Fkendall

I had a cupboard/stand made for my Thornhill. The cupboard has space for my materials and collected furniture and is on wheels. The house rotates on a board on the top. Works beautifully!

I have done a fair bit of work on my Thornhill since first posting. The exterior complete except for front stairs for which I plan to make ceramic tiles, and the garden. Starting on the interior now. Lockdown a perfect time for this!

I had my house wired 22 years ago. I’ve ripped out all the wiring - it was in a bad way- and am replacing with battery lights. But I would love to use the old light fittings. Nell can you please give me the instructions to convert them?

That’s a thought, thanks Kathie. Maybe using soft pastels as they have a good range of colours.

I applied magic masonry to the chimneys on my Thornhill and want to match them on the base of the house. I live in SA and asked a friend to bring me another packet of the mixture as I didn't think I had enough of the original left. She brought it but it is the wrong colour. Cream. Can I add something to the powder to colour it red before I mix it and apply? if so what? I could apply and then paint I suppose, but that would be difficult with the grout a different colour.

OK, thanks, I’m getting some good ideas here! Great to have this resource.

thank Holly and Lisa. Yes, that is my concern. e.g. on one side a nursery, dining room and kitchen with completely different walls. On the other living room, bedroom and bathroom, also different colours and treatments. the roof also opens to three rooms, but you can't see the inside of the roof from outside so easier to do.

My Thornhill has big doors opening on 3 sides to reveal the interior. Id like to know how people deal with the inside of the opening doors? Paint them one colour? Try to match the interior? Hang curtains? Thanks for ideas of what to do! Frances

Seems a pity houses aren’t built from natural materials anymore, but I suppose there are advantages. Also seams we can rely on governments to make dumb decisions! I don’t think we get palmetto bugs here but in general we probably have more and wider variety of insects than US - and apparently they play an NB role.

By far the majority of houses in SA are built from brick with tiled roofs, though corrugated iron roofs are popular in rural areas. Thatch is used but uncommon in cities but very common for traditional African dwellings. In both cases local dried grasses or reeds are used. Probably sprayed for insects, but on a recent trip to the bush (Safari) I stayed in a thatched house and there were lots of insects, geckos, mice & even bats in the roof! I’ve never seen shingles here, or clapboard. Without the big forests you have in the USA wood has never been a primary building material in Africa, though my own house is wood framed with corrugated iron clashing and roof, but that is very unusual.

Thanks Heidi, we don't have shingled houses in SA so I worked from photos of cedar shingles in US. More colorful than the real deal I think but it is a dolls house!

Would love to see some pics Pantheropia, I'm also working on a Thornhill but doing a modern interior that reflects our various family homes over the years.

So in the end I have painted the entire roof with DecoArt Americana acrylics. I am happy with it. Nearly finished then I will paint the house yellow.

I can't strip anything as it is just raw wood darkened by light exposure. I have begun staining the remaining wood darker to get a tonal match. Once I have finished that I will have to paint the entire roof to match the density! I will post a pic when i'm happy. Look forward to you joining me on the Thornhill when you retire!

Hello Emily (Fov) I saw in another thread you had a Thornhill and was hoping you were working on it so I could get some advice! But I see you haven't got to it yet.