26/ 05/2011

Today we had our photoshoot for the set. I think it went very well and we captured a lot of good photos and films, learning about lighting effects on video and camera.

Here are a few photo's I took:

24/05/11

We finished the painting and woodwork so we moved the furniture into gregors room and put it all in place along with some props.
After the carpet in the living room was complete we moved the large furniture into place in there as well.
We then looked at our props list to see what else needed getting. As I was going to bluewater anyway I said I'd get some of the remaining props if I could find them at a decent price.

While there I was able to get the majority of the props on my list:

• Red Apples (x8)

• A Loaf of uncut bread

• Table Cloth - I couldnt find an actual lace table cloth as they've discontinued them and now sell cotten ones which look far too modern. I went to the fabric section of JOhn Lewis instead and found a floral lace fabric that could be used to make the right type of table cloth. I have to hem the width but it should do nicely.

• Candles (x6) (which I'll make look used tomorrow and distress one for gregors room)

• Flowers (which will look as if they are nearly dead by thursday) - I chose a bunch of pink and white roses which look as if they'll suit the living room really well and with the wilting will follow the theme of gregor's room influencing various items in the living room.

Also I'm going to have some ham by tomorrow.
I couldnt find picture hooks at bluewater but i've actually got quite a few at home so I'll be able to bring them in
The only prop I couldnt find was the fire place set tools. None of the shops seemed to have anything relevent and anything close was extremely expensive.

23/05/2011

I spent today helping out various others. The set is looking really good now. The doors are up, the floor is almost finished and the cieling of Gregor's room is being distressed to blend with the rest of the room. We're hoping to get the skirting board up in the morning and if all goes according to plan to start moving furniture into the room.

20/05/11

I got in just as the gregor's room cieling was half way through being completed. I then helped anyone who needed a hand for a while.
I finished the painting of the skirting boards with Jess and Sarah L and once this was dry we used button pollish along them to make them look more authentic.
I later helped chalk line the living room before nailing in the Architrave to the living room side of the double door.

19/02/11

I put a final touch on my dining room table as we learnt more about varnishes and finishes on tuesday. I dabbed watered down black paint in patches along the sides and wiped them off again to five the table an aged effect which I think came out looking quite nice.

When I was free I helped Adam make the wood panels for the living room side of the double doors.
Adam, Stuart and I then spent the rest of the day distressing the doors. We used various tools such as saws, files, chillsels, hammers etc. To grain the wood clearly on both sides. Once both sides were complete we began to put deeper gashes on the Gregor's room side to follow the rooms monstrous theme.

While we were doing this the walls and floors for Gregor's room were finalised making the contrast between living room and bedroom more prominent than it had been before.

17/05/11

I finished my table this morning by glazing it and I'm really happy with it.

I then helped out with the desk chair earlier by distressing it and putting some gashes and wear into it. It's not quite finished yet but we're gonna finish it tomorrow and put some black wash over it like the door as it gave a good worn effect.

16/05/11

I mixed a slightly lighter brown out of the dark brown I'd used before on the table. I then did a thin layer of paint on the top and grained it in making a really nice effect.










I spent the rest of the day helping any of the others if they needed a hand.
I went with Jo to find some supplies for the curtains and rails.
And I helped Jess do the final black wash on the gregor's room door to make its wooden effect which came out really well.

13/05/11

I started painting the table today. I did a base coat of light brown and glazed it. When this was dry I did a coat of dark brown and used a rocking wood graining tool along the top and sides. I painted the legs dark brown and used a lined graining tool to give them a wood effect.

12/05/11

I got the help of hannah and Sarah L and made a frame out of pine wood for the inside of my table as it wouldnt of had much stability without it and I nailed it on remembering to leave a 6mm gap at each end of the frame. I then nailed the other two ends two it.
After this I put wood glue accross the top and lined the 6x3 top with it. We then nailed this on making the top of the table.
Once this was complete I got some timber and marked out 35 inches on them and cut out four pieces. Hannah helped hold it straight and I screwed it into each of the corners underneath.
After putting it upright we found that it was a bit too tall for a person to sit at so we unscrewed the legs again with the intention of taking off another 5 inches in the morning and screwing it back in which should complete the table ready for painting.

11/05/11

I marked out the sides for my table and got a Jig-Saw. Jess held it for me and I cut through it. I realised from this that I'm quite good at using the jig-saw as I cut it out very well. I then got my files and sorted out any bumps and tried to make the ends as similar to on another as they could be if there there were any drastic changes in size.

10/05/11

We put the wall paper up in the living room today and its starting to look really good. We found the paper didnt line up very well with itself however so Hannah, Jess and I went to buy a few more rolls from B&Q in order to finish the room.
I cut the side pieces of MDF for my table after we got back as the wood order came this afternoon, I'm going to mark them out tomorrow and hopefully have it all cut to shape by the end of the day.

9/05/11

We painted Gregors room today making it dark and messy. We used black, brown and green paint stippling it and keeping it thick on the black base. As a finishing touch we threw saw-dust over the top to make it look very grimy.
we then put a layer of paste over the living room walls so that when we go to put the wallpaper up the paste wont be absorbed into the wall and the wallpaper will stay up.
some more props were brought in today and the wood order should hopefully come through tomorrow.

If the wood comes I intend to work on the living room table for the day. I also intend on bringing my props in with me tomorrow.

new table design

I redesigned my table to make it fit more with the rest of the living room furniture. I think I prefer this design myself. I intend to make the top and edges out of MDF, the legs out of timber and the sections linking the legs with plywood unless it turns out to be too weak. It's a 6x3ft table with the legs going down about thirty inches.

Top and Edges:


Underneath Leg Placement:


3ft Side:




The 6ft length is the same as this.

6/05/11

We finished the last of the walls today and placed a wood order so we could start working fully on the furniture

05/05/2011

The small group of us that were in were able to put up the central double door frame THis took quite a while as we had to attatch two of the same frame next to each other. We put the first part up easily and then in order to do the second bit we had to attatch the three sections and then line it up with the other half.
I helped put this up and then we put the small wall in Gregor's room up attatching his room together fully. We measured out the final window header and sorted the angles out so it would fit in the space. Sarah W and I made the skin, I did three sides of it with the rotor saw which I found fairly easy to use. We then fixed it in with some slight error due to the skin on the flat next to it. We intend to fix it in again tomorrow morning.

04/05/11

We came in with the intention of putting on the rest of the slanted walls however we encountered a problem with the door header and the window header and footer. we changed them several times but eventually reached the conclusion that something was wrong with one of the walls next to them. we fixed them up as much as we could and attatched some more walls onto the end but by the end of the day we still werent able to fully fix the window so that's our priority tomorrow morning

03/05/2011

Today we began putting our flats together. we began on the chimney side and then the long straight wall oposite. By the end of the day we had two living room walls and the third in progress with window openings. We had also made a start on the first two slanted walls of Gregor's room.
I think we were able to do a lot of work in a short time and it's really starting to come together.
I put two of the walls together with the drill and helped with half of the others to make sure they were flushed at the front. i also cut up two legs for the unsteady flats with the roter saw and cut the wood for a header we were missing.

Props I Found

I was helping to clear out my grandparents attic and i found quite a few items that could be used for the set.

1910 Czecho-Slovakian candlestick:



Small plates:



Jewelry pot:



Glass plate-bowls:



Wicker basket 1:



Wicker basket 2: