I have had a life-long love affair with dollhouse miniatures, and careers in art education and interior design. I hope to combine these life experiences to help other miniature enthusiasts get more out of this wonderful hobby we enjoy, a hobby that often reaches the level of an art form. Susan Downing
Petronella Dunois dollshouse in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam has an extraordinary dolls house collection. Various objects in the dolls’ house pictured above are marked with the year 1676, which was probably when it was mostly completed. It was made for Petronella Dunois (1650–1695), a wealthy orphan who (more…)
Categories: dollhouses, Dutch, room boxes
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.
Categories: room boxes
Ken Haseltine’s Infinity Hall, a 1/12 scale ”work in progress” found on Flickr
Ken Haseltine is well known for his 1/6 scale work, suitable for the Barbie world. I haven’t been able to find much in the way of biographic information on Ken’s work in this world, so I’m making the assumption that Barbi is where the money is. But Ken works in the 1:12 scale world too. Take some time to enjoy some of these works.
Categories: artisans, room boxes
Lady Alesón’s bedroom is a tour-de-force recreation of an Edwardian interior, found on The Guardian
It’s a joke, folks. There really wasn’t much subtly in the design principles of the Edwardians. They went way beyond the late Victorians in piling on every gewgaw and treasure they could stuff in room. They felt balanced interior design was so passé. That’s why I have so much fun contemplating an Edwardian project.
Categories: dollhouses, Edwardian, room boxes
