Chateau fireplaces

 I bought these Lawbre fireplaces years ago in anticipation of using them in the Chateau. They are not identical but I'm alright with that. They fit perfectly and have the chimney breast all there as one unit. So I've been thinking about applying gold accent to the designs, much like Jim Coates work. I know I will never be that steady but if I could apply just a bit of gold, it would be perfect.

I grabbed a photo of one of his so I could have an example. I then bought about 6 colors of acrylic gold and got started. I am pleased with the results - just enough accent. OK so I only opened and used a tiny portion of 1 bottle of paint...but hey, I may go back to other things and do this!

Jim Coates work:

I was also playing with sconces. I don't really like the ones I have for this, I think I will just get simple ones just the candlestick ones. 

Chateau Conservatory Floor upgrade

 Conservatory Floor

Last I left it, the conservatory floor was barely satisfactory I had used Lawbre grey marble flooring that I had in my stash for years, and since this is the last house I will be doing, I was bound and determined to use them. The marble pattern was just to stark and the contrast was causing the overall look to be way too busy. I fiddled with it (worst possible thing I could do) and ended up doing lots of extra work to undo the fiddling. Then I washed a white/ivory over the tiles to tone down the contrast. That made it potentially worth keeping.

As these things go, it has been gnawing on me that it is just not going to work and cost and effort be damned. I bought enough old stock of Magic Mini Ivory marble tile to cover this size floor, and started with new cardstock. I butted them, leaving no spaces...like I did for the Foyer. I got as far as 3 or 4 rows and realized the sizes on each tile are just barely different. I left it for several days to stew. After seeing it and seeing another person's efforts with the same brand (different color) where they were butted, I decided to rip them off and start over, spacing them just a bit. 

First, the cardstock wasn't sturdy enough...so I went back to my old standby - plastic For Sale signs. As I laid the tiles out, I realized I could lay out exact size tiles all the way across, with just barely spacing. This eliminated the need to cut them (though I've successfully cut these formica tiles before with my Mini Chopper). So I glued all tiles, and then applied some grout. 

I'm very pleased with the results, and the plastic base gave it just the right amount of support. The ivory/cream colors go much better with the overall color scheme I have. 

Old Floor:

Working on new floor: