Wednesday 7 March 2012

Inside The Swan: The Public Bar


Well I suppose now is as good a time as any to show you what The Swan looks like inside; there's still not much furniture inside, but enough to give you some idea of how it will look eventually. The picture above is the bar itself, which I have made using American cherry wood, which gives it a lovely warm glow. I need to get some beer barrels set up behind the bar, which will fill the space below the shelf with the mirror. I am also looking for some empty beer glasses to hang from the hooks above the bar, so I will be scouring the miniatures fair in Birmingham later this month trying to find them, although I have have seen some online. I'm not sure whether the bottles of spirits are actually true to scale, because I also have some smaller ones, but they look OK, so I've left them there.


I'm hoping that the bar soon won't look as spartan as it does right now. The bench is actually borrowed from the big house, but the chair was a lucky find and is staying somewhere within the pub. You can probably just about see the dart board on the wall. It was from Warwick Miniatures, which is now owned by Phoenix Models, I made the wooden surround for the dart board myself. I wanted The Swan to be a country pub, so am looking for suitable Huntin',Shootin', Fishin' objects to display inside. The fish trophy in a case above the fire is from Mouse House Miniatures. It looks a little cold on this side of the pub at the moment, the fire will eventually glow, and I'll look for some suitable fireside objects to liven it up too. I'm also going to tone down the stark white ends between the wooden beams on the ceiling.



This is the other side of the bar, which has a larger fireplace. In the original plans for the pub, the fireplace is deeper, but I wanted to make a kitchen on the other side of this wall, so made the depth of the fireplace a bit narrower, I don't think it looks too bad. The door is a dummy, but would lead to a corridor and kitchen I suppose if real. This side of the bar does at least have a table! I made the settle standing behind the table, again from cherry wood.

So there we go, it's still got a long way to go, but I think you get the general idea of what I want the pub to look like. It's going to be set in 1930's I think, maybe early 1950's. I don't want any fruit machines or juke boxes, and if it serves food at all it will be rabbit pie, rather than gastro-Euro-fusion stuff!! ;)

21 comments:

  1. Andy,
    I think it is looking great so far. I think the narrower fireplace looks fine and I like the idea of the kitchen.

    Just need to hang out the "open for business" sign!

    Cheers (keeping in the spirit, puns intended)
    Iris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Iris,

      Thanks, pleased you like what you see so far! I did show a pic of the kitchen in early January, but will post some more soon.

      Yes, need to get to work on my pub signs don't I! I am still waiting for a hanging bracket to arrive from Black Country Ironworks, which I ordered at the Thame dolls house show.

      Cheers!! ;)

      Delete
  2. It's a lovely piece of wood you've used for the bar, and I can see exactly where you're going with this. The little swan behind the bar is a nice touch too, as is the Yard of Ale above the fireplace.

    It's a tricky time (a couple of weeks before a fair). Part of you wants to crack on with the project but there's always the thought that exactly THE miniature you're after will be found at the fair so you end up waiting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Irene,

      Thank you, I am pleased you like this one. I found the swan as last year's Miniaturia, and thought it would be perfect, I also bought a fox, because I still wasn't settled on a name last year. I have had teh yard of ale for a while, I made the little cradle that it is resting on.

      I know! I alway wonder what will turn up at Miniaturia, in some ways it's better than Kensington, as it attracts lots of smaller makers, and I like rummaging in the odds and ends boxes too!!

      I think I am going to go on Saturday, but that's still not a concrete decision yet!!

      regards
      Andy xx

      Delete
  3. Me encanta como te esta quedando, yo creo que las botellas quedan bien,
    Seguro que en la feria encuentras todo lo que necesitas.
    Me encanta la madera que has utilizado para la barra.
    besitos ascension

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hola Ascensión,

      Me alegro de que te gustan las botellas pequeñas, y la barra de madera! Espero que voy a encontrar todo lo que necesito en la feria de casa de muñecas que viene, pero no estoy seguro de que tendré todo el dinero que necesita para comprar, ;o)

      abrazos
      Andy x

      Delete
  4. Wonderful work Andy, Cherry is lovely wood to work with!!!! Eating all the great food in the pubs is one of the best memories I have of my England trip, I think the one I enjoyed most was the Red Lion in Lacock.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elga, I think I may have been in that same pub in Lacock! You can get some great food in pubs these days, It's where a lot of pubs make their money!

      I am pleased you like this project. I have quite a bit of cherry wood, it's a lovely colour, all the beams and posts are made of cherry too.

      Regards
      Andy xx

      Delete
  5. Andy,

    Wow, it looks wonderful, my first thought is the workmanship is perfect, Irene is right, thats a beautiful piece of wood for the bar. I love all the little details, the swan in particular, and I have taken due note of the curtains......well done!!

    Now I must mention our four legged friend.....does he/she have a name? The dart board is fab and I hope none of the patrons get too sloshed and get that lovely chandelier instead. You know I could quite happily set up residence in there so I think you need to add a few more wine bottles, Sauvignon Blanc maybe....the new Zealand ones are lovely.......I might not leave though!!!!

    The swan is truly charming and I can't wait to see more!!!

    Much love fi xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Fi, good to know you think this looks well made! I like teh cherry wood a lot, ad as I mentioned to Elga most of the wood you can see is cherry, beams and all.

    Oh yes, the curtains, well they look ok! I wish they didn't flair out, but in this small scale and with out the magic spray starch I saw being used on John's blog, that was bound to happen. I had to make the tie backs to keep them in place. They actually pull across too, on the curtain rail as they are attched to curtain rings!

    I am not sure what breed the dog is, a spanial or collie I think, it doesn't have a sex or name either at the moment, I got it cheap at a local-ish! dolls house shop, as I wanted a bit of life in the pub, (I might even have some dolls in this one!!).

    I'm not sure the patrons will be able to play darts much at the moment as all the little darts are still in the workshop!!

    You might think differently about living in this pub if you saw the accomodation upstairs!!

    but that's for another day!! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Andy!
    You did such a terrific job on the bar! VERY impressive! It feels like we're looking at the real full size thing. Excellent craftsmanship my friend, both on the bar and the settle. I also love the time frame you've chosen...I've been watching a lot of the Miss Marple series with Joan Hickson and I could see it taking place in your bar...I really appreicate your attention to details. Terrific job Andy, Can't wait to see more.
    Hugs,
    Giac.
    P.S. Glad you had a nice birthday and enjoyed your trip to Windsor!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Giac,

      Thank you, I am glad you think the bar looks good, I always admire how good you are with wood on your dolls house, so I take that as a real compliment! yes I think Miss Marple would not look out of place in this pub, except I don't think women went into pubs all that much back then, not from the middle classes anyway! I might look out for a tweedy lady, who has just popped in, and hopes her neighbours don't notice!! ;)

      Ilove those old Joan Hickson Miss Marples, the new ones are not a patch on those old shows!

      Delete
  8. Está precioso, me encanta. Besos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moitas grazas Sionchi, eu estou contento que che gusta o meu casa de bonecas!

      abrazos
      Andy xx

      Delete
  9. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDY! Sorry I'm so late with my greeting. Amazing what you miss if you don't check in every day, right?

    The Swan is so charming, wish I could drop by for a pint! The cherry wood is very warm --I'm still having trouble with miniature 'natural' wood finishes.

    Enjoy the fair in Birmingham (hope you find lots of GLT)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi John,

      Many thanks,

      You're right, sometimes there's so much going on in blogland it's hard to keep up with it all!

      I am a big fan of cherry wood, it has a lovely warm glow, and the grain is quite fine so works well in miniature.

      I have high hopes for Miniaturia in Birmingham, I hope I do find some GLT, I'll let you know what I come home with!

      Delete
  10. Andy, this is looking Wonderful! I LOVE the way all the English pubs seem to have a pooch or two in residence! (Over here they are banned from eating places unless they are a guide dog for the blind!) He/she looks like a Spaniel to me. I Love that your curtains actually work! I sort of resent the ones that are all glued in place and can't be shifted according to the mood.... yours look perfectly natural! Are you planning to add a carpet to the "Elegant" side of the pub? The cherry wood is very beautiful as is the little swan! It is the tiniest details that seem to make the most difference in mini scenes, and you have found some beauties! I look forward to seeing what else you will be adding!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Daydreamer,

      Yes, I am not sure the modern food oriented pubs do allow dogs inide, but dogs are usually a feature in older style pubs. I think its a Spaniel too, but not good on dog breeds.

      I know what you mean about working curtains, it's nice to have things in miniature that do what they would in full size, [that's Ralph Lauren world John!! ;)] But seeing the pretty pleater in action, I think I am going to give that a go, just got to find one available in the UK, I imagine I'll find one in Brum.

      I was very pleased with the little swan (it might actually be a white duck, because that's what the ticket said when I bought it, but it looks like a swan to me!) I wanted a mirror behind the glasses too, because I've seen that in lots of pubs before. there's also, not visable in the pictures above, a bell hanging behind the bar for calling 'time' when the bar would soon be closing for the night, that doesn't happen these days!

      hugs
      Andy x

      Delete
  11. Happy birthday Andy! May your coming year be filled with many blessings! :-) Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Jennifer,

      Many thanks, I hope you have a good year ahead too! ;)

      hugs
      Andy x

      Delete