I haven’t done anything with the Victorianna since October when I worked on the porch. I wasn’t happy with the sunburst brackets, especially at the short ends. I thought it might look better to use brackets that curve inward, so they form an arch when they’re so close together.

Right around this time I placed a Miniatures.com order that included a pair of small dragon corbels, intending to use one of the corbels to cover up a gap in the downstairs staircase (more on that later in this post). I used the extra to make the faux rake for the Four Seasons Roombox.

These brackets are made of cardstock, not wood, but they’re pretty sturdy and I like the detail. The manufacturer’s website has several more styles than are on Miniatures.com, in different sizes, at half the price. Unfortunately, ordering directly from JMG Miniatures turned out to be a frustrating experience. In the interest of full disclosure, there’s an explanation of what happened down at the bottom of the post.

Here’s how the new bracket looks compared to the original bracket. I like how the curve compliments the sunbursts over the window trim, rather than competing with them like the original brackets did.

Paint scrapes off these brackets more easily than wood. Also, a layer of paper sluffed off two of the spokes on the dragon corbel (making them dangerously skinny). The same thing happened with the other dragon bracket when I painted it for the rake, but it didn’t happen with the webbed brackets I’m using on the porch, which aren’t quite as delicate.

Like with the window trim, I love how the curves of the brackets compliment the curved pediment over the door.

They blend in more than the original brackets, almost getting lost when you look at the house from a distance. I think that’s okay? They give the tops of the posts a nice shape.

And this looks much better to me than the two sunbursts did in this small space.

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