Chateau dining room and living room

Things in the dining room are taking shape. I purchased a nice Bespaq dining room set which is really just the table and chairs and a buffet. The room is small including a fireplace makes it even smaller. 

Since I finished the foyer wallpaper, I'm now planning dining room and living room paper. I have some chosen, though I haven't committed to them yet. Both are Les Chinoiseries papers, and are very lovely deep rich colors. I've never used this brand before and it's costly so I don't want to make a mistake.

I don't think I have any furniture for the living room yet, though I think I will need to take a look in my stash. Needless to say, no decorating scheme, except country french. 

Chateau foyer

I was able to wallpaper the foyer this weekend, which entailed reordering more of the mural paper because 2 of 4 sheets were a darker run. The new stock was all lighter, and I then used the 2 darker as templates to plan the pattern placement. That actually worked well, and once I had the plan in place I just started cutting pieces. The challenge here was that the pattern between the panels was wider, and this is a small room. I decided to therefore force a narrower pattern, which meant the compromise was more piecing together. 

In the end I think it looks nice and I'm pleased with it. That's not to say I would do that again, I probably spent way too much time debating and cutting. Anyway, it's done, and I was able to move on to gluing the ceiling in place and wallpaper the 2nd floor hall as well. 

You can also see the marble floor that I finished earlier, very happy with that as well!

Chateau progress

 The conservatory floor has evolved and for now it's done. I glued it and it was pretty busy, so much contrast in the marbling. My first mistake from there was applying Mod Podge, which left brush strokes. Rather than try to fix that, I began coloring it using a whitewash. That effect was much more pleasing to the eye. Then I made my second mistake - using old polyurethane that turned it yellowish. Sigh. 

Next was to sand the heck out of it to remove the poly and see how far I could get in removing the mod podge because that was really showing the brush strokes now. Using both my mouse detail sander and the my other square one, I finally got it down to under the Mod Podge, alternating with wet rags and acetone. 

Next was to apply white washes again and that ended up nicely. I sprayed it with a satin sealer and then I stopped futzing with it.

The foyer was next and my plan was to use the black marble Magic-Mini tiles I have had for years. My efforts of late seem to get tangled up in challenges causing rework of some kind....sigh. I didn't have quite enough tiles, I was shy by about a row, so 10 or so tiles. I was able to hunt down some that were similar and purchased them. Then I had to decide how to mix the two, in a checkerboard or use one as a border. Checkerboard won out and I'm very pleased with the results. I had to harken back to my days of cutting these formica tiles years ago with the French Country, so I pulled out my trusty Chopper II. It did the trick just fine. I used YES wallpaper paste to attach these and that ended up working well.

The wallpaper for the foyer came to me out of nowhere...I haven't ever used a mural and decided it was time to try my hand at this Of course I obsessed over just the right one for a long time, lots of hours on websites looking for finished visuals of some of the ones I had seen. There are very few examples of these and I found this frustrating. 

I bit the bullet and bought this Jackson Miniatures Fruit and Flowers and when it arrived I was very excited about it. Then I spent a bunch of time obsessing about how I would plan the patterning. So this is what you will see. I will be making cuts so that one panel is on either side of the front door, and then shorten the space between the panels on other areas. Quite a challenge for me. Sadly I found out that 2 of the 4 pieces are darker tone. Sigh. So I have just ordered more from the same person and requested that she send me all the same, either light or dark. There will be waste if I want the placement of the pattern a certain way. It all starts to gel when you put in the ceiling and the stairs and the door to really give it a true perspective.

I had one flickering fireplace embers insert from a few years ago, and of course I will need 2 so had to hunt down where I got it, and luckily I nabbed a second. This is pretty cool, I've never had a flickering one before. You will also notice the alligator clips are lighting it...yeah I broke down and bought one (well 5 came in the package!) that attaches to a 9V battery so I can test my lights easily.

I had to buy this beautiful set of Wilhelmena wicker while I was shopping for other things. 

Chateau decorating thoughts

 I have Lawbre grey stone flooring tiles, enough for the large wing, what will be a study, conservatory or such. I've begun cutting the flooring templates and decided I'd lay out some of these tiles to see how they might look. I'm thinking a really tiny spacing, so I can add grout. 

The crown molding I want to use on the first floor  - I don't have enough to do LR, DR and foyer, only the LR and DR. I bought a different one recently for the foyer and was playing around with it, and some possible wallpaper. 

Chateau wiring continues

 This is mostly for reference later so I have a visual reminder if I have to troubleshoot.

Wiring for kitchen - going up to peak and over inside the roofline. I will be able to hardwire at the top.

The black is liquid tape (I should have waited for the white bottle for the walls, I will need to paint over it) and it will add insulation over the eyelet connections. 

Here is the foyer connection, with liquid tape. I learned the hard way about coach lights and glue, and ruining some Lawbre coach lights and one of the new black coach lights. The black coach lights have adhesive stuck to the back of them. I wanted to glue them, the exterior wall surface is a texture and the adhesive won't stick long term. In removing the adhesive, I pulled the wire and broke the wire connection. So, I researched this and found the recommendation to use liquid tape. This time I carefully picked away some of the adhesive, and then used my liquid tape. When dry, I was able to successfully add glue (Quick Grab) and adhere them to the wall. 

This liquid tape replaces scotch tape and insulates the connections. 

Chateau Resources

 Tracking things I use to finish the Chateau

Wallpapers

LR - Les Chinoiserie 

DR - Les Chinoiserie 

Foyer - Fruit & Flowers Mural by Jackson's Miniatures

Flooring

WH Goode wood strips - Cherry

Limestone Tile Embossed Floor - Streets Ahead

Lighting

• Ornate Coach Lamp #MH1026 (aka CK4157 Cir-kit)
• J Getzan Tuscany 409 - LR and DR
  
• J Getzan - foyer
• LR/DR wall sconces - Clare Bell CE1770131

Furniture

• Kitchen cabinets - JBM Chef Julia
• MBR - Bespaq Jeanne Swag
• LR - Bespaq Lorraine French Sofa
• Conservatory -  Wilhelmina Wicker Chair with Velvet Upholstered Loveseat and chair

Paint/Finishes

• Exterior - Coastal Texture Paint from Folkart - Seal Grey, and Mod Podge Ultra Matte sealer
• Shingle Stain - Minwax Red Mahogany

Chateau lighting

 I've been going through my stash and here's what I have so far. Not sure what goes where yet, though I did install the front exterior coach lights. 

Some Clare Bell, but the one I'm really stoked about is my J Getzan! There is one here that may also be a Getzan but I'm not sure, it has the little grape leaves. Edit 10/5/21 - Yes, the grape leaves is a J Getzan (Rosette Chandelier 104G)