Another Town Square shop finished

Antiques With Class



21st November, 2010

‘The old schoolhouse at the end of town has been replaced by a modern building, but no one could bear to tear down the old one. Luckily, in miniature, we are able to be historic preservationists with very little effort. This abandoned schoolhouse is .....(now ) .... an antique store, another symbol that we appreciate and enjoy old things, not get rid of them.’ This is the delightful introduction to Antiques With Class, the fifth in the Town Square series from Debbie Young.

I was somewhat disappointed with this kit in some respects, mainly because it came with absolutely no extras. This is the first one that came without any counter, till or shelves. It could have done with some shelves at least, and perhaps a chair to put outside as in the illustration. However once the extras are put in and around it, the shop will look delightful.

This is what it looked like when I had completed the shop as it came in the kit:

Can't help but love the shape of this shop!

Ready to fill - nice atmospheric wallpaper too.

And here is the outside once I had added some bits and pieces to it:

It has no window so looks rather bland outside, but fortunately I had a spare brown plastic chair and have painted it with a slightly distressed finish. The rug that is rolled up over it is a printie, and I have painted the back of the rug with a light tan so that it looks like the backing of a rug rather than just white paper.

Moving inside - after all, the outside is only a taste, isn't is? - and here is an overview of the interior

Overview of interior



I had a Captain's Desk that I made up from a kit from Karen Cary, planning to use it in the Sea Shanty but there wasn't room so I was pleased to be able to find a spot for it here. There is another attractive rolled up. 'rug' (also a printie with the back painted) leaning against the wall near the desk. A white metal clock painted up beautifully, white metal picture frames look good with pictures behind them to complete the right side.  And here is a better view of just the right side:

Close-up right side

On the left hand side I made a shelf for the wall, and filled it with books. Under that is a small table (made of balsa wood and a part of a toothpick). The chair that is there at the moment might be replaced by one the same but upholstered in a different fabric. I bought two of these kits and upholstered this one for Honeysuckle Cottage, but the second kit keeps going walkabout on me. I find it then it disappears again. Cheeky little thing it is! When I do catch it, I want to upholster it in a darker colour - either a darker blue or burgundy or something that looks nice. I have ordered some more kits, so Honeysuckle Cottage won't be lacking in chairs. The quilt is a yet another printie, and the 'hanger' is part of a toothpick painted gold. On the table is a box that I just made freehand from card, painted and 'aged'. Then I cut out some plates that I had printed off and glued to photo paper (it makes excellent light-weight card) and rounded the centres a bit with a stylus. They have moved themselves a bit too closely against each other but since I sat them in a bed of glue there wasn't much I could do about that.

And of course I have a cat - that's mandatory. This one is called Patch (yes, I know, not very imaginative - perhaps it is worrying me that Patch the dog is still missing vbg) and is a white metal cat painted by Grace Shaw of Virtual Dollhouses.

Isn't the quilt a pretty design?

What do you think - will I change the colour of the chair or not?  I've rather grown to like the lighter blue as time has gone on.

 I would have loved to have had room to put in a dresser as well, that would have been just perfect but there was no way I could squeeze it in unless I left out the desk or the chair.  And when I did that, it looked more like a room than an antique shop.  So I reluctantly left it out.
And that has finished off the Antiques shop rather nicely. I think it’s come out quite well, and of course every Town Square needs an Antique Shop!