A True Craftsman......Rob Lucas Bookcases for Flourish and Blotts

Apologies for taking so long to share with you the delivery of my bookcases this week but if I explain that the quality of photograph is not wonderful because my camera is with my youngest son in Thailand, my old camera is with my eldest son in Cornwall and my very old camera is with my daughter in Dubai you may have some understanding of what my week has been like!

All I know is I am sitting at home enjoying our wonderful 'Flaming June' weather.

I am, however, very pleased to show these photographs that I have taken with my phone.

I had asked Rob Lucas of World of My Own Miniatures to make these for me as his unfinished furniture is perfectly scaled and beautifully crafted. Despite my very careful plans I opened the box with some trepidation I must admit but I really shouldn't have worried. 

 These are the ground floor units that have slotted in perfectly....

 ......with the end bookcase climbing right up to the the first floor where it joins on beautifully.

 The top floor has two side bookcases.....

......which match up with mm precision with the very long back book case. 

I asked for the shelves to range in heights to accommodate differently sized books and I hope you can see this.

 Here is the ground floor with staircase (Grrrrr!! Still can't look at it with love!), counters and back door in situ.

 The staircase will also have a balcony railing when it is finally glued in place but I haven't given that a great deal of thought yet.

 This photo does make it all look rather grand doesn't it. I love the way the tall bookcase climbs beyond the staircase.

Now this is an awful photo but you get the idea. This unit will sit behind the counters and be full of paperwork and reserved items, overflowing and in a truly wizarding muddle of course. 

I also have a number of units which will line the interior front door panel to finish off the look completely.

I don't know if you can tell how well made these units are but I am so happy with them. I did work hard on the plans but Rob has followed my measurements to the mm. They all slotted into place like a dream.

I can now add the floorboards, I left these til last just in case my measurements were slightly off, but I am not sure whether to lay the whole floor or measure up to each bookcase. 

I think I will get a cleaner look if I lay the whole floor.

So exciting! I feel I can really push on with the project now!

Have a fun weekend everyone.

Now Don't Breathe on My Staircase!!

As my Dad would say another day, another adventure or another day and back to the staircase.

The railings have stayed in place, no overnight pinging off so with the sun shining I carried it into the garden for spraying.

The husband was warned in no uncertain terms - Keep Away! Do not touch! Do not look! Don't even breathe next to it.......

 I put it back on the stand I had drilled yesterday and stood away ready to catch if it should fall. I then sprayed it all over with a coat of black paint. I had to leave this to dry for a couple of hours but as it was only an undercoat I could lay it down and go off and play tennis......

I lost, badly, my mind kept imagining the horror of coming home and finding it on the patio, on the grass, in the flowerbeds!

Black paint all dry I then sprayed on the gold crackle undercoat.

 Followed by the black top coat. Standing back I waited to see how it would crackle.

Can I come in the garden now? The husband is anxious to cut the grass. 

No you cannot. Can you imagine the tremors of the lawn mower!!??

 The crackle is quite fine which I good and I can't see any touching up that might need doing.

Ok, stand back and leave it alone.

 This is the spiral in place. I will need a circular step I think to bring it up level with the balcony above.

That's ok as I need to drill some holes to make it stand up properly and securely.

I will crackle this circular 'step' to make it blend in with the staircase.

 It is not a dominant as I thought it would be, there is plenty of room around it for all the bookcases that I hope to have lining the walls.

Now I need to pack it away, very carefully, and move on with the rest of the kit. 

I had to get the staircase finished in order for me to cut the balcony floor now I can start the wooden flooring and order the bookcases.

I had a chat with Rob of World of My Own at Miniatura at the weekend and he has agreed to make up my bookcases. This is great as it means they will have the fitted look I really want.

So a good day today.

Made even better as we found out today that my eldest son has been accepted on the graduate programme he applied for with a well known grocers.

He will be one of the lucky graduates this year with a job at the end of four years study.

Phew! Now that really is good news.