Stone Cottage sits at the edge of an English village. The new owners have restored it, installing an AGA stove in the kitchen, and a bathroom in a corner of the second floor, creating a master suite.



As with all the cottages I've built, the house is constructed of 3/8" Baltic birch plywood. After building several prototypes in 3/8" cardboard, it was time to measure and cut the wood pieces. The base measures 20 " X 32" and the house itself is approximately 16" X 29". The "stone" that I used is a Bromley product from England, consisting of a reusable plastic stencil and a powder which is liquified to create the textured stone.  The U.S. outlet for Bromley is Dolls & Minis in Wellington, OH.

I primed the interior walls, and painted all the exterior walls with Ceramcoat "Sandstone" as a base.  Then all the windows were traced so that they would fit flush to the walls with the stone surrounding them.With exterior walls flat on the counter (preferably next to the sink, because the stencil has to be rinsed after each application), I applied the stencil to 1/2" of the outside corner edges. I always started at the bottom of the walls, keeping that as a constant. The stencil overlaps one or two courses when continuing the pattern to insure alignment.  After a drying period I painted individual stones at random with pastel washes. Then I assembled the cottage, using 1/2" corner stock on all the edges.

I found the Classics brand Victorian door and matching windows very appealing.
( I did have to frame the small pivot windows tightly so that they fit into the dormer openings.) The roof trim is inexpensive beaded molding from a craft store. The patio is "Magic Slate", also colored with pastel washes.

The Living Room:

The window seat is a shallow box added to the living room side of the house.  A window was set into its opening and framed with interior molding after the seat was cut to fit and the walls wallpapered.  Later I made a seat cushion with cardboard as a base, covered by cotton batting and a pretty print fabric.

The living room is large and  provides dining space at a gate-leg table from JBM. Lucy Pannute painted the ivy-decorated table holding a basket of zinnias by Marjorie Meyer. Plum Miniatures made the coffee table and R-Stuff filled the green end table with cozy items including knitting in progress.

The M&R plate rack above the table holds some of my hand-painted dishes. 

 

The Kitchen:

The kitchen has a double sink by R-Stuff and a hutch by the Taylors. Serna Sheridan made the towel rack next to the AGA. 

The former storeroom next to the kitchen is now a tiny sitting room. It features an "apple peeling" chair by R-Stuff and a small painted chest by Paul Saltarelli. 

The new owners enjoy dining al fresco right outside the kitchen door. They collect salt-glazed pottery by Jane Graber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bath and Bedroom:

On the second floor, the bathroom is angled into a corner, and has a front wall with attached stair balustrade that is removable. This allows access to the bathroom lighting.

The bedroom is light and airy.  I found a pretty quilt at the Needlework Society table at the Chicago show, and didn't realize until I got home that the pattern was, appropriately, Ohio Star! On the front wall a 1" shelf supported by corbels lets the bed fit comfortably into the dormer niche. The armoire is an inexpensive Marshall's department store import that I've had for years. I made the dressing table from a Small Pleasures kit, and a Wilhelmina rocking chair and an R-Stuff table complete the sitting area.

 

Stone Cottage looks more formal than its sister cottages in my collection, but it functions as a comfortable, easy-living country home.