My Miniature House, Part III

Time for the final part of this dollhouse tour. So on the very top floor there is still quite a bit of floorspace even though the ceilings are sloped. The challenge was to make the most of it. Many of the others we had seen on the web used the area as an "attic" or even another bedroom. We went with a little Federal style study and 1920's inspired bathroom. So here's the little study with the Washington Desk and Chippendale Chairs from JBM Miniatures.

The little violin was a gift from Mr. Toshi for the dollhouse. It has real strings!

The cabbage sculpture is from the National Museum in Taipei. It was a souvenir that cost maybe $3USD. I think it is kind of a quirky, cute addition. And that barrister bookcase has little tiny books in it.

Right now it is Sakura Season here in Japan. We had a mild winter so they bloomed a little early. My daughter LOVES the cherry blossoms, especially once their petals start to fall like snow. So I had to get this tiny little sakura bonsai from Etsy seller My Craft Garden.

This is the most awkward space of the house. But we decided to make it a little 1920's glam bathroom. The "modern bathroom set" was from Miniatures.com, as well as that tiny hex tile, mirror and towel rack. The gold, scales wallpaper was from my favorite paper shop here in Japan, Nakashio's which is a local family-owned boutique. All the Japanese papers I bought were Chiyogami/Yuzen style and you can find similar ones at the Japanese Paper Place. And the little bath toy is another Japanese eraser from Daiso. My daughter loves to put him in the bathtub!

The final room was a little bonus attic room. Many of the other versions we had seen on the internet made this into a storage or a sewing room. We decided a sewing room, but really more a masculine, "nautical tailoring room" would be fun. I'm a big fan of blogs like Made By Hand (thanks to my husband) that really look at bespoke suits, so this was inspired by them!

Rug, art, accessories and furniture from Miniatures.com. The plant was from My Craft Garden. I made the bolts of menswear fabrics from felt and chipboard, inspired by the "wool" blanket I saw on Otterine using felt.

Hope you enjoyed a peek inside our dollhouse project! I had no idea how much fun this would be. When I first wanted to make a dollhouse our plans started very simply. But we got very, very carried away! It is such a fun hobby, I would definitely consider doing another in the future.

My Miniature House, Part II

I hope you liked the first dollhouse post! Moving upstairs, I really wanted to do a chinoiserie bedroom, inspired by Chinoiserie Chic's glam dollhouse. I ordered a bunch of dollhouse specific papers and the resolution on them was all pretty low. I finally went to my friend's boutique, Nakashio's, to buy some decorative washi papers. My daughter picked out this pink cherry blossom paper (it is VERY pink) but I think it works! It is a little hard to photograph because it has gold and metallic elements.

I added a molded ceiling using trim from the same Etsy seller, Orsa Styliandes. The bedroom furniture is from Miniatures Marketplace.

This picture probably gives the best look at that paper. And again, those stairs... that was a little painful! I was glad to find tutorials from miniaturist Otterine. She's a pro, her tutorials were so helpful for first timers like us.

Adjacent to the bedroom is the nursery. I tried to make it inspired by the nursery my daughter slept in as a newborn. The starry night paper is from Paper Source. That's definitely a "wish we had" for the real thing! Sorry this first photo is a little wonky!

Here's a better look at that paper.

My daughter loves to play with this toy box filled with Japanese erasers from Daiso.  The rug is also part of a placemat from Daiso. It reminded me of a fun and fresh Dash and Albert style rug.

My dollhouse in a dollhouse. It was from Miniatures.com repainted with Martha Stewart craft paints.

Daybed is from JBM Miniatures, I refinished it for a more Gustavian look.

Okay, one last post to come. Hope you are liking this little (I mean that literally!) tour. 

My Miniature House, Part I

A long time ago I mentioned I was building a dollhouse. It seems like it has been forever (because it has) but several weeks ago I finally finished it. And as soon as I finished it, the movers came and packed it up. So fingers crossed that it crosses the Pacific safe and sound. But before it left, I took a few photos. So here's a photo tour of my (mini) house, starting with the exterior. (You can also see how messy my bookcases were from pre-move sorting!)

The kit was the Painted Lady by Real Good Toys, but I actually ordered it from Hobby Lobby. Understandably it took a bit to get here but was well worth the wait!

Did you spot the mini versions of our dogs? This is a dollhouse for my daughter after all! I think we got a bit carried away so she will not really play with it until she's older. But she still loves looking at it. We might do another, more play-friendly, house when we get back to the States. It turned into a really fun project!

Let's check out the living room, inspired by the Green Drawing Room of Warwick Castle in Warwickshire, England. Painting over the fireplace is from Etsy seller, My Dollhouse Miniatures.

Decorative paper used for the ceiling was from Paper Source. The molding was a combination of miniatures.com and Etsy seller Orsa Styliandes. I bought the fireplace from Orsa as well and added the faux brick backing and accessories from miniatures.com. The bust is from Miniature Cottage in Nashville. The sofa is a reproduction of the one from President Lincoln's house but reupholstered in ivory silk.

Those. Stairs. Ugh, that was tough, especially with the molding surround. But I think it was worth it!

The little green snuff bottle was from my favorite antiques dealer here in Japan, Mr. Toshi's of Hachinohe. The flowers and plants in the house are from Etsy seller My Craft Garden. Gold Table was from Miniatures.com partner website, Miniature Marketplace.

The other room on the bottom floor is the dining/kitchen. It has a little eat-in nook. The board and batten was painstakingly completed by my husband. He gets credit for putting all the papers into the house! The kitchen paper is another from Paper Source. The sink was a mod using newel posts as legs. The rug was cut from a placemat but clearly needs to be ironed!

I painted the little Aga cooker from Miniatures.com. I wish these photos were a little better; I was in such a rush before things got packed-up. I have to say Miniatures.com had phenomenal service. I went through a couple broken items and they were so great about sending replacements - this was one of those that took a couple tries. I painted it to look like the Robins Egg Blue Aga finish. The trim made to look like a custom hearth was and overmantle from Etsy seller Orsa Styliandes. Tile sheet was added to the back.

I refinished and upholstered the table and chairs. I'm not great at miniature upholstery (so there's a bit of a gap) but hey, good first try!

Okay, I'll share more in another post! But if you decide to take on a project like this, you can see my sources from my Keep.com link. If you're looking for more miniatures inspiration, I pinned a ton during the construction of this house so feel free to check that out here. Hope you enjoyed it!