Tiles, colour, and the heart of darkness

Ok. I'm finding quarter scale fascinating in its little way. Let me tell you about the kitchen floor so far.

This floor is going to have typical medieval tiles - square ones in a red oxide colour. Finding card and scoring it at 1/8th" intervals is easy (once you learn not to use card that's too shiny because it won't take the paint, or too rough because the scoring gets torn . . . or a tool that's not too sharp or too blunt . . .).
After a couple of tests painting it, I learned to start with a 1:1 wash of red oxide (acrylic paint) to water, so that this first colour seeps right down into the score-lines. Full strength paint just won't get in there without rubbing too hard with the brush, which messes the lines.

Then the full strength paint, and the tiles are the perfect colour . . . you think . . . *evil laughter from the crypt*
Here's the thing about quarter scale - it's dark in there. Those tiny rooms have a lot less light entering and reflecting than in larger scales, so the colours are shaded and detail is lost, never to be seen again.
It makes me think that this would be a truly accurate representation of ancient houses, but I want my minis visible!

LED lighting in the house would maybe overcome this in some ways (or complicate it further!), but I'd rather get it looking right without electricity at present.
Here's a photo of some of the tests. I tried pencil and pen lines to accentuate the scored lines - pencil looks too shiny, and the .3mm pen was too thick.
Sealing with a mix of 1:1 PVA glue to water will darken the tiles slightly.
The final result - the end of my rambling story is that the tiles have only two light washes of 1:1 paint/water. (This photo makes the tiles look darker than they are.)
And I have to say that the Darkness Within also made me decide to re-paint my lovely off-white walls with a titanium white paint wash (usually I really don't like bright white) - and it now looks just as I wanted it to . . . :)

The interplay of colour, light and texture are intriguing and 'never the same twice'. This is fun.

Thanks for your patience with my ramblings, and if you're not a miniaturist and stumbled here by mistake, please be assured that miniatures is not a Dark Art, and we aren't really all this obsessed about odd stuff. Well, not much, anyway.

Some conclusions - light and bright shabby chic, large-windowed modern, or pale Shaker, etc would suit quarter scale nicely. Single roomboxes, not too deep, would maybe be a wiser choice if you want a dark setting.

Next - the kitchen cooktop and chimney. I'm currently working on Version Number Five . . . :)

Glenda