Round 1. Giant disaster.

Did you ever have the greatest costume idea, but when you look in the mirror its just duct tape and a cardboard sword? My I'M A GIANT dollhouse challenge is shaping up to be the same disaster.

I've been really pondering what to do for the challenge. I've been going back and forth with design ideas, but nothing has come together. Before Halloween I decided to build a one bedroom two story case study inspired house. After giving up on making a scale version of one of the classics, I unpacked my miniatures (we moved recently) to layout a house to build around some of my favorite pieces. Reminded me of that Kholer commercial, "Design a house around this."

I cut cardboard to size to figure out the dimensions of the wood I needed to buy. I worked out two staircase designs to find the best space saver. I found a bathroom layout that would work with this beach side house. After spending two days going over the numbers and needed building materials, my husband asked, "is that going to fit in your car?"

Strike 1. If it doesn't fit in my car, I can't drive it to the showcase in LA. Back to the drawing board.

(latest challenge posts here »)

Marquette Model by Cali Rezo

(Okay, I've mentioned I am behind in posts, but I've been meaning to post this for, jeez yes, a year now. Ugh, one of these days I'll get on top of things.)

Last November, Cali from France sent me links to an incredible project she's working on. A modern miniature model of her real house. First, I love her home decor in real life, but her attention to detail in recreating miniature versions is amazing. Check out the comparisons between the model and the real life pictures. Pretty impressive!

The miniature versions of her artwork and accessories is just inspiring. I literally wished I lived in her house. Thanks for sharing Cali and good luck on the second floor, I can't wait to see the rest of your house!

Check out her blog to see how the first floor was constructed and more miniature compared to real life photos. The photos are amazing. Additionally, you can check out the progress on the second floor:
www.calirezo.com/site/index.php?page=maquette

(all images from www.calirezo.com)

PRD Miniatures - Goodies for you Goodies for me.

For their first time at the Good Sam Showcase of Miniatures, Paris and Lisa Renfroe didn't just have a display, they had a showroom! The large picture (from Paris' flickr page) shows the display in its entirety. Shoving my camera around to take pictures felt like I was in a real modern showroom. You didn't even have to look them up on the map of vendors, you could see it from across the room and it drew you in.
Paris had a ton of new items, modern picture frames, stools, accessories, knitted poufs, driftwood sculptures... some are up on his website under Decorative Accents, I'm sure more will be up soon.


Bathrooms have never looked so good. Paris' new Urban vanity with Baroque flair, Soho vanity unit, and French styled baroque vanity unit, are all to die for. I'm getting one of these for my Antrim as I love the idea of a black bathroom. The new rounded hatbox toilets are really cool, too. Paris' bathroom items are on PRD Miniatures under Bath Units.


The Skylofts were there in all of their glory. I love how they are modular, stackable, and you can customize them any way you want. Paris' beds and Lisa's Mimobe bedding are so chic and gorgeous, it's an easy way to add luxury to any mini bedroom. Being artist's in 1:1 scale, translates wonderfully into their 1:12 scale pieces; their artwork looks fantastic in any room.

The M112 Pods were in the house too. I think these are the coolest rooms to play around in and showcase your collection. The new knitted poufs make the cutest side table or cool modern seating. I love how Paris cut up the carpet tiles to make the ultra modern rugs.



Paris and Lisa are so cutting edge modern it hurts. Everytime I get a new catalog or modern magazine, as I'm flipping through it, I'm saying "hey Paris already did that". I LOVE the new flat screen TV, and rugs, and Paris' signature M.U.T.T. furniture line is my favorite. I adore this magazine rack, too cool.

I put in a lot of miles driving down to see them every day, but it's not often you get to be a groupie for rock stars of the modern miniatures world. Paris and Lisa are so passionate and enthusiastic, I can't wait to see what PRD Miniatures comes up with next.

More PRD Miniatures can be found here on flickr, shutterfly and for sale at PRDMiniatures.com .

Peter Tucker @ Good Sam

From Vancouver British Columbia, Peter Tucker and his wife Jeremie were back again this year. My photos of his lights weren't so hot, so I'm using these from his site. I loved his new chandeliers. Peter had made some of the table lamps with LEDs powered by watch batteries, so no need to deal with electrical.

I'm a sucker for "1-of-a-kind" so I bought this side/coffee table. I just used it in a room and will be posting soon (hopefully). It was a pleasure seeing Peter and Jeremie again. They are so nice and fun to talk with.

Peter's blog is a fun read with notes and tips building miniatures roomboxes.blogspot.com or you can find all of his work on his website here:
www.roomboxes.com


I really love his art deco inspired pieces and I adore his Nelson style modern bench. I'm looking forward to seeing Peter and Jeremie at the next show.

(top images from Peter Tucker, www.roomboxes.com)

Good Sam Show 2011

I am totally behind in posts, My Realitty already posted about the show (she was able to make the rounds with Doris, minimodernistas, who will hopefully be in the show next year), and Modern MC's description is a must read. I had a great time with her and mini2b at the show on Saturday, and then came back on Sunday to be groupies with My Realitty. Here are some of my highlights. Erik Goddard had these really cool room boxes: converted urban loft, art gallery, and modern loft. I love the views he creates out the windows, too. My Realitty and I got a chance to hang out with him after the show, super nice guy, it was a pleasure to meet him. Check out his website for more photos and info: www.erikgoddard.com



William Maranville from Livermore, CA was back this year with more incredible handcrafted turnings and carvings from wood and stone. Bill shares a booth with his wife Barbara Stanton who does really cool miniature oil paintings. I didn't take enough pictures but you can see her work is on her website barbarastanton.com. Bill's contact info is (925) 373-9638 email microangelo (at) earthlink.net. Bill and Barbara are so nice, they're always fun to talk to.


I think it's kind of funny that I was drawn to many of the vendors I've purchased from before. Gilbert Mena was there this year, I love his wood turnings and little boxes. He doesn't have a website, but he's out of Valencia, CA. T: 661-259-5350 E: gilmena (at) webtv.net

I bought one of the zebra vases from Troy Schmidt from Santa Barbara, CA, Red Dragon Pottery. My pictures didn't come out so these are from his website reddragonpottery.com/mini.htm. Troy makes gorgeous wheel-thrown porcelain on a full sized potter's wheel.


I got to meet Paul and Susan Osze this year. Again, more really nice people, and another couple that shares the passion for minis. They made the cool garage and condo last year. I took too long talking and missed taking pictures before they packed up, but they had a cool room box with a Kaleidoscope House Jasper Morrison couch, and the "World of Tomorrow" room box with cool audio and video elements. It was impressive to say the least. The photo is from their website, but you have to check out their video of the room. Their website for more of their work is boingdragon.com/miniatures/

My Realitty and I stuck around with our backstage passes for autographs. :P We had a great time hanging out and rubbing elbows. She had brought her new Brinca Dada Dylan House and she let me borrow it! I'll post photos soon. Peter Tucker and PRD Miniatures pictures coming next.

Ultimate Guest Room Getaway

I've been slow on blogging as most of my spare time for 4 months was trying to find a new place to live in a better school district. I imagined an extra bedroom for my minis, but living in the Bay Area, that won't happen for a few more years. So this is the only guest room we'll have for awhile.

A lot of PRD and minimodernistas, but another of my favorites is the Paul MacAlister "desk lamp". It's actually 1/2" scale, but looks perfect in 1:12 on a desk. I blogged about the 1/2" scale pieces from Paul MacAlister's estate on ebay here and here. I won a couple of sets on ebay. The seller was kind enough to send me a few extra pieces that were in need of repair, including the lamp. Thank you Robert! I will post more on those as soon as I get my miniatures unpacked.

I made a few things in the room. The circle art is copper gift tag pieces from a kit at my local craft store. The faux bamboo in the corner is a straw placemat cut up and placed in a copper plumbing piece from hardware store. The tall lamp is also pieces from hardware store with a ReMent waste basket inverted for the shade.

Pillow Talk.
In my collection of miniatures, I probably have more pillows and chairs than can ever fit in all my houses (not complaining, but I could have a showroom). I love being able to test out different pillows and see what works best for each room. These are all minimodernistas pillows, I can't get enough. I like the mix of patterns that add a punch of color, but the more solid pillows match the floor texture perfectly. I love them all.

Deets: minimodernistas: horizon night table, V-leg day bed sofa, pillows and smaller pillows on bed. PRD miniatures: M.U.T.T. custom platform bed, linens, large pillows and bolster, throw, M.U.T.T. floor mirror, M.U.T.T. bench, M.U.T.T. coffee table, painting and custom carpet flooring. Paul MacAlister 1/2" scale lamp. Wood turnings are Gilbert Mena and William Maranville. X10NY magazines. Shelf with drawers is an ebay find. Accessories are Kaleidoscope, ReMent, beads, and dollhouse show finds.