Since I am renovating a Keystone of Boston dollhouse that is in very, very good condition, I want to modify it in a way that maintains its value. Not that I think I could actually get money for it one day, but who knows? Maybe it will one day be auctionned off at Christies. But, realistically, I want to be able to change it without destroying it. So, the first project that I have taken on is to redo the floor in the main room. The main room is a combination living room and dining room, with a half wall partitioning them. So, the actual measurements are a whopping 15" x 24". I am making the "hardwood" flooring from coffee stirrers. Cost: $0.00. Thank you, Trader Joe's and Barnes and Noble and Starbucks. Each stirrer is 5.5" long, and my pattern requires cutting them to 7/8 of an inch long. I will definitely regret this decision later, if I do not already realize my foolhardiness.
What I've done so far is fashion a cardboard footprint. I had to glue two 8.5" x 11" pieces (which, for those math phobes out there, makes 17" x 22") and made up the rest with strips. Then, I surrounded the perimeter with full coffee stirrers, and I will painstakingly and
hopefully patiently glue the tiny, tiny strips of wood into a zigzag pattern. Let's do the math, shall we?
Area of floor: 360 square inches (minus around 7 square inches for the cutout for the stair landing)
Area of one wood strip: 0.1640625 square inches (dimensions 3/16" x 7/8" or 0.1875" x 0.875")
Number of wood strips needed to cover floor: 360
÷ 0.1640625 = 2194
Or, in other words, I'm going to be gluing for a very, very long time. Let's hope it turns out okay, and that I survive the ordeal with most of my sanity intact. Or is it already gone?
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I'm voting for sanity already gone :D *sorry* I just did straight popsicle stick floors and I love them, but tiny zig zags sound like a lot of work and like you may have to concentrate. I did mine with an unused bookshelf shelf on my lap while watching television. Good Luck with yours, I am sure it will look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, that is going to be a lot of work. But if you make it all the way through, that is going to be the prettiest dollhouse floor I've ever seen. I love the scale of the coffee stirrers too as opposed to popsickle sticks. :)
ReplyDeleteI had herringbone wood in my dining room last year, but I just printed it from a picture. Not so special. :)