The Tower House is finished.

I use model railroad materials and natural stones for the landscaping; the "flowers" are tiny pieces of bunka.

You can see the whole process of building this house, "from concept to completion," by reviewing the blog archive from the oldest to the most recent posting.




See the Tower House in person at the Chicago International miniature show, April 3 - 5, Marriott Chicago O'Hare, 8535 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL. Visit the web sire at http://www.bishopshow.com/ for more information.

Tower House in Progress

The furnishings are finished. As I mentioned, I decided on the early 2oth century as the period for the interior, so I could include many different styles, reflecting the fact that the building has been lived in for hundreds of years.

Pieces in the late 15th Century style (when the tower would have been built) include the sideboard and small cabinet near the door on the second floor. There is a 17th century cabinet on the back wall of the third floor; the dining table on the second floor and the chairs in the kitchen would also be of that period. Furniture from the 1700's is scattered throughout the house. There is a Victorian style cabinet on the left wall of the third floor and a chair in the bedroom. The upholstered chair and table in the half timber addition would be early 20th century.

I have a tendency to imagine that artists live in my houses, so someone has been working on a waterolor painting in the addition. Some finished pieces are propped against the wall.

I have left a space in front of the fireplace on the second floor for a porcelain dog by Sylvia Mobley, which is due to arrive in March.

Now for the landscaping!

Tower House - interior

The interior of the Tower House is almost finished. New pictures will be posted this weekend.

Tower House in Progress

The half timber addition is finished. I've also built and installed the front door, and added a railing at the

top of the staircase.

Except for the weathering, the exterior is finished.

Now it's time to furnish the rooms. I've decided on early 20th Century for the period, so that I can include the many styles of furniture that might be in a building that has been lived in for hundreds of years, but can omit really modern things like televisions, microwaves, computers and so forth.

Tower House in Progress

The half timber addition is nearly finished. New picture tonight.

Tower House in Progress

Painting has begun.

The walls were done using three colors - darkest to lightest - over an off white base coat. Final paining, and "weathering" to add realistic dimension will happen later.

The roof structure has been shingled as well.

For the next day or two I will be making the half timber addition to the left side.

A closeup of the interior, showing the floors and fireplaces.

A closeup of the tower house. Notice how much more interesting the surface looks than if it was perfectly flat. You can zoom in by clicking on the picture.

The tower house is about 5 inches high to the top of the roof structure.

A Note about Tower Houses

Tower houses, which are really small castles, are found in many parts of the world. Although we now have rather romantic ideas about living in castles, tower houses were originally built for defensive purposes in areas that were considered to be particularly dangerous. The best known today are those that were built in the British Isles, particularly Ireland and Scotland, from the 15th through the 17th centuries. Many are still inhabited.

The one I'm building would originallly have had a wooden ladder leading up to the doorway on the second floor; the ladder could be drawn up in times of danger. Also, there would not have been an exterior doorway on the ground floor. The stone staircase and ground floor doorway, as well as the half timber addition (not yet built) would have been added in later, more peaceful times.

I haven't yet decided on the period for the interior furnishings. Stay tuned!

Tower House In Progress

The exterior "stonework" is finished; a total of nearly two thousand individual pieces. I add them one at a time because this technique results in slight variations, making the surface appear more realistic. The gothic doorway is in the 15th Century style. The roof structure won't be attached until it is finished, to make texturing and painting it and the back side of the crenellations less of a challenge.

The next step is to add texture to the stones with acrylic gesso. Then it can be painted.

Tower House in Progress

Six days and over 1500 individual pieces later, I've almost finished covering the exterior with "stones". A new picture will be posted when this phase is completed.