Moorland Cottage

As I was nearing completion of The Grand Linfield, I realized I needed a break from pastels and roses. I pulled from the closet a kit that I had purchased on EBay - "The Brookfield Cottage by Duracraft.

In spite of the icky sweet, gingerbread example shown on the box, I have decided this needed to be made into a rustic Tudor style cottage with grass thatched roof, dark red bricks, timber framing…the works.

First step after assembly, was to cover the outside with stucco. I used drywall mud and dabbed it with paper towels to achieve the texturing. I also changed the window frames that came with the kit. I only used the top arch and combined it with plain wood trim down the sides and a thin wood strip across the arch.

I then pulled out all my plain wood trim and began configuring the timber frames. I googled Tudors and timber frames to get a better understanding of the style. I stained all the wood a dark mahogany. I also decided to add red brick accents under the door and windows. I considered purchasing bricks but they were just too perfect. I wanted something imperfect and aged. So I pulled out my ceramic clay and hand cut each little brick. I then decided to do larger arched stone accents around the door based on Tudors I was seeing online. Once the bricks and stones were attached to the house, I hand painted each one a brick red and gray color.

I still have a lot of bricks to go and I’m out of red paint so I will check back in on this tiny gem later.

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