Kitchen Appliance Enamel: I use high-gloss spray paint for refrigerators, dishwashers, etc. Once you get the hang of using it, works real good. Looks good and shiny like enamel too.

Dina

Kitchen Appliance Enamel: Apple Barrell paint comes in gloss. I know they have white, black, green, gray, and red. They really are shiny. I used them on bathroom fixtures for my granddaughters house.

Martha Simpson Nock

Kitchen Appliance Enamel: I've tried this in the past and it seemed to work for me: Give your piece a coat of white glue (Elmers). Make sure you paint evenly and without brush strokes... may need several coats. When dry, paint with a glossy paint. I think the Yellow Booklet (from LollyInc@aol.com) has that hint in there somewhere, along with lots of other ideas.

Viola Williams

Kitchen Appliance Enamel: When I made the kitchen kit from Scientific Models, I used the spray refrigerator enamel sold at WalMart, etc, many light coats on the wooden base. Voila! Enameled stove and refrigerator.

Patricia LeBeau in Florida

Kitchen Appliance Enamel: When I did a modern kitchen and wanted that shiny enamel look, I shopped in my local hobby shop in the radio control car and plane section. I found this plastic sheet stuff that is used on RC planes. It had just the look I wanted. It's adhesive-backed. It seems thick when you buy it, but the part that peels off is very thin. The hardest part is getting it on w/out bubbles. The other option would be to use enamel spray paints.

Trish in San Jose, CA

Modern mini chairs: This site has some great contemporary chairs made of resin. I have the regency chair (not modern but wonderful) which is perfect 1:12 scale, so I imagine the others would be also. Someone mentioned chairs from a Bloomie's catalogue, that is where I got mine. This is the site and has more styles than the catalogue. They do not sell directly, but refer to retailers.

http://www.takeaseat-by-raine.com

If you can't get that site to come up, try this one: http://www.willitts.com

Sydney

Kitchen Appliance Enamel: I picked up a painting tip when I was painting the gymnasium at the Primary School where my kids go - us volunteer groundspersons will offer to do anything - anyway - I spoke to a dad of one of the children who is a painter by trade. He said that if I wanted a really smooth high gloss finish to something - give it two coats (at least) and give it about three days to fully cure. THEN - dash into the bathroom and grab your talcum powder - yep - the stuff you use after your bath - no need to worry if it's scented or not!! Put it onto your item and rub it in with a soft cloth. Keep doing this all over until you get a really high shine. It takes a while but it does work - I tried it. Apparently it is a 'painters trick of the trade'.

Trace

Kitchen Appliance Enamel: Use this method of refinishing a wooden appliance (refrigerator, stove, etc.). Fill in the grooves of the wood with wood filler. Then lightly coat the entire piece with joint compound (sheet rock mud) and sand to get that "smooth gloss" finish that makes it look like an appliance. Then paint with three coats of oil-based white enamel. I assume you would sand this layer smooth, too.

Sharon in MN

Wicker Furniture: Linda Roy wrote a good book on basic wicker with instructions and some patterns. It's available through her husband, Linc Leedy at mailto:lincleedy@cs.com

Beth

Make Daybed easily: Use hair combs for head and foot board. Extend combs by careful cutting and spacing with decorative molding for back. Frame from 1/4 x 1/4 molding. Bed itself is good from foam core or rigid insulation board. Paint, decorate and dress. Bingo! Also, look at decorative light switch plates. Can be cut and used for bed head and foot board. Holes either disguised or filled. Frame of wood or insulation board. Paint, decals (nail type) and dressed.

Judie - Daytona Beach, FL

Refinishing Furniture: I use a hypodermic needle filled with rubbing alcohol to take wooden furniture apart. I inject the alcohol into the seam where the wood has been glued, let it soak a few minutes, then repeat until the wood begins to pry apart. Use a very slim nail file or similar tool. Do be careful not to poke yourself. When it is all apart I let it dry out (from the alcohol), sand a wee bit, and glue back together. So far I've had great success doing this; even taking upholstered chairs and sofas apart and re-covering them.

Patsy

Favourite wood of the mid 19th century in England was rosewood (so called because when freshly cut it smells of roses - it does, honest), a dark reddish brown wood, but by the late 19th century the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement meant oak was used a lot, so yes, both woods were used in the 'Victorian' period, because Victoria was on the throne then, yet stylistically the furniture, etc. is worlds apart.

For my sins, I did the training that the auction house Christie's offers - a year of extended, very expensive torture, where you learn tons and are left with the self esteem of a boiled gnat. Maybe it was because they weren't my sort of people. However, let me share with you, you can save £/$ and not go on the course, and have more spondulicks to spend on minis.

First, think about what income bracket/social standing the occupants of your dollhouse will be, and how old they are. For example, 60s-70s style is still alive and well in my parents' house in the year 2000. No nice middle class family in the 1870s would have an Impressionist picture on their walls - nasty new fangled rubbish. So get comfy with the social history of your chosen period.

Secondly, "Look at the form, Helen, look at the form!" Aarrgghh. Say that to me last thing at night and I guarantee I'll wake up screaming. But what my repellent teacher meant was so true - look at the shapes and styles of the period you want to do in mini. The shapes of things, as well as the substance from which they are made, is so important. There's a brilliant museum in Vienna which just has a huge room full of chairs, hung on the wall, dating (I think) all from 1820 onwards. All chairs, yet all so different. Different artistic movements in your period will produce different forms, so choose your artistic movement/style, and follow it through in colours, shapes, fabrics. Remember that low income houses will be way behind in stylistic changes, as will elderly households.

Remember that only the wealthy can do a whole style at a time. It's far more common to see eclectic mixtures of styles in a household. Only late 20th century man belonged to the disposable society, if it's faintly worn, chuck it. Before, if it's faintly worn, take care of it.

I think what I'm trying to say is, it's less important who was on the throne at the time, than what was going down on the street, what was cool and fashionable and new or nasty, new fangled and daft, depending on who you are.

For example in the 1850s-60s, there was a passion for furniture made from antlers. Not comfy, not pretty, but it was new! And that was the influence of Queen Victoria and her passion for her castle at Balmoral in Scotland, the English middle classes as ever trying to ape their betters.

Helen from York, England

Oak Furniture: I read somewhere that oak oxidizes naturally to a dark finish over time. The original Tudor and Jacobean oak paneling and furniture were supposedly much like the early 20th century golden oak when new. Victorian dark oak furniture was deliberately stained dark because it was repro "Tudorbean." Presumably, those of us with old golden oak furniture won't live long enough to see it darken, but great-great-grandchildren may inherit dark oak pieces! Too bad I won't be around to see if this is accurate -- maybe without the smoky fireplaces of yore modern oak will stay light?

Loretta Sniarowski

Furniture Wax: For waxing my furniture, I use beeswax soaked in turpentine until it is soft. I apply it with 000 steel wool, wipe off the excess and buff. It works for me but I haven't used it long enough to know if it has any potential for problems. I know it can be revived with another light coat. Don't keep the rags around the house because of the threat of spontaneous combustion. I keep my wax in a small jar with a sealed lid. I have had it for awhile now but it still does the job.

Bill Leimberger

Wicker Furniture: I have completed a wonderful kit from Warling Miniatures and I am extremely pleased with the results. I did my rocker in the white "wicker" but believe it comes in natural also. I have done several of their wicker kits and have never been disappointed.

http://www.warlingminis.com/

Shirley from Missouri

Dark oak: The dark oak of the Arts and Crafts Period which crossed both Victorian and Art Deco periods was created in imitation of the age old darkened oak that happened with eons of fires burning and coal and oil lamps and candles creating noxious fumes (I'm sure our ancestors' lungs had a similar look). Pretty hard to do on new furniture so they found that putting the furniture in a "room" with burning ammonia that created "fumes" got essentially the same look, hence "fumed oak." The ammonia fumes interacted with the, I believe, tannic acid natural to oak, giving it that color and finish. It just kills me when I go into an antique store and see all this beautiful fumed oak now a wishy washy golden tan because some dealer decided to "spiff" it up so the unwary and unknowing would buy their chest, chair, etc. (of course this completely ruins the value of the piece). There are no more new fumed oak pieces, as I think the EPA put its foot down. There are some finishes though that imitate fumed oak but I haven't tried them so don't know how close they come - it's a very unique color and does not work on other woods. Anyway, as I understand it that's the story on dark oak.

As for 30's and 40's houses, these same pieces of furniture came under the crafty hand of many a housewife, etc. who decided that dark oak was NOT the thing to have in their home so they stripped, bleached and cut down many of these now sought after antiques. These would definitely have a place in these homes. In the late 40's and early 50's they were removing the pedestals from the round oak dining tables and creating coffee tables. I saw all of this with my own eyes in my own family as I was growing up. Makes me cringe when I think of it.

Ana Gerard

Dark Oak: I am not sure this applies to dark oak or not, but I have been told that after Queen Victoria died in 1901 all the furniture came out in very dark finishes - a mourning colour. The idea of smoke from fires darkening it sounds reasonable.

June in London Ontario Canada

Resin Chairs: The chairs you found sound like the "Take a Seat Chairs." Resin, and all around $12 to $14. They are wonderful. I have several. I upholstered the mission rocker with Christmas fabric for my Christmas room and intend to do the same with one of the leather club chairs and ottomans. I just put a light covering of glue and stuck the fabric right to the resin. On one cushion I first added a thin foam before the fabric. They come out great.

Fannye in TX

Hibiscus Bushes: Not only are the blossoms good for stuff, but I make a lot of mini log furniture from my friendly and ever needing pruning, Hibiscus. They like it and I do too. Good easy wood to work with, lots of straights and a neat center that takes well to wire and pins. Dries with integrity too.

Judie

Bathroom fixtures: Directions for making bathroom fixtures from polymer clay (with great pictures) can be found in Sue Heaser's book, "Making Doll's House Miniatures with Polymer Clay." The fixtures are very nice, even a tub with GOLD claw feet!