French Stone Cottage

Now that the Timber Cabin is finished and sold, it's time to get back to the French Stone Cottage! This is the project that injured my rotator cuff while cutting gator board with a knife too many times. I strongly advise using an electric saw when you have to cut gator board! 

It's almost 2 years later and for the most art my arm has healed. Kaiser Permanente was no help during Covid so I found and downloaded a treatment online and took care of it myself. Which turned out to be a good thing because I learned that if the doctor knew I had rotator cuff issues it would go on my record and I would have a hard time finding a different insurance group because they share EVERYTHING! Crazy! Anyway back to fun things...

In this post I will share a little bit about what I have done and what the future plans are. This house was my design and made from insulation foam and gator board. The stone work was sculpted from PaperClay and then painted.

The door and shutters along with the hardware were all handmade. That color took a long time to get just right and I'm so happy with it! The windows still need to be constructed.

I remember making the stone walls from PaperClay in the middle of severe thunderstorms. I moved my work station to my living room because that is the side of the house where there are no trees that could fall on me. Then the lights went out, so I lit a few candles and continued sculpting through the chaos. That definitely kept me calm and focused! I shared a tutorial for the stone wall in American Miniaturist issue 209-210 (this was a jumbo issue).

I knew I wanted a small stable for one horse in this house, something I've never tried before. I made the side so that it would open to insert a horse and take better photos. The 'dirt' was made by sifting real dirt and mixing it with grout. Then the floor was sprayed with glue/water and after the mix was applied, it was sprayed again. The little stable doors are on working hinges. One of the first time I got mini hinges to work when installing them!

This shows the inside of the house. I made it as small as possible because I wanted it to be cozy. I imagine an elderly man lives here and it's his happy little sanctuary. Peaceful and simple out in the country. The floors were made with wood filler and then painted. See the tutorial on my older blog here.

My signature in my builds, since my first one in 1999, is to add one wall with a William Morris design. The stair well was the perfect spot because it was a difficult place to apply wall stucco. I have been drawn to his intelligent designs since I discovered him in art college. That fabulous leather chair was purchased at Karen's Dollhouse Shop in Clinton New Jersey. If you are even up to 3 hours away, you need to visit her! Such a cool hip town and the shop is incredible! Not to mention, she is such a sweetheart.

First thing to do will be to add the ceiling. I want a storage attic above the hall and bath with a hinge drop down ladder. The bedroom will have a vaulted ceiling with wood beams and wood slats.

The fireplaces were hand-sculpted and painted in both the living room (above) and the bedroom (below). 

So that is where we are now. I hope you will stay tuned as I finish up this sweet little cottage! The roof and electric will be first, then I will make a little garden outside and a stone walkway.