Stuffed Mattress: Why not use pulled-apart cotton balls for stuffy a 'lumpy' mattress? That's what I plan to do for the pirinhas (feather beds) in Baba Yaga's house.

Molly

Stuffed Mattress: I wonder if 'Perlite' would work as a filling to make a mattress look lumpy. Perlite is a white crumbled product used in making up a potting mix for plants. Also thought sawdust might work.

Bobbie

Jacqui in Hilo, Hawaii

Marina

Jacqui in Hilo, Hawaii

How High to Hang a Chandelier: Being a 6' 4" guy, I have this problem with low doors and low-hanging lights. My advice, therefore, is: don't hang it too low! If you have a 13" high ceiling and a 3 ˝" tall (scale) fixture, I'd let it hang down 18" so that the bottom of the fixture hangs at about 8" height. Another consideration is how high will people look at this room - will they be looking straight on, down a little or will they be looking up when most people view it? If they'll be looking down, I'd 'cheat' just a little on how low it hangs (shortening its chain) so that it isn't in the way of seeing all your beautiful plants and furniture. In truth, many of the old homes with chandeliers suspended them with ropes attached to pulleys. They lowered them down to light and then raised them back to whatever height the owner of the home preferred. If you're going for an authentic pre-electricity look, you might want to add the rope and pulley system for realism. So… my conclusion is, make it high enough not to bang any- one's head (even miniature people's) and raise it enough so that it doesn't obscure the view of the room as a whole.

George Held

Chandeliers: Chandeliers are usually hung low enough to provide light, usually in a dining room, sometimes in a more dramatic space as it sounds like you have. I would think somewhere between 6 1/2" and 8" from the floor would be OK in 1" scale, pick whatever in that range looks good to you. It definitely would not be hung high.

Barb Jones

Tile Floor: Several rehab houses ago, I gave Emily's kitchen a fancy black and white checker board floor using a sheet each of black and white fun foam cut into inch squares. Cost a little over a dollar, was easy to lay, looked great. I'm not sure of its lifespan, since I've seen old foam furniture stuffing crumble to nothing, but you could make a paper template of your floor, lay the foam tiles on that, and lay the whole floor in your room without gluing down until you come up with a permanent solution. I've also thought fun foam would make great vintage linoleum with acrylic stenciling or spatter paint patterns. For a glossy vinyl flooring effect in modern mini homes, I've used Big Lots vinyl placemats the same way -- even cheaper at around 69 cents per mat!

Loretta Sniarowski

Kitchen Flooring Idea: I just redid my full-size bathroom and was covering the shower window with this vinyl contact paper. It is described as frosted, what it has is small diamond pattern, kind of what you would see on a kitchen floor linoleum but smaller, so I suddenly thought why couldn’t I stick this down on top of colored paperboard to create a kitchen floor? It seems to be of the right scale, textured and shiny like floors.

Jeanette

Hanging pictures: I hang my mini pictures by putting a tiny wire on the back of the picture about half way down. I twist or tie a knot in each end of the wire/string, then use one of the caulk type glues to hold it to the back of the picture. Then I take a tiny piece of stiff wire or a straight pin and bend it into a hook shape. The other end I make a knot or twist (straight pins already have the head). Sometimes you have to cut the straight pin in half. Using a clear caulk type glue, I attach it to the wall of the dh. Let it dry overnight and hang the picture. To date, I haven't had any problem taking them back down either. You can usually just scrap the caulk type glue off the wall paper and the ones I've used didn't leave a mark. Must do it gently, of course.

Grace Shaw

Hanging pictures: Try using something similar to tract lighting, only mount it at the top of your wall - like crown molding. Then, suspend very thin wire down from the tract and hang the pictures on that. I'm not sure what you could use to make a simple tract - maybe very small tubing or a thin piece of aluminum. At any rate, this would allow you to adjust both the width and the height at which you want to hang pics.

Sloania

Hanging pictures: How about hanging your art from the crown moulding-that's how our house is. You could use decorative ribbons instead of wire or string.  You can also hang more than one piece on a vertical ribbon hanger.  Lots of the home decorating catalogs have something like this.   Or that tacky wax stuff would work too, I THINK.

Peter L Bugg

Hanging pictures: To hang pictures, I am thinking of putting in a picture rail. You hang the pictures (ribbons, cording) from the rail rather than "nailing" into  the wall.

Vi in Hamilton, Ontario

Hanging pictures:: I grew up in a house that dated from shortly after the turn of the century. Small, and definitely working class, we had curtains rather than doors between all the main floor rooms except the bathroom. There were relatively light moldings in the genre of ceiling cornices but several inches  BELOW the ceiling in formal rooms. Most of the larger framed artwork and  portraits were suspended by long wires reaching down from hooks in that  cornice molding. An old flintlock rifle hung over Mom's spinet with a gold  colored cord centering to a gold medallion and tassel held by a hidden nail into the wall. A powder horn also hung from the medallion and tassel.   Smaller portraits all sat on shelves or furniture. About the only other "wall hung" staple was the kitchen calendars (plural) Plainly visible was the  "correct" calendar obscuring my father's annual Christmas calendar from a  local tavern. I once caught holy heck for climbing up on a chair to show my buddies the forbidden edition. Shortly thereafter, our home had only a single calendar on that nail.

One more wall nail in the kitchen I almost forgot stored the signs for Ice Man and Bread Man when not displayed in the front room window. (The milk man was alerted by messages in the bottles set out on the front steps)

Mel Koplin

Lighthouse Interior: I am quite new to SmallStuff and think it is great. I have a Real Good Toys Lighthouse and have found it very difficult to get any information on the interior. I have been trying for about two years, with no luck. SO!!, It's my lighthouse and I am going to do what I like!

The top area will be an artists studio. The one below will have a small bunk, a telescope, and a lovely rolltop desk I have also had for two years, filled with charts etc. The bottom floor will have a Rayburn and an old sink with lots of fishing gear. And a table of course for the keeper to have his dinner on. He has also been waiting for two years and is getting a bit fed up! Keep all the letters coming. This is my first, so they say the next one will be easier!!

May, Scotland

Lighthouse: Yesterday we delivered the 1/24th scale model of the Nubble (Cape Nedick) Lightstation to the Lighthouse Foundation Museum in Wells Maine (its located next to the Lighthouse Depot - a gift shop for all things to do with lighthouses).The Museum reopens tomorrow (been closed for a week). If you have any interest in lighthouses, its an interesting place to visit.

You can see a picture of the model ( 4 feet x 8 feet) on my website under the category of Latest Project. It includes the light, keeper's cottage, boat house, utility buildings, and most of the island. 

http://www.dollhouse-miniatures.com

Tom Berkner

Decorating Ideas: Haven't checked it out but got a reference to a site that gives info on decorating in all styles, modern, Victorian, Southwestern, and a whole lot more in real size. Someone might want to check it out http:// www.themestream.com

Maureen Heuchert

Lighthouse Interiors:I just need to jump in here and let you know about a kids' movie from Disney. It is called Pete's Dragon. Pete is a little orphan boy who gets adopted by a lady, Nora (Helen Ready) and her father (Mickey Rooney). They live in a lighthouse. There are a few good scenes to show the interior of the lighthouse as well as the terrain around the lighthouse. They even do a little song and dance routine up the steps of the lighthouse to the top. Quite enjoyable, even if you don't have kids!

Cindy in Dunmore, PA

Teashops: What I expect to see in a tea shop: linen tablecloths (preferably two that you can see, a lower white one with a peach or pink-colored one overtop). Romantic chairs (something with a skirt, or something in white whicker). Roses in a vase in the middle of the table. Beautiful china teapot with delicate teacups. Linen teacloths, maybe folded into a shell and placed at each setting. A plateful of lovely goodies. I believe there are two kinds of tea, one that involves fatty-high cholesterol- treats ( cookies, cakes etc.). and the other that serves sandwiches. Personally, I like the cookies etc. best:). AT the teashop I worked at, we served scones with butter, jam and whipped cream (should have been clotted cream apparently, but it was a bit too expensive and tourists didn't care). The room should have hardwood floors and a lovely Persian rug covering the floor. Curtains should be elegantly attired in "expensive-looking" fabric for side panels, with a lace panel in the center, and topped off with valances. That is the teashop I like to sit in:).

Kim From Canada

Beginner's room box: A teen's room sounds great. You could have a teen lying on the bed, talking on the telephone while flipping through a magazine (or doing homework) and a TV turned on, stereo or boom box nearby. Or your idea of a girl dressed for the prom is good, but if it was me making it in this situation, I would have her sitting in front of the mirror with curlers in her hair putting on makeup with the dress hanging near by or laying across the bed.

Rusty