Where The Pool Used To Be

I removed the swimming pool from the top floor of the 360 dollhouse and turned it into a master bedroom. The vanity in the corner is from Delph Miniatures. The wall art and bed (minus the Plexi/wood headboard) are from the Kaleidoscope House. The closets are from Theo-Klein and the stool is an old ebay purchase but is marked "88" T.E. (Brownawell??). I'm not a photographer and trying to capture this room with the Plexi background isn't as easy as I had hoped...

Momoll Legno Furniture

I've been wanting to get the Momoll Legno furniture set for several months now. It reminds me of the Voila Toys wooden dollhouse pieces that I like. These pieces could be used in a variety of ways. The only retailer that I have found is the Little Fashion Gallery and I am trying to cut down on my international shopping. Trying! I would like to find a seller in the U.S. but am having no luck. Perhaps I just need to give it some time to get popular. I need at least 3 sets...maybe 4...or 5.

Images: www.littlefashiongallery.com

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I was packing my Kaleidoscope House away. While I was in the middle of packing it , I decided to decorate it instead. Shrug. Above are images of the new living/dining room.

Sleeping in Church

This is another bedroom in the 360 dollhouse. The bed is supposed to remind one of a pew while the pillows pay homage to a manger. There's something about this mini scene that makes me think of the books turned movies Carrie and Flowers in the Attic.

The mirrors for the cross, the platform bed, nightstands and dresser all came from children's dollhouse furniture sets. The rug is from the AG Minis sets. The red urn is from the Kaleidoscope House accessories. The art is an image of the St. Bartholomew's Church in the Czech Republic.

I am often asked how long it takes for me to put rooms together and I'm typically not sure. For this particular scene, I spent 15 minutes.

With The Band

Almost everything in this room is from McFarlane Toys and AG Minis. I call the torso sculptures "Tribute to Lars" and "Tribute to Jim".

Garden Condo By FantasyCraft is on eBay...

The Garden Condo by FantasyCraft is on ebay. This is a 52"x34"x30 contemporary dollhouse with dual two-bedroom, one bath condo units and a landscaped yard. The finished structure is a prototype that never was produced in kit form. According to the auction description, the dollhouse has been appraised at $10,000. The starting bid is $1,999 and shipping is $1,200.

Pintoy Airport = Cool Toy

Pintoy has introduced an airport playset this year that I will end up having to buy two of. One for me and one for the kids. Ridiculous, but true! I think it is a really cool looking toy. Also I think with some imagination and the right miniatures, you could turn it into a futuristic open-plan dollhouse--see the carport on the side? How about the view deck? Is that an indoor greenhouse or an exhibitionist's bathroom? Paint over "Airport" and I see opportunity there...

Since I'm fawning over Pintoy, I should also make note that I think the Pintoy Space Station (pictured below) would make an interesting dollhouse too. I'm diggin' on the elevator.

Images: www.pintoys.com

The Highland by Artply is on eBay...

The popular Highland dollhouse by Artply is up for auction. The 47"x24"x16" house has five rooms, two decks, balcony and a garage. The house for sale is assembled and mounted on a large piece of plywood. The starting bid is $299.99. The catch is that it's a pick-up only in the Long Island, New York area. Auction ends February 20th.

An Inexpensive Start

I am often asked about how to start a modern dollhouse hobby on a budget. I'm not an expert and so my automatic response is typically "roombox", but I forgot that I once used an IKEA CD cabinet with sliding glass doors as an open plan modern ranch dollhouse. It worked well. It also was quite space efficient since it was mounted up on a wall. The recollection sent me to the IKEA website where I found two cabinets (pictured above) with sliding doors that would make nice inexpensive modern dollhouses. The first image (my fav) is the Odda wall cabinet for $69.99 and the second image is the Grimle cabinet priced at $99.99.

Images: IKEA.com

World Wide ArchistylesClub

I do not remember how I stumbled across this company but I am glad that I did. Based in Uruguay (South America), World Wide ArchistylesClub produces architectural scale kits and fully built models of dollhouses in three scales—1:12, 1:24 and 1:48. The kits are all laser precision cut MDF and touted as having such a perfect fit that there is almost no need to use any adhesive for them. I’m partial to their 1:12 Boston model ($338 which includes shipping) pictured above. It’s a 4-story high (plus underground space) apartment building with a retail space on the main level. Although it is an older period style of architecture, I think it could be phenomenal if decorated in a modern style.

I am hoping that they add a collection of modern style dollhouses to their standard offerings, but they do build custom structures and encourage commissions. Prices for personal designs start at $550 and are based on the level of complexity to create. The company built a miniature museum for a dollhouse hobbyist in Florida and the structure cost $1200 to be produced. I wondered what it might cost to build a simplified 1:12 version of The Living Home as a kit (pictured below). The estimate process was great because they asked if I would also want the built-in cabinetry and closets—hee hee, why, yes, I would!

The pre-estimate for such a structure came back at $1800.

You can view the entire collection of World Wide ArchistylesClub kits and models at www.arquikits.com.

Images: arquikits.com and livinghomes.net

Sedona Crossings

I'm sure that I am crazy, but there is something about this Sedona Crossings Barn that begs to be turned into a modern living space. Let's blame it on too many episodes of Generation Renovation or Extreme Homes on HGTV. I love the sliding doors and loft space. It needs some minor hacking but you could definitely get a kitchen, bathroom and living room on the first floor and have a sleep loft above.