The attic is finished, and The Island is ready to be enjoyed!

Today Kassandra and I retook the work in the room of the attic.  Since the ballet studio is finished, she now wants to have available a little space to craft and entertain herself.  

We started adorning the walls with white shiplap wallpaper.  As always, it was challenging to cut the hole for the window, but it was fine in the end:

Then, we installed the floor.  A minty colored, Andalusian inspired design:

Kassandra thinks it adds a Mediterranean vibe to the room.  I think it looks lovely.

"Why have we not wallpapered the last wall?", I asked, realizing we had one left.

"Oh, we are not using ordinary wallpaper in that wall".

"What are we using then?"

"You'll see..."

We started unfolding the paper, and I was very surprised when I saw what Kassandra wanted up:

It is so unlike her that I could not help to say:

"Well, that is a very modern approach".

"You think?"

"Why, yes.  It is now fashionable to use nature photographs to decorate a room".

"Oh, this is not just any photograph.  It was taken in our island".

"Your... island?"

"Oh yes.  Every summer we gather there to spend a couple of months.  The kids love to run in the beach, and we the adults enjoy the peace and quiet.  We have a very nice house with a couple of pools, and we do luaus, cocktail bars and sometimes even little concerts to amuse ourselves."

"Somehow I cannot imagine a family of vampires at a sunny beach".

"Well, not all of us are vampires, dear.  Besides, I do not expose myself to the Sun.  I am not so modern as to that.  But I do enjoy some swimming when the sunset is near.  In fact, I think I will call this room The Island."

"It is a very adequate name, I think."

Some furniture already in place

We are currently waiting on some more furniture to decorate.  More on that soon!

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Fantasy apart, the beautiful picture is from Florida, taken by the talented Evona, from Artsy Miniatures.  Go and check out her fabulous shop!

Creating a new floor

Since Kassandra is so excited with her new house, I started doing the renovations she wanted so badly.  There has been a lot of work done, but it is so much here and there I'll start with the only thing I have already finished.

I began the work to install the new floor - a kind of attic - that, in my opnion, the house needed; the ceiling was too high for the second floor, and there was too much empty space.  So since this the first time I was altering the blueprints of a dollhouse, I opted for something simple.  I purchased some embellished cornices that would be the support for the attic's floor.  I measured the sizes, and my coworker Carlos used a professional lathe to cut them for me - better than sawing by hand!

Trying some colors in a spare piece

It was untreated wood, so I painted them with a dark brown acrylic color, let them dry, and sprayed them with matte varnish.  Then I glued them to their final places:

I wanted to keep the windows to let the light enter the attic

The base for the attic's floor was set!  The complicated part started.  I asked Carlos again for help to trim a sheet of wood, which he did easily and beautifully.  I tried them, and after some sanding they were perfect!

I glued them down, and the attic is now a reality!

Kassandra was so pleased that she was quick in reclaiming the space as hers:

The ballet studio starts to look like one: a tutu dress, a record player and two speakers...

"But Kassandra, I still have not finished. I have yet to install the flooring and the wallpapers..."

"Oh, I know, but these couple of things will not bother you.  If they do, just move them while you are working, and then put them back.  I do not mind."

"Whatever you wish, as always."