Furniture I like

I love this 3 piece modern bedroom set by Little Linens available for $45 from Circus Dollhouse.


I wouldn't call it modern and not exactly contemporary but I love this couch. The "Cosmo" Living Room Set is available for $59.95 at The Magical Dollhouse.


"Contempo" Leather Living Room Set in white or black would probably be better, but I really like the arms of the "Cosmo" set.

(Bed image from www.circusdollhouse.com. Couch images from www.themagicaldollhouse.com.)



Jan. 16 Update: Thanks Anonymous for the link! This couch and chair are incredible, except for the price and color. The Modern Chair and Sofa set By Arlette runs for $320 on www.spminiatures.com.





I love these coffee tables. The Nagouchi table on the right and bench table on left run for $33. Leather and brass furniture are $45 for sofa and $33 for chair. All at www.spminiatures.com as well.

(Jan. 16 update images from www.spminiatures.com)

Contemporary Ranch Dollhouse

The Contemporary Ranch Dollhouse Kit is available at The Magical Dollhouse for $159.20. I have a thing for spiral staircases, I really wish I could find a more detailed close up of these stairs.

(All images from www.miniatures.com.)

Summer House by Celerity

The Summer House by Celerity is a nice contemporary dollhouse readily available online.

Dollhouse Collectibles sells the kit for $121.

(Images from www.dollhousecollectibles.com
and hopesdollhouseshop.com.)

The House My Mom Built - RENOVATION

What did I get myself in to?!? I read somewhere that its cheaper to fix up an old dollhouse than to buy a new one. Yeah right. Turns out my 7 bedroom dollhouse is a "small dollhouse" (kit unknown) with non-standard size stairs, doors and windows. How hard could it be to install larger windows? It took me 45 minutes to do one.
Step 1. Measure new window hole opening.
Step 2. Go to Woodcraft and buy small saw.
Step 3. Drill holes to be able to get saw blade into corner.
Step 4. Saw sides (plywood has a fun tendency to splinter when sawing. Have to patch and sand later for smooth finish).

Step 5. File between drilled holes to be able to insert saw. (Just bought dremel tool to eliminate this tedious step).
Step 6. Saw top.
Step 7. Sand. Fit window.
Step 8. Sand again. Fit window.
Step 9. Keep sanding until window fits.
Step 10. Nine more windows and doors to go. Ugh.

The second window took 20 minutes so I'm improving. Hopefully the completely customized dollhouse will be worth all of the work and arguments with my husband over how to use/clean/store tools properly. With all of the materials and tools I had to buy to make the improvements, a kit definitely would have been cheaper.

The Green Dollhouse Project

The Green Dollhouse Project was a traveling exhibit and auction benefiting Coyote Point Museum and Sustainable San Mateo County that happened between 2004-05. All of the dollhouses except two were auctioned off. Two are supposed to be on permanent display at the Coyote Point Museum in San Mateo, CA. Below are pictures from the website, but I highly recommend the book available for $19.95 from EcoTone Publishing Company: Green Dollhouse: Creating a Doll’s Eye View of a Healthier World. It is full of pictures, great building tips and interesting student designs.


This is my favorite: "Green Condo with Roof Garden" by Yasuo Tokuoka, Teruhiko Makita, Ziro Mitsumoto (Tokyo, Japan).


This room box approach allows the house to take a variety of shapes. "Pre-fab Mod Dollhouse" by Andrea Traber Architecture + Sustainability: Andrea Traber, Alexandra Vondeling, Monica Grau, Piper Kujac (Berkeley, CA).


"Shoebox Dollhouse", "Rosaceae Sustainus" and I believe a student design I can't find the name of.


"Remodeled Dollhouse", "Mobile Dollhouse" (yup, its on wheels) and "The Bamboo Loft".




(All images from greendollhouse.org)

Art Deco Dream House

This Art Deco Doll's House was built exclusively for Dolly Daydreams. It sold for around $1,380 which included all the lighting, decorations and Art Deco Furniture.
I would have bought that in a heartbeat. I'll have to write them and see when this sold and what the chances are for another version.

(Image from dollydaydreams.com.)

Hobit House

I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and when I came across this I just had to share.

Obelia medusa blogs some really great photos and details of this incredible Hobit House project.

View the history and beginning progress of Tiny Bag End.

View the finished pictures of the Hobit House.

Lastly, Obelia decorated for Christmas.

(All images from Obeliamedusa's Live Journal.)

Designer's go playground

"Designer's go playground", is a dollhouse and furniture conecept by textile designer Sari Syväluoma and furniture designer Johan Ørbeck Aase that was at the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair).

Sari Syväluoma from Finland and Norwegian Johan Ørbeck Aase exhibited a modular dollhouse system that can turn into a complete play area. “It’s a play system based on architectural boxes in miniature,” says Aase. “It’s not as ready-made as a regular dollhouse and therefore more open for a child’s imagination. And when your child outgrows it, you can use the boxes as bookshelves or for storing toys. We worked on the idea for two years, and decided to participate in this fair 3-4 months ago. We are looking for manufacturers, as this is only a prototype.” (quoted from Nordic Reach)


(First image from Kids Modern Blog. All smaller images from Johan Ørbeck Aase's website.)

Simple DIY Design

Here's a simple design from KidInfo blog that would be a good starter build.

(Image from KidInfo blog)

Demolition - The House My Mom Built

It was a little saddening that 3 years of my mom's hard work came apart in 30 minutes. I gutted everything to modernize this dollhouse. I'm looking forward to restoring this house in a contemporary style.



The House My Mom Built - BEFORE




The House My Mom Built - DURING








I'm waiting for all of the building supplies I've ordered to arrive. All of the windows and doors are smaller than standard, so I have re-cut all of the openings.

More pictures to come.