Here’s the upside-down foundation with an “Espresso” wash, after drying overnight.
Delta Ceramcoat was on sale for US$0.97 (!) so I stocked up on these gorgeous earth colors:
If I wore lipstick I would totally want some in “Georgia Clay”.
I followed up with washes of “Roman Stucco”, “Trail Tan” and “Light Ivory”. Some stones were painted with a heavier wash of the light ivory, then dabbed off.
This is what the underside of the floor would like like if you crawled under the foundation and looked up. It will never be seen in the build, but I like knowing it’s there.
I was going to glue in joists and floorboards, but I’m just not feeling that crazy. Look at how different the stone color looks because of the light:
The exterior foundation walls are going to be built from salvaged dressed stone, with the occasional rubble and timber posts. I’ll be using egg carton:
And must now remember to buy the same kind (Judy’s Organic) to keep textures similar.
Here’s the start. It will be built at the rate at which I acquire cartons, which is equivalent to driving a rubble-loaded wagon back from San Francisco, so it will take a while. And that’s okay. The scenery is gorgeous :)
Lastly, I’ll share this PSA I made today. In the crafts store parking lot I looked down to see this perfect little horror of the most commonplace litter. Feel free to share :)
*steps down from soapbox*
nancyland.com 
Nancy, this is absolutely great! Many thanks for taking the time to show this in detail :-)))
Welcome, Marion!
This is such a great picture tutorial…as a new miniature collector and builder this is inspirational! How creative to use egg cartons for stone work…brilliantly done!
Thanks, Alayne. I’m glad you’re inspired! Egg carton stone and brick is a pretty standard trick of the trade; I did not originate it :)
The patina of the foundation is quite lovely. (I like your colour choices very much, but then they could be mistaken for swatches from my wardrobe.) Thumbs up for the PSA. :D
Thank you, BW. Your closet must be gorgeous!
How clever using egg cartons. It totally gives a cool texture and dimension. I need to look around more for ideas like this when doing my own projects.
I like your PSA. I’m always puzzled why people can’t walk a few feet to a garbage can or take home their garbage. Just this morning in my train parking lot some punks (I’m assuming) left some take-out containers and an empty bag of potato chips in the lot. Really? So you can (I’m assuming here) spend a day in NYC but you can’t put your garbage in the on-site garbage cans? It just really pisses me off. Thanks for doing your part for the environment.
Egg cartons are pretty versatile.
As for cigarette butt litter, I want to assume it’s a matter of education about the impact they have, and build awareness and promote responsibility. So thanks!