I decided to make a 'book nook' for my wife for Christmas but rather than make it just the size of a large book I decided to scale it in line with the available space on our book case. I started with a laser-cut bay window kit for a dolls house (my wife loves bay windows) and then base a build of my own around it to create a finely detailed room filled with things my wife likes; an open fire, a load of books, a comfy chair by the window to read, the dog on the seat by her side.
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Then, after a quiet chat with her one evening about the subject (before she knew what I was making her) I found that she liked the nooks which were fantasy-based like some excellent Harry Potter ones we saw online so I decided to modify the one I'm building and create a Hogwarts Gryffindor common room. Not screen-accurate in many ways because of the space and materials I have but still with a definite Harry Potter vibe. With the bay window already made I created a back wall around it and spaced it a few centimetres off the back of my mdf box so I can insert a nice view of the Scottish highlands and some lights outside;
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Before going any further I checked that everything fitted on the book case. I may have to trim that front to get everything back from the edge;
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I found a great vintage resin kit online for a big fireplace and I will add a sloping chimney breast over this with thin mdf offcuts and then place a Gryffindor crest on it (which I had 3D printed).
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I slapped on some off-white house paint to give me a sense of how it will look when finished and decided to add some detail up high with corbels and roof beams. I cut the beams simply from strips of 6mm mdf left over from another project. I put a layer of 2mm mdf sheet on top of the beams to enclose the space and also add rigidity to the whole construction. Then I used some more 2mm mdf to create a sloping breast for the chimney and fireplace;
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I got a second-hand writing desk and chair from eBay and I am really impressed how detailed and fine they are. I will stain them a little darker to match the theme but they will be great in here. I wanted some pictures on the wall so I got a couple of resin picture frames and printed out pictures of Professor Dumbledore and the 'Fat Lady' from the early HP films off the interwebs, laminated them and fitted them into the frames.
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For the front wall I used 2mm mdf again and cut holes into it for a large arched door and two small gothic windows. These small holes were filled with laser-cut mdf outlines which, when painted over will give the impression of carved stone. The door was made from thin pine and required staining and the pins which it came with only allowed it to open to less than 90 degrees but I wanted it to open quite wide so the viewer can see all the detail on both sides of the room without having to remove the whole front. I went online and looked for small gate hinges...
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I decided to give the Harry Potter theme a bit of a twist. The diorama / book nook is now going to be titled "Molly goes to Hogwarts". Molly is our Jack-Russel terrier and she's the queen of the roost around here. This is her, looking a bit sheepish because I wanted my warm seat back;
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I found a 1/12 scale Jack Russel terrier model which, with a slight bit of paint to match her spots, will make a fantastic tiny Molly and I also found a 1/12 scale 3D printed 'Dobby the house-elf'. These two figures will now adorn the book nook. Molly will be in front of the fire or on the seat and Dobby will be hiding in the corner between the window and the fire.
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My eldest son is a table-top gamer and paints excellent Warhammer figures so I asked him to give Dobby life and the results are fantastic;
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I gave everything another coat of household emulsion and started detailing. The walls have been painted with acrylics to a sandstone colour and the fireplace has been painted with blues, greys and browns and dry-brushed with sooty blacks and greys. I also got a shed-load of extras to help with the detailing from eBay and Etsy which can be dotted around the interior to give the Harry Potter vibe to the finished nook.
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I will spend the rest of this week doing the detailing and, most importantly, weathering all these new things as well as finishing the walls and hanging pictures before finally adding some 'grain of wheat' lighting bulbs in the fire, in a hanging lamp and outside above the window recess to hopefully throw light through the window frames and create a shape on the floor as if the sun was high. I will put some more information up when that's done.
Thanks for looking.
