Noted: The Dollhouse Challenge

Decorating a doll house would probably be twice as fun as decorating a normal house.

I love doing miniature things. If I have time, I'll surely join!

Oh boy! My 2 yr old daughter and I are huge Blythe girls ( well, not actually giant plastic dolls, but you get the idea! LOL ) so just knowing that there are other people out there who obsess about these things as well is reassuring. ;0)

This is great! I love making miniatures and have been doing something similar for the past few months. www.lifeinabelljar.wordpress.com

How wonderful to have some attention paid to the delightful world of miniatures.

Oh I love this idea and I'm sure that this could be a very fun hobby and yes Etsy is a great place to find mini items...let the hunt begin!

sweet!

Finally! I can rearrange to my hearts content without wreaking havoc on my back! ;)

Love it! I love miniatures ^__^

Awesome! Miniatures rock ;)

My bear world is all about miniature life more and more and I am falling in love with it!

Gosh...you know I should join this challenge because I have a 1940s Art Deco pink and green dollhouse. It's been waiting to be decorated for a few years now. I just recently thought it would be fun to make furnishings out of roving. Certainly, no one can foreclose on this house. It's all mine! Hah ha! Mortgage paid in full!

There's just something magical about miniatures...

I love the mini taco's.

i love it :)

I've always loved miniatures! These are fantastic. I used to make my own dollhouse furniture and accessories when I was little out of pretty much anything I could find. And it clearly still informs my work. The Eames furniture is so amazing.

Oh my gosh... this is AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing!

Adorable mini tacos!

I remember that when I was a child, a real dollhouse was to expensive for my parents to buy it for me. So, with my cousin, we were arranging empty shelfs and cupboards :) any thing could be useful: round packets from butter became tables and that of matches, properly combined, were great dressers :)

yay for miniature goodness!! :) i remember wanting a doll house as a kid. never had one... so i would just spend my time with drafting out versions of my ideal house on paper. probably why i ended up studying architecture! hehe

I LOVE everything miniature, almost all of my paintings are tiny too:)

I also love miniatures! I've always been mesmerized with dollhouses and all the decor in the tiny rooms.

Oh my word - I've had a bizarre obsession with tiny versions of things for years, especially teeny tiny food. This made me do a little *squee!* with delight!

dollhouse detail.... so tiny and creative! LOVE to see it.

Yes! I love miniatures! This sounds like so much fun :)

I had an A frame dollhouse when I was little. I constructed it from a kit.

I'm right there with you, Alison! I follow the MIDS (Miniatures In Dollhouse Scale) team on CBR. The work they do is amazing - sometimes it looks so realistic that you don't "get" the miniature part until the last picture where they put a coin or ruler!

Oh this is so cute! I am in love with vintage doll house furniture and can not wait for my daughter to get into it!

What adorable little furnitures! Amazing :D

I still love doll houses!

They look as if they could be real life size objects. I wish i was a doll... :(

LOVE it! My 4 year old and I love to re-arrange the dollhouse and make wee furniture! ( So glad this is still " trendy" in the midst of all the other toys we are bombarded with these days!)

Great post....bring me back to my doll house days!

I'm in! I used to make mineatures professionally and one favorite was getting my grandfather to help build a replica of our family's homestead house 4 generations ago. I just finished a set of cupboards and foods for a little cousin... I still love making minis as gifts. I'll be blogging ideas, how-tos and progress at www.evenhoward.wordpress.com

That sounds exciting!

kawaii ;-)

So adorable! We have a 4 story vintage Lundby house that I don't "play" with nearly enough.

I love peaking into dollhouses, there's just so much intricacy and teeny tiny detail! Fascinating!

My daughters grandfather use to work at the Eames office. He created a dollhouse for my daughter that took him seven years to make complete with a cast toilet. its a work of art. Dollhouses are definitely a way to express ones creativity.

This is great! I've been researching dollhouses and small scale models for an upcoming art project. This is all very inspiring!

My sock dolls have a small "room" in my house. Does that count? haha... They have a mini bench, too! and No I'm not crazy, yet. haha...

I enjoy making mini food, probably because I cannot cook.

Wonderful post...and no heavy lifting.

Wow! i have a such a love for miniatues. I have a bag full of littel wooden dallhouse cupboards but I'm never sure what to do with them. thanks. that helped.

Wonderful blog! Brings back childhood memories, playing with my dollhouse!

I love minis!

I would love to decorate and build a doll house with miniature everything, including lights :D

pretty darn cute!

This is so excellent!... I've been eternally obsessed with creating my own miniature worlds, ever since I've had my own space, and apartment to do it in. From tiny configurations of watch part structures, dollhouse lightbulbs, and tin type stand ins, to terrarium mini jungles for tiny cowboys. .....My most recent jewelry shoot at www.hereintheshadows.com, includes lots of teeny doll worlds. Take a look if you have a moment! :)

This is soooo cool! I wish my old dollhouse wasn't buried in my mom attic back in France because I remember it was pretty well decorated will all sorts of cool vintage mini furniture and things... I also wish I could participate but I don't I will have time. thanks for sharing this though because it brought back so many great memories! Among all of them there is this memory I have of going to this amazing doll house miniature accessory store in Paris called Pain D'Epice.... such an enchanting place, the kind of place that shapes you way of seeing things for life!

The doll house I played with as a child was a mini replica of the house I grew up in. As my parents changed the wall paper in the hall or the carpet in the bedroom, they would give me a small scrap to update my own little home. Now I am dreaming of building and decorating my own mini log cabin, complete with solar powered electricity.

I never liked real doll houses as a child, however we built tree forts in real trees, boats to float down the drainage ditch, & my favorite snow igloos water balloon "dolls" that slid down slides from one room to the other. :-) That's a good memory. & this looks like fun. scout xo

In my previous life, I constructed an autopsy room out of Playmobiles and polymer clay. Sherlock Holmes watched with his magnifying glass and the executioner had passed out in the corner of the balcony (couldn't stand the sight of blood). I've been collecting items for my "consultation room". Fabulous mini chairs by all the famous designers - it's going to turn into a lounge if I don't limit it! Or maybe we should turn this store into a fancy furniture showroom of full sized and miniature seating? I think you-all inspire me. Kay

Wingdoodle. You are awesome.

Now legos , plastic houses etc Wooden is always better :)

sounds fun! :)

That is awesome!

cuuuuuuuuuute! <3!

Not my thing, but I'll be interested to see other people's creations. From the comments, sounds like there's a fair few people who plan to get seriously creative here.

I built a dollhouse with my oldest daughter 15 years ago, and a brick house with my younger three children last year. We have a dollhouse kit that's aching to be assembled on the shelf right now. I don't know if that's the same as this marvelous creative challenge, but I know how addictive dollhouses can be.

I admire anyone who can do this kind of stuff. It takes so much patience and concentration.

How fun! I remember crudely constructing and assembling dolls and furniture for my dollhouse when I was a child. Memories...Thanks for sharing.:)

Whoohoo! Go miniaturists!

I knew there was a reason I loved Emily Henderson!

A love of miniatures is in my genes. My grandfather made 1:12 rooms. One was a hunting lodge with fishing poles, snowshoes, shotgun shells, etc. He even made a stone fireplace and had a fire in it before putting it in the room.

I can''t wait to get started! FInally a good excuse to play in the world of miniature...

Just adorable!

Pretty cool!

You do realize that I have an Etsy shop too? You used my image but didn't link to my Etsy shop...

And the listing is even here http://www.etsy.com/listing/65839088/miniature-meal-tray-viva-mexico-112 Just saying.

funny I just got a doll house! blessings

I have always been amazed by doll houses and all of the mini things that go into them.

I wish that I had the time to join this challenge. Your childhood sounds similar to mine ... Although I was never interested in interior design. I simply loved dollhouses, miniatures, and, oddly, also loved building forts in the woods from whatever I could find.

My sister and I always had a dollhouse growing up, my mom made the house for us from a small shelving unit. Each shelf was floor in the house and divided into rooms. We loved combining store bought pieces with minis we created from things around the house.

I like it!

Take your mini tacos and step away from the white Eames chair - are you crazy?!! Just kidding - fun stuff. Very creative.

I would have absolutely loved playing with something like this as a little girl. I always loved creating makeshift furniture and houses for my dolls and barbies. Your designs are so intricate and unique!

I love my dollhouse-been a work in progress.So fun spotting something usable in a second hand store!

How unique. My grandmother is an avid dollhouse maker. I keep telling her to sell her houses on Etsy, but she likes to keep them for herself. Thanks for sharing - I enjoyed reading this! :)

So fun! Can't wait to see what everyone creates!

Very cute and adorable!

I loved my dollhouse as a little girl. I am saving it for my daughter (2 yrs). It was so fun to find thing to put in the house. Once my friend and I had a little tiny phone book - it had names and numbers even. Too bad we lost it!

I think this would be very fun to try if I had the time in my convention schedule.

Awww. I use to love my little doll house when I was a child....

I've loved little things all my life! And still DO! Who KNEW that someday I'd be making miniature pottery for a living!? And for going on 25 years now!

I can't wait to get started. FInally justification for building the doll house kit I have had for years!

Reminds me of my childhood - looooved my dollhouse!

I thought you were going to bring up the playhouse your dad was going to build for you.................ha! Your elusive playhouse is my yellow convertible. Promises never kept.

AWWWWWWWW THE CUTEST ITEMS ANY LITTLE GIRL WOULD LOVEEEEEEE TO HAVE!!!!! YOU'RE VERY ARTISTIC!!

This is totally cool! I've been a HUGE fan of miniatures since I was miniature :) If finances permit, I will be in on this. Can't visit L.A. (not sure if I want to go back there again!), but at least participating and showing pic's would be fun.

I love dollhouses and miniature things. I had a great dollhouse I decorated and made things for growing up, your article makes me want to do it again.

I wish I had this as a child!!!! :)

I'm currently restoring my childhood dollhouse, and the first thing I bought was the Eames Lounge chair! How funny is that?

These always remind me of our local dollhouse store. They had the most wonderful stockpile of miniatures that spanned two stories! It was so fun to go in there as a kid.

I LOVE miniature things--hence why I do these Mini Pet Portraits on 3" x 3" mini canvas' with mini easels. Who doesn't like miniature--so cute! "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."--Rumi

That's gotta be the coolest dollhouse I've ever seen!

Just adorable! I love miniatures!!!

Miniatures are really fun, particularly when they are made so beautifully!

I would love for dollhouses to come back into popularity. My mom is a huge fan, I'm sending her this!

Very cute, I love the minature doll house, nicely done!

Love it! Especially the mini food, looks so real! very talented!

sweet!I love minis!

awesome, I think I may have to participate in this challenge

Sounds like a cute project, you could build a miniature version of your own house and try restyling it!

fun post! tiny things are cute.

this is right up my alley!

Great idea and such fun! Something I never did, but I have a good reason, because once you start there is a point of no return, and I have so many other hobbies and creative things on the go, that I had to let this one go! :(

Love the mini house! well done!

So cute! Eames chairs I love you.... size doesn't matter!

My dollhouse is nearly 30 years old. It houses all my miniature wicker furniture which I have created over the years. It is a miniature home where time stands still on my favorite holidays and when I open the doors there is a story going on inside. There are lots of memories of grandparents, important certificates of birth and weddings and family photographs that I made miniature. It is my memory box. My dollhouse is a big part of my life that I share with my family and friends from all over the world.

I just posted a Night Before Christmas living room complete with tree and dog. Maybe this will get you started on your own doll house! \o/

You are so freaking adorable! I love your descriptions they make me laugh!

When I was about eight, my father and I built a dollhouse from a kit, and then my mother and I decorated it. It was so much fun, and I still like to rearrange the furniture and admire the creative things we came up with whenever I visit my parents. A few years ago, my father started making miniature buildings out of "found objects," which means things rescued from the recycling bin. He uses the cold winter months to build things often reflective of our times. First he built a great house; the next year it had a foreclosure sign out front. He built a tavern, which has since been peppered with tiny labor union paraphernalia. His most recent creation is an "urban homestead," which looks a lot like my house, with a huge garden next to it. I can't wait to see what he comes up with this year!

Tiny perfect ( or imperfect ) worlds where imagination reigns, and reality and practicality generally have no bearing. I too have made a career out of my childhood obsession, and I never dread going to "work". Michigan's economy makes it a tough go, but ETSY has been an amazing resource! Thank you for spotlighting our beloved hobby.

Now that I sell doll things here on Etsy, I can call this a job- really, I'm not just playing with dolls anymore! This is real grown-up stuff, right? At least, that's the explanation I give the non-believers. In fact, one of the things I like most about Etsy is finding other grown-ups to play with. In reading these comments, I've noticed how many of us love doll houses for the same reasons. I dream about interior decorating at night, and wake up eager to do over my house in Japanese style, or redecorate the third-floor ballroom. Then I wake completely up and remember I don't have a ballroom, or a third floor. I certainly can't afford new furniture every time the mood strikes me. Barbie, on the other hand, can. I'm building a new floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in my living room right now (or at least, trying to...if it doesn't collapse...) and I chose 16-inch wide lumber so the shelves would be deep enough to double as sixth-scale rooms. Barbie's living quarters will soon be limited only by how many books I'm willing to leave piled on the floor. The other advantage of living in a one-sixth world is that it makes time-travel easy (not like that time machine I tried to build in junior-high science class- pesky thing kept breaking down). Antebellum southern mansions and art-deco villas and mid-century ranch houses are all equally attainable. And just as we lived our dreams through our dolls when we were little (Barbie could be an astronaut, even if I couldn't; but I equipped another doll as a rescue technician and followed her into a great career), now our dolls can achieve our bigger dreams. I may spend Saturday night conversing with the cat, but Barbie is snug in the strong arms of GI Joe. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the "dollhouse challenge" participants come up with. The level of realism some folks can reach has always inspired me and pushed me to make my things a little better.

The tiny tacos are absolutely awesome!

When I was little, my grandfather began building dollhouses for all five of his granddaughters. He bought kits to make matching pieces of dollhouse furniture and so many supplies to make our houses beautiful. By the time I was about 5, his emphysema from a lifetime of smoking had slowed him down so much that he didn't have the strength to work on them, and all of the dollhouses sat unfinished in the middle bedroom of my grandparents house. When I was 11, I decided to pick up my dollhouse and finish it. I wallpapered the rooms, layed the flooring, shingled the roof, painted the house and placed the furniture my Pop had made in the rooms. When I showed him the finished house, I could tell how proud he was. He passed away about a year later, and that dollhouse is still and always will be the greatest craft project I've ever created.

'

I loved my dollhouse I had when I was young (so many years ago) and you've brought back some wonderful memories I've forgotten. Thank you

In the 70's I made tiny little fruits and veggies for a company that sold the for dollhouses. I made several little fruit and veggie stands to hold them. I had not thought about that in years until I saw this. Thanks for the memories!!!

When I was a young girl in California we went to Knotts Berry Farm and would pay 50 cents to get into Mott's Miniature's Museum where we would spend hours before they kicked my sister and I out.The Miniature Museum is no longer there,but I have been miniaturizing since.I love the art of dollhouse making!

Hi, Love your introduction to the dollhouse challenge. I collect German dollhouse furniture too. I'm envious of the bedroom set. Check out the progress on my entry at www.midcenturymodernmix.com. Good Luck, I'll stop by again later, Karen

WOW what a wonderful idea! ....lol.. but let me quote from the blog.. and then laugh along with me please....t"he big reveal of the finished house is December 15th." now i mean no offence.. but.. i live and breath LITTLES and there is no way a dollhouse is EVER FINISHED.. this project and blog could go on forever!! what a challange i will sure be watching with interest and yes i cant wait to see all the beautiful new LITTLE homes! I love all styles and hope the range is just as wonderful a are all of the work I have seen so far. LITTLE BLESSINGS TO ALL .. Katie

I joined the dollhouse challenge too. I wanted to warn anyone just getting into miniatures avoid Motts Miniatures (minishop). I just made a purchase and asked about what balusters were made to fit what railings. They gave the rudest response that I have ever had. They actually responded that they were not my 'design consultants.' I then went to the BBB and they have 17 complaints, and 1 more soon with mine. They also raise the prices without notifying the customer. It's insane. I just thought I'd pass on the information. I know that the miniature community knows about this company but for us just joining the challenge, beware.

i love these doll houses. They are really amazingly detailed!

How wonderful - love the miniatures!