Dollhouse Decorating

Miniature Decorating Ideas |Articles on decorating dollhouses and the history of this artform

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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

Posted on 17 August, 2019

 titania's-palace-Egeskov-Castle

Titania’s Palace at Egeskov Castle in Denmark found on Karen Mardahl’s Flickr stream

Titania’s Palace

The story goes that on a warm day in the Spring of 1907, Sir Nevile Wilkinson was sketching in the woods behind his manor, Mount Merrion House. His daughter Guendolen, age 3, played nearby and suddenly cried out that a fairy ran under the roots of a tree. She felt sorry they had to live underground in damp caves and asked her father to have a proper house built for them.

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Posted by Susan Downing

Categories: recycled


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Posted on 15 August, 2019

ileana_Ottini's-videos-miniature-dollhouses

Ileana Ottini’s videos on miniature dollhouses

Ileana Ottini – Videos on Dollhouse Miniatures

I love videos about dollhouse miniatures. Still photos are great, but when those images are in motion, I feel closer to the original work of art – better in some cases, where the guards and docents keep the lines moving. A source of great videos is Ileana Ottini’s website. There are sections devoted to the Victorian era, a history of decoupage, links to miniature museums around the world.

Here is a portion of an article on Ileana Ottini and her shop on the website Permasol.com (The Traveling Woman)

In Trastevere, a treasure chest of wonders

In Rome , in the heart of Trastevere , you can visit  Ileana Ottini , an elegant, ageless girl who, with the enthusiasm of a very young girl and the infinite patience of an old woman, has dedicated herself to the creation and diffusion of one of the more difficult – than what are called “applied arts”.

Applied art – English applied art – is usually identified with a creative process aimed at creating objects of use and furnishing: in this case, Ileana realizes for the pure pleasure of doing, looking and showing.

The objects are naturally on sale, but the purchase is aimed at [pleasures for the eyes].

One of the techniques used by the artist, a singular art enthusiast, is that of the miniature, which declines in many ways: the most important is the creation of room boxes and miniatures scenes, reproductions of complicated environments, and perfect in scale 1: 12. It is thus that in his atelier, in the heart of Trastevere in Rome (“Acid Drop”, 14 via del Moro), you can admire authentic works of art for your lady friend.

Ileana is also the author of a website dedicated to the art of miniature ( www.ottini.eu ), where it is possible to retrace the history of Dolls House from the ‘600 to today, which is a true source of information for fans, in which with female precision Ileana recalls that it is necessary to have multiple skills: “it is necessary to cut, glue and dyewood to create the structures of the house (or room box) and furniture; plaster or paper the walls; spread floors in different materials; sew curtains, tablecloths and towels; frame pictures; mount electrical installations; in short, all the activities that, in a “real” house, are carried out by a series of different workers and specialists. ” …

Click here to read the entire article.

Here is a current list of videos:

Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House -1

Queen Mary’s Doll’s House – 2

Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle

The Castle di Elaine Diehl

Killer Cabinet, England 1830

Mon Plaisir,Arnstadt (1666-1751)

The Thorne Miniature Rooms

Il mondo delle Dolls Houses nel mondo

The world of the dolls houses around the world

Doll’s House 1800

Miss Pinney’s House

Tate Baby House

Devonshire Villas

The Drew House

Miss Miles’ House

Mrs. Bryant’s Pleasure

Dolls’ house, England, 1890-1910

May Fosters’s House

The Henriques House

Queen Mary’s Rooms

The Denton Welch dolls’ house

The Elkin House

Dutch cabinet kitchen

Mr. Warne’s House 1930

Queen Mary’s dolls’ house – 1887

Mrs. Neave’s dolls’ house – 1840

The Miniature White House

Miniature rooms – Stuttgard – 1890

Henry Kupjack’s Miniature Rooms

Musée Miniature et Cinéma Lyon

Jim Ronan Sévellec

Miniatures Museum of Taiwan

Lo studio del medico

Doctor’s surgery

The Stettheimer Dollhouse

Helena Rubinstein’s Miniature Rooms

Click here to reach Ileana Ottini’s website. I am sure you will find it a valuable resource.

Susan Downing, with Patrick Owens

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I invite you to visit my Etsy Shop where I offer many accessories and pieces of furniture in 1:12 scale.

 

Posted by Susan Downing

Categories: recycled


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Posted on 12 August, 2019

regency-chinoiserie-sweetington-hand

Tim Sidford (Sweetington) commented about this Recency Chinese room box, “To be honest I’ve outgrown the place.”

Regency Era 1811 – 1820

For miniature enthusiasts, the Regency Era in the United Kingdom was brief, only nine years. King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent. On the death of his father in 1820, the Prince Regent became George IV.

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Posted by Susan Downing

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Posted on 09 August, 2019

 humpty-dumpty-maison-garfield-victorian-dollhouse

Dominique’s Maison Garfield on the Humpty Dumpty House website

Humpty Dumpty House – Harry Potter Dragons

The Humpty Dumpty House is a delightful site owned by the French miniaturist Dominique. Her skill in creating miniature items – I especially like her shoes – is amazing. Dominique’s taste in dollhouses goes from the traditional, the Victorian Maison Garfield to the bizarre Voodoo Boat, with the Harry Potter Azimuth Dragons in between. The machine translation from French to English may be a bit clunky. The photography is not. And be sure to check out Dominique’s Tips and Miniatures.

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Posted by Patrick Owens

Categories: recycled


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