A French Copper Bakers Rack for Dollhouse Kitchen and Nora Murphy's Book Winner

 The dollhouse has seen many improvements since I last blogged. 

Mostly, I have concentrated my efforts in the large servant's kitchen.  

(Hehe, why not, I am imagining this home to have a staff of servants, much like Downton Abbey.)

I planned to build my cabinets and stove from scratch.  After seeing my own kitchen, I 

decided to build a copy of my wall baker's rack that I bought at the Martha Stewart auction.

This rack is now part of a wall of copper in my kitchen, and excuse the dark photo,

but I no longer have time to take out a fancy camera as I am working hard on the dollhouse.

Priorities! I measured the bakers rack and then converted it into the 1/12th scale that is 

the most common for dollhouse builds.  (1inch = 1 foot.) You can design things for a dollhouse

just using this simple formula.  The rack measured 3 feet by 3 feet roughly, 

and that meant I would build it to be 3 inches by 3 inches.

 This is a quick progress shot of the build.  I was also working on 

a European style range, that I built from balsa wood and jewelry bits

(but more on that later).  For the rack I used BBQ sticks that I had in 

the kitchen, along with thin strips of balsa wood and some easily bendable wire

and some tiny jewelry beads with holes on the ends.  I shaped the wire to simulate 

the design on my real wall rack, and then finished each edge off with a bead, then

glued in place. 

 Next I sprayed the entire thing in a box (my spray booth).  

After it dried I held it up to compare to the real thing in my kitchen.

 Wow! Not bad for a few hours of effort.  

 No other dollhouse would have one of these! Next

step was to use gilding wax to make some areas look brass,

and add a central feature like the shaft of wheat that my big rack has.

I used a tiny rose from the arts and crafts department, which is where you can

find many tiny things.

 It turned out quite charming and I just stuck it on the wall over the range to see how it looked.

I wanted to make a big stone hood for ventilation, and still may do so, and move the bakers rack

to another wall. More copper is on the way, so I can fill out the kitchen to mimic my own.

Brick floors were to go in, as well as aging the walls, after all this is servants quarters.  

It should be a bit dreary and work like.  The French door has been officially installed and the 

dining room got wallpaper and its chandelier electrified!! 

The other side of the kitchen has the cabinetry I made that just got installed! 

I will follow this post up with those two improvements and more.

And for all those that wrote in asking to win a copy of 

Nora Murphy's Country House Style book,

I am so pleased to see such a HUGE response!  

 Sadly only one winner on this giveaway,

but check out Nora's book on Amazon or

 in your local book store or on Nora's website. 

But before you do.....

There is also another book giveaway you can enter at my friend

 Shirley's blog at Housepitality Designs.

Now for my giveaway winner.... the drumroll please......

The winner of the book is Jane Pickett from Worcester, Mass!