Finally Coming Around

I've almost completed the first pass at decorating the 360 dollhouse. I opened up the kitchen and got rid of the table and chairs that were in there before. It didn't make sense to have two sets of dining tables when the house is open plan and the dining room is immediate to the kitchen. I have a few more details to add to the bathroom area, the pool area and the passage between the master bedroom and the nursery.

Can anybody tell that I love that shelving unit? I'm an avid fan of built-ins and storage units. These shelving units are in every dollhouse I have--except the Kaleidoscope because it doesn't fit. It's relatively hard to find modern shelving and so when I saw these, I think I ordered a little too much. However, I think they do the job well in almost every room.

Note to self: find some other cool modern shelving units.

Bathroom Redesign for Malibu Beach Dollhouse

I never did finish the original bathroom design that I started with the stacked washer and dryer (first pic). I tend to constantly redesign rooms as I find new items that inspire me to go in a different direction.

I think the new bathroom looks serene. The bathtub and sinks came from a children's wooden dollhouse set--another great example of how you can use these items in realistic miniature modern design. I love the faucet fixture designs on these pieces and the bathtub reminds me of a beautifully carved teak tub that I once saw. Painting the faucet fixtures silver would add to the realism of these pieces but I liked them left natural. I made the open shower from some leftover craft pieces, a miniature windchime for the showerhead and the shower base came from an action figure set--Buffy the Vampire Slayer series if I remember correctly...

Kotte Toys

I’m in love with these 1:10 and 1:12 miniature modern chairs from Kotte Toys of Sweden. It appears that this company has a miniature chair club where you get a set of chairs for 870 – 960 Swedish Krona (SEK) which translates to roughly $136 - $150 dollars. Unfortunately for me, the entire site is in Swedish despite having “English pages”. I’ve contacted them to find out more about their lovely chairs and will post more detail if they respond.

UPDATE 12/30/07
I got the following response from Kotte Toys:

"Today most of my chair builders are from the Nordic countries.

Because of that I have not worked so much with my English pages.

But I think you can look around and see the chairs also in the Swedish pages.

I use to do my chairs first for a museum and their museum shop so most of the chairs you can find in Swedish museums. Some of my chair club members are people interested in furniture old and new.

Some members are miniaturists making their own small houses

Some of the people like to do their chairs as like the original as they can.

They also have a chat-side where they discuss how to make the chairs the best way

Kotte toys are a one man company, and I have done one new chair every month since year 2000.

today there are about 80 chairs in my catalog.

Most of my chairs are in scale 1:10

But for miniaturists I make also some of the chairs in scale 1:12

Now I am also making some experiments to make houses in the same way as the chairs (1:12).

The chairs are done with water jet. Small water jet 0,1 mm cutting the parts of the chairs with very high pressure 4000 Bar. I do CAD-drawings for the chairs, and they will be cut out in aeroplane plywood. So the chairs are a little puzzle a building kit. They call me mini IKEA. Because a deliver a flat package, and you have to build it together yourself.

I can deliver my chairs in a ordinary letter.

If you become chair club member you will become all new chairs I am making.

All old chairs you can order from me.

Today I have no real web shop. But you can send me a E-mail and order chairs.

One SEK is = 0,16 Dollar

100 SEK is = 16 Dollar"

Images: Kotte Toys

Mikro-House

I purchased this Mikro-House by Sam Buxton to put in my office. Whenever I think of a modern dollhouse, I typically think of a wood and Plexi structure, but after seeing this little masterpiece, it occurred to me that a 1:12 modern dollhouse made of steel could be quite awesome.

The cost of this tiny modern dwelling is about $150. You can find it at Unica Home or other design specialty retailers.

http://www.mikroworld.com

Happy Holidays 2007

Aren't you tired of the Christmas music already? Sometimes it feels/sounds so phony when retailers and restaurants are blaring old school Kringle mixes and re-mixes by pop stars. Granted, I do have my Christmas song favorites. My family is partial to the "Carol of the Bells" only because it sounds like horror movie theme music. I'm also okay with select jazz renditions of Christmas standards. So what's that got to do with anything pictured above? Absolutely nothing, well, unless you count that I'm jumping on the "It's the Holidays!" bandwagon with the miniature display. Yeah, I am. But I should get credit for not doing any Halloween or Thanksgiving themes, right? Shrug.

Oh, and yes, I realize in retrospect that one might be self-conscious to sit on the couch. Too funny.

Cardboard House Dollhouse

I like the ramp of this dollhouse although I think it still needs stairs. Course, I guess it would be hard to make stairs that collapse down and keep their shape. This dollhouse reminds me of an old auto garage that was housed in a multi-story building where I grew up. You could drive up to every floor and it always seemed like it would make a cool house--minus all the CO2. I always imagined driving go karts up and down the ramp at full speed for several stories.

This little modern cardboard dollhouse made by Carton Chic has eight sections that are detailed on one side with graphics of a swimming pool, landing strips, etc. The reverse side of the eight sections is plain for your customization. It’s roughly $60.

Images: Little Fashion Gallery

Modern with a Classic Chaser

I often admire the furniture designs of Jaime Hayon. I once considered purchasing a few of the Showtime Armchair with Cover pictured above, but after discovering it would cost me $5,000 - $10,000 for one, I soon disregarded the thought. Jaime, PLEASE make some 1:12 editions of that chair!

I appreciate the classics with a modern twist designs that you often see showcased in Metropolitan Home Magazine. I’ve never decorated my home in this flavor but have been considering revamping some miniature displays to reflect this appreciation. Aside: Would love to find some mirrored furniture in 1:12, but will probably be forced to create it myself.

Brocade is currently offering some miniatures that I’m considering for purchase to utilize in some of these “modern meets classic” displays. The miniature sets are $49 for one set and $89 for any two sets with free shipping. I’ve been thinking about using the miniature chairs offered by Brocade to pseudo recreate the look of Hayon’s La Terraza del Casino restaurant design pictured above.

Images: www.hayonstudio.com; brocadehome.com