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Giving the bookcases gingerbread flair: Part 2

Last time I posted about the armoire door that I adapted to work as a sliding door on this bookcase. Just a quick reminder of what this looked like orginally…..

Both bookcases looked like this. Notice how the bottom has been finished with a laminate trim. So I’ve finished adding details and, although I’ve yet to finish painting them with chalk paint sanding and finishing them you can get an idea of what they look like with these images…

It’s all a bit dusty and messy in there and, as you can see, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Nevertheless it’s starting to take shape; here are some more images where you can see the kitchen island….

The changes have been made using predominantly recycled pieces of wood from furniture I’ve bought at brocantes and have been broken down for one reason or another. This is partly why it’s taken so long to get to this point. I’ve had to be adaptable and at times I’ve had to go away, leave the project and allow my mind to tick over as to how I can use what I’ve got. As a result there’s been some unusual items thrown into the mix.

I can’t give you a how to – what’s the point, it’s all based on my rag bag of things, but I can give you an idea of what and how I adapted things to turn from one to the other.

The first thing I’ll draw your attention to is the base of the bigger unit. In my post on the sliding door I said how I needed a lip to keep the door in line so it didn’t slip and cause it to be pulled from its top, potentially wrecking the entire cabinet. I made this lip from the base of an armoire that had the majority of its parts used elsewhere, and the wheels of the coasters run on two armoire struts which made up the door frame.

I needed the latter as I wanted the pole for the curtain pole for the door to be as in line with the upper shelves on the unit as possible, so running along the struts gave it height. You can see the lip here…

This isn’t just the armoire base and struts though, it’s a real Frankenstein monster underneath the chalk paint. I wanted the armoire base because of the curved corner, but I needed more height as a result of the struts so I added the edge of a buffet that’s too big for the area. It still looked unfinished so I glued to 28mm 1/4 rounds together and added them on the top. I’m not going to lie to you I used a lot of acrylic to fill gaps – I think the entire project is about 10% acrylic.

You can see where I added finials to give the cupboard a finishing touch. Well, they don’t only serve that purpose. the mish mash of wood bits didn’t look good on the corners, so they were added to disguise the not so smooth transitions.

When this bookcases was done and before I’d painted it it literally looked like…

Here are a series of photos to show you my using various quarter rounds to give a more finished end; you can see how it changes from horror show to more presentable with acrylic…

When I’ve painted it and sanded it smooth it you’d never know it was such a freak show. Here’s the other end which is on its way to looking presentable – I’ve built this up with my favourite 1/4 rounds of various sizes, one of the beads from my daughters play set (yep, you read that right) and I’m smoothing it and adding form with acrylic. Here it is as I’m building up layers of acrylic – I’m going to add another after this has set to give it more definition. I’ll update you when I’ve finished the painting..

I said in my 1st post that the rail for the door to run on was a real trial and error process. Well in order to fit the rounded end curtain rail I needed an extra piece of wood…

As you can see I’ve added this detailed panel; it was the central panel of one of the now defunct armoires, as I couldn’t place it centrally I used these rose hooks to counteract it being off centre. I already had the hooks. The light switch is going to be replaced for a dolly light switch.

I’ve already written about how the tops of both cabinets are put together from salvaged furniture, however the corner brackets are found on ebay. In my last post I showed you this image…

Due to the curtain pole’s fit I needed this piece of wood to screw it to and these brackets to disguise the ugly. You’ll notice that the slight arch in the original bookcase mean that the brackets don’t fit all the way along so, as there was the metal curtain pole, I added these small, iron knobs.

Because the bookcases are large I’d had the choice of removing them or struggling to find a place to put our fridge as a result of wanting a dining corner and wanting to keep the fireplace. So in the end I decided to have the fridge inside the bookcase itself. So I needed a step for it to rest on. Along came my second armoire base to form this…

This is made up of the armoire base and the original top of the buffet come kitchen island. I’ve added the same finials….

Again it’s looking a bit scrappy, but you’re able to see how it will be when it’s finished.

The armoire which had the detailed side panel used on the large bookcase had an additional top bar along with the side casings which is used on the sliding door. I cut this and put it on the bottom of the smaller bookcase and added it to the other side of the bottom of the armoire on the step. As it was the right hand of the armoire base and I needed it for the left hand corner of the cupboard I put it upside down, then I added some left over edging from the buffet.

You can see that this is again a mish mash of various salvaged pieces. Added to that I’ve put together an end section for little spice jars and bottles. I’m not going to go through it step by step, unless you want me to, but here are some images of the various stages…

It’s looking all higgeldy piggeldy, then it gets smoothed over with acrylic and the first coat of paint goes on…

Again, it’s not finished and this is chalk paint so it looks uneven, but I’m rather pleased with how it looks. More out of the ordinary things are used; some smaller curtain finials, the 1/4 rounds, and some little wooden craft dollies of all things!

My husband is the main cook – he’s very excited about his spice rack!

So this is where we are so far. We have the wall and the floor to do next, as well as finishing the ceiling. If you want me to go through how to make the spice rack let me know. In the meantime stay well!

Part 4 Adding Mouldings to the Ceiling; A Wood Carved Ceiling Detail

I’m continuing with the ceiling details and it’s starting to look more impressive. I’m waiting for some more wood carved appliqués to arrive for the section between the picture rail and the cornice; I decided in the end to add more as it looked better. Apart from that I’m nearly at the end of adding the mouldings, next will be completing some paint detail. I’ll update you on whole room pictures when we’re at that stage.

In the meantime another glimpse. The room has gone from plain white like this….

to this…

This last section cost less than £50, and was so simple to complete (just like the frieze detail). If you dis-count drying time it took a maximum of two hours!

Paint the wood carved appliqués

As with the details between the picture rail and the cornice, pre-painting the wood carvings mean that you save yourself a lot of mess when you try and paint them in situ.

Mark where the main mouldings will go

With chalk mark where your central wood appliqués will go with crosses. As you do each one start to draw a straight line between each pair, using the spirit level.

To make the placement of the crosses easier I just took the spirit level length, about a meter long, and placed its end flush with the cornice edging. Making sure it was straight I marked the area with a cross. On the corner sections I marked the intersection of a spirit level length from the two walls.

Glue the first appliqué on

I started with one of the middle appliqués first. Place it so it’s over the centre of the cross, then line the ends of the width so they’re touching the horizontal lines. Hold the appliqué in place for about 30-60 seconds.

Glue the wood carved lengths so they start at the furthest length on the horizontal and run along the same line.

When you glue them try and get glue along the length of the length so it sticks properly, but don’t use too much so it squirts out of the sides.

Add a corner moulding

Add a corner appliqué next, but place it on a horizontal angle. As you can see below the two length appliqués have to come out of these at different angles so that they follow the chalk lines.

These is what it had started to look like.

My original intention was to add in half rounds to link the sections along the chalk line. However I started to think that the details were sufficient on their own, and adding the half rounds may have highlighted any inconsistencies in the connections. So I just continued with the details.

Continue round the room like this. Here is a close up of the title photo…

You can see it’s all starting to come together. I’m so pleased with the effectiveness and price of these wood mouldings. If you add wood appliqués in Amazon or ebay you will come up with a grand selection for any project you wish to try.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Part 3 Adding Moulding Details To the Ceiling; A Wood Carved Border

In this post on Lincrusta I shared the most beautiful freize and how I couldn’t afford it. When you’re refurbishing a period home you must be careful with your budget, obviously, as there are so many hidden costs. So being resourceful is a necessity. How did I get the look I wanted? I turned to wood carvings. Again.

They’re becoming a bit of a go to of mine; they’re inexpensive and you can use them in so many projects. In this one I thought I could use them as a border. It was a very simple process that just involved measuring out the space and putting the wood carvings within a suitable distance of each other.

Paint the wood carvings

I quickly spray painted my carvings prior to using them. It means that I don’t have to paint them in situ and therefore didn’t have to worry about overlapping the contrasting colour of the wall itself. Just put them in a large box and spray paint; the box will act as a shield for the surrounding area. Spray paint can be super messy.

The coverage of the carving wasn’t thick, but that’s ok. I can touch up just the tops later and not risk ruining the walls.

Measure the distance and calculate the positioning.

I had 23 wood carvings. On the wall with windows there could only be three wood carvings realistically, so that left me with three walls and 18 wood carvings. So six carvings per wall.

As the wood carvings are 30 cms and the wall is 380 cms I divided the wall into eight, then the difference between the length of the wood carving and the length of divided wall was the distance between each wood carving.

So in this case 380 divided by 8 was 8 x 45, with 20 remainder. I then divided that 20 by two and added ten cms additional gap on both ends. The adjoining walls and the optics of the two corner wood carvings meant that this didn’t look out of place.

Mark where the wood carvings go

I drew lines with a pencil where the wood carvings would go. I did this for two reasons. One, it allowed me to make sure I was happy with the arrangement and two, because I could ensure that the line was straight, and therefore it would give me a good guideline for positioning the wood carving itself.

Just glue in place

It’s this simple. Just get some no more nails type glue, add sufficient glue on the back and glue in place. Be careful if it’s white as it could destroy the paint job underneath; put it in larger areas and not too much so it doesn’t splurge out of the sides.

Stand back and admire it

Yes, that simple.

So how much did it cost?

Remember I told you that a Lincrusta border was £300? Well this cost me less than £40.

The paint work needs to be touched up and I have more details to add to this ceiling area, hence my briefly sharing here. I hope to update the next part shortly.

Also, if you have Lincrusta or Anaglypta wallpaper have you kept it? Do you want some? What are your thoughts on this period homes staple? Or do you think you would be happy with the wood carved, cheaper option? Let me know in the comments below.

30 Inspirational Lincrusta, Anaglypta and Embossed Wallpaper Details

Lincrusta is like linoleum for the walls and ceilings. It differs from Anaglypta wallpaper; it’s harder wearing as it doesn’t have a paper or vinyl base. As with Anaglypta it can be identified by its raised relief. It can be painted, and is perfect for hard wearing areas such as hallways.

It was very popular in the Edwardian period. I used to go to many Victorian houses in my old job and the, now sad looking, grand premises often had stained glass doors with Lincrusta on the hallway walls. They’d often be painted in gloss paint and, although they interested me, they often looked….bleugh. But it doesn’t need to be; more on that later.

Lincrusta is expensive. It’s about 300€ per roll and a freize with a Lincrusta design on it is the same amount. So bear that in mind if you’ve moved into a period home, spy it and want to tear it all down!

It’s made from a paste of gelled linseed oil and wood flour spread onto a paper base. It is then rolled between steel rollers, one of which has a pattern embossed upon it. The linseed gel continues to dry for many years, so the surface gets harder over time. This is why it’s so expensive and hard wearing.

Not only is Lincrusta expensive to buy, applying it is different from putting up standard paper or vinyl based wallpapers and would need a specialist. You need to cut the Lincrusta panels to the required size and then soak them in warm water until they are malleable, before sticking them to the wall using a special Lincrusta adhesive. The expertise is especially significant as it can’t be cut to allow it to go around corners.

A little history. Lincrusta was invented by Frederick Walton who also patented the aforementioned linoleum flooring in 1860. Lincrusta then followed in 1877 and was used in places from royal homes to railway carriages, hotel foyers, bars, restaurants and casinos.

Can you believe that it was in six staterooms on the Titanic? It’s also in the White House. Like I said – if you have it and are restoring please don’t tear it down!

Although Lincrusta was originally manufactured in various locations all over the world it is now produced in Morecambe, Lancashire using traditional methods.

Both oil-based and water-based paints can be applied to Lincrusta. Below are some inspirational images, but it’s worth bearing in mind that it can provide a base for a variety of treatments.

These are some traditional dado style Lincrusta. As said earlier, this is likely to be found in a hallway. Even giving it a fresh coat of eggshell paint will make it look dramatically different. However you’ll see other treatments too.

A whole wall of Lincrusta? Take a look at these…

Stunning isn’t it?

I can’t afford Lincrusta, I don’t even think I can afford Anaglypta – it’s poor, but still expensive, cousin. However I might be able to afford some embossed wallpaper. Why would I want to introduce this into our house? When you live in a period, stone house you notice the cold. Once it gets warm it stays warm, but this is largely because we have double glazing. However we’re always looking for ways to add insulation.

As there are a lot of these types of homes here in France using a thin layer of polyesterene prior to wallpapering is common. It adds a layer between the cold stone and the wallpaper, stops the heat seeping into the wall.

In the upper rooms and hallway we have a lot of polystyrene tiles on the ceiling for this reason (😱). So I’m thinking of replacing that with a polystyrene sheet and some embossed wallpaper. It won’t have the durability of the Lincrusta, but you don’t exactly get a lot of traffic on the ceiling. Why would I do this? Take a look…

The other way I’ve been inspired by Anaglypta is the friezes. They’re as much as the wallpaper. Yikes! So I’ve come up with an alternative. I’ll tell you about this shortly, but here’s what’s got me salavating…

Part 2 Adding Moulding details to the Ceiling; Repurposing an Armoire Cornice

Firstly, let me apologise for the quality of the pictures I’ve taken. The dining room is at the front of the house and it’s not a brilliant light source to photograph in.

This armoire cornice is from the one that I tried to put back together in the spare room, but I found it had warped so the doors couldn’t go on. For those who follow the blog (if you don’t please hit the subscribe button) you may remember that I used the ornately carved door panels to add interest to the plain, 1970s style door here.

I’d decided that I’d be using the curved top for this project as soon as I made the decision to use the panels.

One of the reasons I wanted to use the armoire in this way, resulting in just buying another one rather than attempting to fix it, is that it can be far more economical to do this than buy wood carved mouldings for various projects. For example, a large moulding for a door like this one will set you back at least 100€. I can buy an entire armoire for that from a brocante and salvage various pieces to use in numerous projects. So, like I said, hit subscribe because this one armoire will be used in a few more projects coming up.

I know I’m talking armoire here, but the English wardrobe from the spare room could have been used in a similar way.

Just a quick reminder, here is how the doorway in the dining room looked prior to today’s work.

The small moulding just above the door came from another armoire. Our rental property when we moved here was ancient and a wonky floor meant the doors opened in a dangerous way and it collapsed as my husband was putting it together!

The moulding is lovely, but very small and didn’t stand out a lot. So the very first thing was to remove it from the wall as it was still too high to allow the wood moulding to fit above it.

The wood carved moulding is heavy, so I had to be sure that it was firmly secured in place. Here’s how I did it.

Pay attention to your drill choice

I used stone drill bits and two drills. One to drill in the wood of the moulding, and the other for the stone wall. Or what I thought was the stone wall, but more of that in a bit.

Our house is ancient; we know it was built pre 1850, but as the French didn’t keep records until then we can’t be sure exactly when. As a result of its age the majority of the walls are stone and when I first started to try and put up pictures in the house I had to drill into the walls. However it was always hard work as the drill isn’t powerful enough.

The drill I was using for this job actually belongs to my father and had enough power to get the job done. I’m just telling you this as if you’re struggling to drill into walls in a period property it may not be you, but your tool.

Brackets

To ensure this heavy item stayed on the wall and didn’t come away – with the danger of causing someone serious harm – I used these brackets. They acted as a mini shelf for the moulding to rest on. They only cost about 3€ per bracket and I got four.

Raw plugs

I chose these multi use raw plugs that separate as a screw is driven into them, and therefore anchor themselves well into the wall. Make sure the head of the screw is flat, so that the moulding can rest flat against it, and is bigger than the screw hole in the bracket.

Cut off the sides of the armoire top

Obviously the armoire top couldn’t go up as it is, so the top needed to be removed and the sides sawn off. I started it off with a screw driver and hammer to prise as much as I could away, then I used a mini saw that’s used to cut off tree branches to do this rest.

Measuring

I did this using the measure app on my Apple phone. If you haven’t seen them they are amazing and, as I always have it with me, it means that I’m ready to measure any piece of furniture for possible fits when I see something in the brocante.

Here’s a photo I took of the measurements.As you can see I took them of the arch and the two sides that would touch the brackets.

Then I marked out where the arch and side lengths where on the wall to ensure a central position, and where the holes for the brackets would need to be.

Drill into the wall

When drilling into the wall start by selecting a drill bit which approximately fits the size of the raw plug. If you’re unsure always use the smaller drill bit first; it’s kind of like cooking. You can always add more, but you can never take it away.

Insert the raw plugs and tap them in with a hammer if necessary. Screw the brackets into the wall.

Add the screw holes to the moulding itself

I rested the wood carved moulding in the brackets and was relieved when they bore the weight. Then I marked where the screw holes needed to go, removed the wood and drilled into the markings.

Prior to placing the moulding on the wall I covered it in no more nails type super glue. Many of you will have noticed the little holes in the wood, it’s obviously had termites. Elsewhere in the armoire it was evident these had been dealt with with a dark, wax substance which was plugging the holes. However the back of the wood obviously wasn’t dealt with.

When I rubbed the wood with my finger there was no residue. I’ve found that active holes will have this. Even so I used so much glue not just to ensure the wood stuck well to the wall, but to plug those holes and stop any termite spread. That’s why there’s so much glue.

Place the moulding in the brackets and screw in place

With the moulding in position, glued and screwed. In place it was onto making it look more polished.

Applying additional wood mouldings

The next thing I did was put the previous, ornate wood moulding back on the door. I just used no more nails type glue to do this, in the exact same method as the wood mouldings on the coving.

Then I glued and added these quarter rounds to the top of the door frame and bottom of the main moulding to cover the brackets and finish the job nicely.

Using filler in stages

Add wood filler or acrylic filler to fill any gaps. Do this in stages as if you keep smoothing over the same area it may result in the filler just being pushed back into any gaps, rather then creating a filled surface. You can see two stages of filler below, note the difference between the first two images and the last one.

Each time you apply filler smooth it out as much as possible with your finger. It’s very hard to go back and correct acrylic filler in particular as it has a plasticky texture that can’t be sanded easily.

Here it was before….

Here It is the mouldings fixed to the wall. Obviously I’ve just painted it white so far, it’s just an undercoat. I need to decide whether I paint the whole door and maybe even panelling teal.

You’ll notice the little square gaps in the detail are; the struts went there. I’ve ordered some additional square, carved appliqués and will add them prior to painting properly. At present though this little job coast around 20€? Not bad.