I've decided to start posting about a project I'm working on for a friend's birthday. As far as I can tell she doesn't read this blog so I think I'm safe. She's busy enough she probably won't trip over it. ;)

My friend is a writer who currently lives in Florida, but has always intended to move someday to Manhattan. Recently she was lamenting about the area she lives in, so I decided as a combined Holiday/Birthday gift, I'd build a roombox to be her Manhattan apartment until a time when she can move into a 1:1 scale version.

I picked a relatively small roombox, since the apartments are so small. I'll be doing just the 'living room' area, figuring she'll have her writing computer set up there.

I imagine the space as a low-rent walk-up. Old, painted radiator under a single narrow window - with paint sealing the panes shut, of course! I'm trying to find a photo online of some view of a bridge between other high rise units. There'll be partial-brick wall from original construction, plus wood floors, plaster ceiling and white walls. I'll cover the outside in brick paper and seal it well (to cover the electronics and to make it look more realistic from the outside). Probably put a dark sandpaper on top for roofing tar.

I thought I might be able to recycle some furniture from a full bedroom set I had that I only used the bed and nightstand from, but the room box is pretty small so even those bits don't look as good in there as I'd thought.

I bought that built-in computer desk set, but it looks even worse in person than in photos. I think I can fancy it up, but there may not be any doubt they're poorly-sculpted blocks of wood. But like all people these days, that desktop model will be the backup for a laptop, which should be shipping today. I also ordered a pretty little Victorian chair that looks like it could be both a hand-me-down and comfy. May sand the cushions a bit to make them look worn and a little threadbare.

My friend also sells small plush figures on etsy, so I got a sewing kit and will make little felt versions of her products and pile them in a corner.

I want to put a poster on the wall over the computer but can't decide what to get. I know the movies she likes but I also think she's the type that, if she finally had her NY Apartment, she would get nicer things for the wall. Actual framed art, I think. I know she likes black and white photography, so maybe I'll go find some of the photos she took of Manhattan on a trip a few years back, and put those in frames.

I have some lighting that will work.. a ceiling piece and another lamp. I have everything I need, I think, for the tapewiring. That will go on the outside, though, under the paper, since I want to leave the walls white. Because of the lighting I'm tempted to make the window a nighttime scene. But maybe I can rig it so that she can swap it out or remove the scene entirely and peek through the back. (I was going to cut the window in half and just glue it to the interior wall, but of course typing all this out has made my brain grind.)

I have a bit of molding from Tilly's bakery that I think should cover the ceiling, and I'll use a strip of clapboard siding for the kickboard. I think I'll probably want to put down a little rug or something once I see it. But that's mostly it!

Looks like the window and lighting will be the toughest part, so I could probably knock the whole thing out in a weekend, with drying time. Her birthday is May Day so I have some time, but I do want to start early in case I hit snags or decide I need to order something else (I wish I had a minis shop around here!).

So that's post one, I'll hopefully post again soon with photos!