Saturday, August 23, 2014

Williamite but not Wargaming


The reason for my death like silence on this and my other blogs is my return to the family home - minus the family. In the division of our possessions, my coffee tables went north with my wife and children. In the ensuing redecoration of my lounge room nothing grabbed me so I turned my hand to creating my own. I do not know where the idea sprung from but I resolved to make a matching set of small tables with a picture on the table top which, when put together created a bigger image.

 
When in the Netherlands in 2012, I visited the Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn, the home of William of Orange and 3rd of Great Britain and his wife and Queen Mary. I picked up a poster print of Romeijn de Hooghe's  View of Paleis Het Loo, ca. 1690-94. This I resolved to feature on my tables.
 



Above is the complete assembly of the four tables. I am happy with the result but they wouldn't stand up to a cabinet-maker's scrutiny for a heart beat. I built all the tables myself from pine and Tasmanian Oak for the legs, white-glued the print to the tops and gave it four or five coats of floor lacquer. I have slowed down my home redecorating and renovating and my painting table in back inside and I have returned to the hobby.  Albeit at a gradual pace, this blog will once more come to life - so stand by.