My wonderful and talented husband spent an entire day building me a minimalist dollhouse per my specifications. He made it a while ago, but I hadn't felt like documenting the plans until now.
Here are the pieces cut from 1/2-inch plywood (in inches):
Floors: 12x22 inches (2)
Sides: 13x12, 17x12, 7x12
Back: Clockwise from base: 23, 13, 9.5, 7, 13.75, 17
That probably won't help anyone, but it's as detailed as I'm going to get.
Here is the finished product. My cat thought it was a kitty house.
I love the slanted roof--very mid-century mod. I did get the hubs to cut out a door and create the funky window cutouts, but that was it. The lack of windows bothered me a bit at first, but it's not supposed to be a super-realistic house. Have you noticed that there are no stairs? And there won't be a bathroom or kitchen. Too pedestrian. Ah, who am I kidding? I'm too cheap to shell out money for fixtures.
I've been on vacation and busy with summer activities, so my progress has been slow. It took me several tries to make a base for my tulip table. Then it was finished and I dropped it. Miraculously I didn't cry. But I had to start over.
I pressed some polymer clay into a plastic bottle top (to get a decent circle), but of course the "threads" to screw on the top left an impression, which I tried to smooth over. I rolled out another hunk to make the table leg. Then I baked them in a 275-degree oven for 45 minutes inside an aluminum pan. Next I super-glued the base/leg end and the top/leg end. It was wobbly, so I added some clay under the top. Finally I spray-painted it to be one shade of white. Voila. It is a little crooked--I could never sell it--but it's good enough for me.
I also painted two miniature canvases. One is a replica of Josef Albers' "Homage to the Square," which I saw at the Tate Modern in London. The second one isn't particularly inspired, but I'm fine with it.
I was going to use popsicle sticks or strips of cheap wood to make a wall unit like the first one below, but the supports would have been a pain. For now I'm happy with my easier version. I bought a set of accessories (Re-ment Room 002) from Japan, which included four little shelving cubes. I simply attached them with a bit of double-sided tape. Piece of cake. I do wish it came with one more cube, though.
Thanks to crafty people who share their ideas online, I felt bold enough to make my own Nelson ball clock (the big one is from Design Within Reach). I'm not over the moon about the results, but it's good enough--that's my crafting mantra. When I was shopping for straight pins, it seemed these were too small but the next size was too big. I cut a piece of cork (bought at Michaels) and painted it. I cut out the hands from black card stock. Voila.
I may have to get a real-life-size ball chair (if it will fit through my door), but for now I have this baby (ReacJapan). It set me back $30. After it came, I realized I probably could have made one myself, even with my limited craft skills–maybe using the base from a plastic champagne/wine glass and a plastic ball ornament. Oh, who am I kidding? It would have looked like crap. And no way would I have had the patience to line it with material. Of course I wanted a mini Barcelona chair as well.
After deciding on the dining chairs, I turned my attention to a tulip-style table. Unfortunately, extensive online searches failed me. So, I went to Michaels hoping my low-level creative powers would kick in. I wanted to find a round wooden shape about 4 inches in diameter but discovered something better--a porcelain circle that size. And it was cheap. Yay. However, I couldn’t find a flared base (about 2.25″ tall) to glue on. So I bought polymer clay to mold into a bottom. Something tells me this isn’t going to work. I’m putting off the attempt so I don’t get frustrated.
Inspired by a visit to a friend’s gorgeous NYC apartment, I had to have Panton chairs as well. So, I went with two tulip chairs and two Panton chairs. The former (made of resin) were on eBay for $20 a piece. I couldn’t find ready-made Panton chairs in 1:12 scale until I discovered Shapeways, a cool company that does 3D printing. Not cheap, but under my limit of $30 per item. Why didn’t I go with 1:6 scale? Barbie has knockoffs of these for under $10.
