Last week, I finally found the perfect drawing room furniture! I’ve been searching since I abandoned the drawing room a year ago, so I was awfully happy to find these.
Now I just need to finish the room around it.
Last time, I had made the walls on each side of the chimney too narrow. So I pried the old walls off and made new ones.
I think the proportions are more realistic now.
Then I started painting the sub-floor black so the cracks between the floorboards show up better.
I also did the area behind the fireplace…
…so the inside of the fireplace works now.
The wood of the back stairs which I had stained but not finished last year is looking rather dry and dull, so I experimented with a bit of Danish oil on an extra piece to see if I liked the effect. I’d like the area to look polished but not shiny and varnished since those are servants stairs, after all. I’ll see how it looks after it dries overnight.
Finally, I drew up a small scale version of a pattern I might use for the drawing room floor.
I like the trim but I suspect the middle will look too fussy in this small a scale, so I modified it a little.
And that’s all I had time for tonight. Be well.
Victorian Mini 
Hi Juliette! What a difference between the furniture which you previously had in the front parlor and that which you have now! I LOVE your new pieces as they look far more elegant and refined. I also like the modifications which you’ve made on the fireplace. It appears to be a better proportion within the space.
Your proposed parquet floor will look Terrific and the black prepping of the base was another Excellent Tip for me to remember.
Everything is looking marvelous, so far. Keep it up!:D
Thanks! The original furniture I had there was stuff I had found for sale for twenty bucks somewhere several years ago…not sure what I’ll do with them now but I love these new ones too and can’t wait to build the room around them.
Hi there Juliette,
Your drawing room is shaping up so nicely. The alteration you made to the fireplace surround is perfect. The furnishings you’ve chosen are absolutely gorgeous…They fit my concept of how the drawing room ought to look…and they seem to be very well made. Not that MY concept means anything!
I especially love the floor you have designed, and you were right on in your thinking that the simpler version will be most appropriate…I can just see it now!
Keep up the excellent work!
Doug
Thank you! Now I just need to figure out how to make that floor work…
It’s looking beautiful, and I love your new furniture. It gives you even more reason to finish the room, doesn’t it? I love your attention to detail–it’s inspiring!
Have you ever experimented with an acrylic matte or satin spray for your wood floors? I agree that glossy is not a realistic Victorian finish, especially on the servants’ stairs. I used both recently for different projects and was quite pleased with the effect. It would also have the advantage of not attracting dust like an oil finish would. One product I love and have used on antique furniture is Kramer’s Best Antique Improver. It’s expensive, and so is shipping (not any cheaper on Amazon), but I’m just going to bite the bullet and buy some more because it does beautiful things to wood and even years later it doesn’t get that dried-out look.
Thanks for the tips! Actually, I use the matte spray on my wallpapers to help keep the colors true so they don’t fade as easily. That Kramer’s stuff looks great…maybe I’ll look into that sometime. For now, I’ve bought a matte polyurethane and I’ll see how that works out next time.