Beacon Hill Staircase Makeover [Step 5 ~ Bottom stair begun]

The ground floor staircase has a bit of simple decoration. The panel inserts had 90-degree edges. I like them better beveled. All it took was a sharp eXacto knife and a little patience.

The inner panels edges have been beveled. The bit of quarter round taped in place is auditioning to see if edging the entire section would look better; it didn't make the cut. This view shows the wide balusters that are part of the kit. They will be replaced with the more delicate balusters like those used on the middle floor staircase.

Here are the beveled panels stained. I wish the grain of the wood were not so evident, but when it is installed in the house, I don't believe it will be as noticeable. 

And let the demolition begin! I started to saw off the balusters but realized quickly that the Easy Cutter would do a quicker and neater job of it. A little sanding and some stain, and the new balusters can be installed.

You can see how the balusters on the far side are truncated so the entire unit can slice in and out of the ground floor foyer. I haven't quite figured out how this can be accomplished with the new balusters. It may be that they will be attached to the handrail instead of the tread to become part of the middle floor railing unit. Still pondering this.

A little bonus: a set of wooden spoons turned up on the Greenleaf Dollhouse forum the other day. It inspired me to make a set for the Pierce/Bohemian Inn kitchen.

Here is the result of my first 1:12 attempt with its full size counterpart. The full size spoon was made by my father many years ago and is used frequently in my real life kitchen. The mini looks awfully small beside the full size spoon, but it is one inch long and the full size spoon is 12 inches long. (I just went back into the craft room and measured them to be sure!)

This closeup reveals the slight lopsidedness of the bowl. I used a couple very sharp eXacto knives, the carving tool in the photo above, and an emery board to get this far. A popsicle stick I happened to have on hand provided the wood; it has a nice, tight grain. A bit of paint will give it an aged, well used look.

In looking back over the file, I realized the Pierce was begun seven years ago, hibernated for two years, and after a brief spurt of effort has hibernated again for the past five years.  Poor Pierce. It's time to get the Beacon Hill finished so I can move on!