Mark O’Bank’s Nybelwyck Hall, found on the Hudson Valley Museum website

Nybelwyck Hall

The following 2011 press release from the Hudson Valley Museum offers an excellent description of the Miniscule Manse:

“The new setting for the minuscule manse is fitting because its architecture evokes Hudson River homes still seen today. The 24-room, granite-and-mortar Glenview [Hudson Valley Museum building] and Nybelwyck, the 24-room dollhouse, share architectural features ― a Great Hall and a double staircase that curves from the top floor down to the Hall. Nybelwyck’s central

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Susan Downing’s First School – Dent, Ohio

My First School in Dent, Ohio must have been the last place in Hamilton County to come into the 20th century. Located on Harrison Pike, about ten miles west of Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, the Dent School was a two-room affair on two floors — 2 classrooms and a principal’s office. Each room was about the size of a present-day middle-class living room, where kids in grades 1-12 learned their 3 Rs: reading, righting and ‘rithmetic.

I made this room box for my daughter Laurie when I grew weary of her eight-year-old whining about the privations she suffered on going to school, mainly in winter. Besides this visual example, I’m sure I laid some, “Well, in my day …” nonsense on her.

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Josje Bouwts’ Slaapkamer. The chandelier is a small part of the room.

Josje Bouwts Slaapkamer Chandelier

This is from a Josie Bouwt post in her blog on September 29, 2011. It was titled “Lights, Camera, Action!” and is one of many reasons why I find her blog invaluable. On “A Beautiful World,” Josje not only shows you her gorgeous miniatures but how she brought them about. A periodic visit to this blog is always a “look and learn” experience for me.

Josje Bouwts’ Slaapkamer Chandelier Close-Up

Chandelier Clos-Up

I was taken with Josie’s description of the chandelier: “When this was all finished I felt the room needed more lights. I didn’t want to wait until the next dolls house fair so I rummaged through my drawers and found an old silver … well, I’m not sure what it was, but I could call it a ‘jewelry finding’. I played around with it a bit, using some glass paint and silk string and made it into a very eclectic light to hang above the chest of drawers. It is a bit odd, I admit, but I rather like it”.

Jacobean inspired drawing room box by Ron Hubble

Increase Apparent Space

If a room in your project needs a more open feeling, changes in the amount light or the color of the wall can visually increase the size of the space.

Wall Color

A fundamental change would be the paint color. Evaluate the color tones used and see if they can be lightened without going to a stark white. Always keep in mind that the darker the color, the smaller an area will

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