice storm here, the sun highlights nature's apology.

It is my hope that February will bring a sparkling brightness to all our hearts.