French bedroom - major progress ...

This is the current 'state of play' in the French apartment bedroom, it's taken a long time to get this far!

I started fiddling with possible furniture placements in 2015! 

This was at the beginning of lots of moves with full-time housesitting so it was put into storage for a while at that point and didn't come out again until 2016 when I started playing around with wallpapers finally settling on the pink before it went back into storage AGAIN.

Fast-forward to 2020 and we finally have a completed room, same wallpaper, same chest of drawers, same dressing table and chair (although the chair has undergone some 'surgery', details on that at a later date) different bed, armoire instead of  the corner cupboard. 

The bed is painted with Annie Sloan 'Old White' Chalk paint then aged with a wash of strong tea. I printed the fabric to match the wallpaper. 

The very handsome little is cat by Alice Zinn, I've named him Gillou. 

The red toile hatbox is by Marg Taylor (Argus Minis on Etsy), the pink one by me.

The be-ribboned box is by Bea she's on Etsy at Le Miniatures di Bea, the ballet slippers that are hanging on the back of the door came in this box. 

The chair is painted and upholstered by me, the seat fabric is silk dipped in tea to age it. The cushion and mats are printed by me too. A chair in the same style is available in my Etsy shop (the framed Marie Antoinette portrait will be available soon).  I wasn't sure how the chest of drawers was going to come out when I put the dark grey coat of paint on it but I'm happy with it, the patina is achieved by dry brushing with pale grey. I like that there is a little piece of the gold trim missing on the front of the top drawer, it hints that this piece of furniture has seen a long life. Never mind the expression "if walls could talk", imagine if furniture could talk - what tales a piece like this would have to tell!

The lovely lamp is from Marg Taylor. The beads were a gift from Susanne who sadly left this world early this year. Some of you will know Susanne from her blog and Facebook as Petite Brocante. We started blogging around the same time so were online friends for quite a few years and I have very happy memories of spending time with her in Denmark in 2017.  It's very special to have some of her work in this room and elsewhere to remind me of her creativity and warm heart. She is deeply missed.

The fabulous boudoir vanity tray is from my dear friend Linda Park, some of the bottles/jars are by Elizabeth @ StudioE. Linda blogs (occasionally, certainly not as often as we'd like) at Linda's Mini World - she's a fantastic miniaturist and I'm so lucky to be the recipient of lots of her lovely work including some beautiful petit point slippers (below). 

The ballet slippers are by Bea ( Le Miniatures di Bea), ballet skirt by Susanne, amazing leather shoes are by Patrizia Santi (Website). 

I love the stockings and wish I had more as they add such a nice touch but unfortunately I have no idea where I bought them, they've been in my stash for a very long time.

 Box by Bea (Le Miniatures di Bea)  

The dressing table and chair from Vilia Miniature (Etsy)  (Facebook) were a special request birthday present from my family a few years ago (the chair has been altered, the back and seat were originally upholstered). 

The beautifully made basket is by Lidi Stroud, Basketcase Miniatures (Facebook), linen bundle is a gift from the talented Elizabeth @ StudioE.  The pretty paper roses are by Lea Frisoni (Facebook) (Website) (Etsy), they are a special reminder of meeting Lea at the Paris show in 2017.

The lamp is by Brooke Tucker. 

The pretty, delicate, pink perfume bottles are also by Elizabeth @ StudioE. 

The exquisite silver is from Russian silversmiths Shew Jewelry House. It was a highlight of our 2017 travels to meet one of their team members, Dmitri Shevenko, in St Petersburg when I collected some of their silver for myself and a couple of friends. They are IGMA members and in 'normal times' attend some of the European shows. To visit their website click here, they have an amazing range of  high quality miniature silverware from small inexpensive pieces to show-stopping tea services. 

Most of the room will stay as you see it here but I've decided to swap out the smaller white bed for the larger one with the faux cane ends so watch this space for the update. Ceiling lights still have to be installed as well but that's going to have to wait for the moment as I'm busy preparing new furniture and accessories for my Etsy shop ready to trade from there in an online Australian Miniatures and Dollhouse show on 7-8 June.  

Thanks for taking a room tour with me - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed working on it, albeit in small instalments over a long time.