CB2 Holiday House May Deserve A 2nd Look

Image source: www.cb2.com

The copy writers over at CB2.com describe their latest offering in the category of archeitectual models, object d'art or as we loving refer to it---doll house in the following manner:

"Open-air urban dwelling is the master plan of artist/architect Ben Holiday. A replica of the original model he blueprinted and built as an architecture student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, multilevel structure takes up residence in natural plywood with asymmetric proportions on façade that create hierarchy top floor to ground level. Fluid floor plan invites outdoor living with louvered entry and slatted sun deck. Open in back to mini-furnish."

This Holiday House was unveiled last fall in time for the holiday season to mixed reviews. Everyone agreed on the beauty of the design, but unlike its predecessor in this category, The Neville House, the execution of the construction was poor with visible glue seepage. When I visited my local store to see the house for myself, I found all the models on display to be plagued with this problem. Flash forward to now, summer is getting underway and there's a sale over at cb2.com with flat-rate shipping at $4.95. For all that's been reported on the quality of the beautifully designed Holiday House at $19.95 (regularly $49.95) it may be just the right price prompting you to add this beautiful design to your collection. With overall dimensions of 5"Wx7.5"Dx9"H, it is quite diminutive but it appears to work with 1:24 scale furnishings. I took the plunge and made the purchase. At the very least it looks beautiful unfurnished gracing above eye-level shelf space in my book case. Tell me, will you be adding this little model to your collections as well?













































































Note: I've made the transition so be sure to Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Zen Retreat in Miniature

a Zen Retreat

You know how each Daily Show with Jon Stewart ends with the your moment of Zen segment? Well, here's my version. Green, organic and serene are all adjectives I'm hoping come to your mind as I take another opportunity to feature those gorgeous African stools I recently purchased. Namaste!

Details: Nothing new here...ReacJapan, Dolls House Emporium, Kaleidoscope House, TheShadeStore.com, PRDminiatures, Minimodernas, and cb2. The crochet blanket was gift from a friend.

Tour: Princess' Playhouse

I continue to play with this Videolicious app to make (extremely) short videos. I apologize for some of the unsteady clips in this my first dollhouse tour.  I've included a brief fact sheet on the playhouse owner. Her name is Princess P.

• Age: 14
• Religion: non-denominational Christian w/ heavy Buddhist influences
• Hometown: Hilton Head, SC (people besides tourist actually do live there)
• Favorite subject(s): Math, Art
• Favorite sport: Basketball, she's starting point guard for her school JV team
• Hobbies, interests and preoccupations: the 80's (because that's when video games were born), model building, 60's POP Art, anime, motorcycles & scooters, surfing & skateboarding, the color green, flavored lip gloss, Drake and Justin Beiber, silly bands, Boathouse smoothies, Settlers of Catan, legos (the architect sets) 
• Dislikes: intolerance, people with a large carbon footprint, cold weather, brussel sprouts
• Future Aspirations: move to San Francisco & become an animation expert and video game designer; loose her Southern drawl and speak fluent Japanese by age 18; a green planet and world peace

Dylan Has A Sister

Image: Courtesy of www.brincadada.com

If you haven't yet discovered this, you may be thrilled to know that the brinca dada design team of Tim Boyle and Doug Rollins has created a hot warm version of it's premier creation, the Dylan House. Her name is Zoe. The house features the same minimal design with maximal open spaces as its predecessor. Many of you know the original house was designed with a neutral, cool color palette of greens, greys and blues. The Zoe House as been re-interpreted with a new color palette ranging from soft-pink to fuchsia.  Pink is not for everyone but I think the house has a wow-factor. If you do like pink and haven't yet added this house to your collection, this just might be the time to do so.  The Zoe House is currently discounted $20.00 USD off its retail price and shipping is free.

Note: I have not received any compensation for this post. I purchased the Dylan House last year with 

my own money.

In the Aftermath of Sandy...

A week ago today, a storm of historic proportions swept over the eastern seaboard of the United States. It's name was Superstorm Sandy.  It was a hurricane, nor'easter and post-tropical cyclone all coalesced into a single monster of nature's power. (And proof that the effects of climate change are upon us.) The effects were felt from Virginia to Connecticut and west to Ohio and West Virginia by the time the harsh winds, storm surge, rain and snow passed. Fortunately, the impact of the storm was relatively minor in my "neck of the woods." My heart goes out to all those members of our little community who were more seriously affected. In the aftermath of the storm, it has become clear that the clean-up will be a long, arduous process. For anyone who would like to help, the Red Cross has details on exactly what you might do.

Getting Ready for All Hallows' Eve

Played the characters:
Cole & The Source

The Book of Shadows

Accepting Mini Mod Pod's challenge, I pulled together this scene for Halloween.  Looking at it now, it's hard to believe I began with the idea of creating a haunted house but that quickly turned into a room decorated for a Halloween party which finally morphed into...the witches lair. Think good witch as in the television show, Charmed. One may perhaps seek the counsel or protection of a witch just like a palm reader or fortune teller.  But it's not a place that's just easily accessible off of the main street. After all, a witch needs privacy to create potions, cast protection spells, or hold The Source (of all evil) imprisoned in crystals---that's a third Charmed reference in case you missed it. 

When not casting spells and such, the witch takes a load off by
 reclining on the daybed writing in her journal, My Life As A Cat.

This little set up is a private party for the witch and some of her most beloved clients on All Hallows Eve.  There's a chair and a place to recline in the lair.  The real workspace has been cleared of pots, potion bottles, and the Book of Shadows and replaced with party treats...champagne in midnight colored flutes and serving trays full of sashimi and sushi (okay, that's the only tiny food I have.) And for dessert, tiny cakes decorated to look like rolling dice.

Approaching back deck from the right side.

Take a closer look inside.

Guests enter through the door on the left.

Details: Chair, ReacJapan; orange storage tower, Rement; table, orange tray and round platform, The Container Store; food, (magnets) Urban Outfitter; black bird (a wineglass charm) and dice, Morgan Imports; champagne flutes, The Dollar Store; disco ball and picture frame, swap with margaret_loves; dress with hat, The Enchanted Pumpkin--an Etsy store; rug, TheShadeStore.com; yellow book, orange vases and daybed with pillows, Kaleidoscope House accessories; wooden sign, bowl and black barrels, AC Moore; remaining accessories from Dolls House Emporium or eBay; "leather" daybed cover, pumpkins and leaves made by me.

See more Halloween Scenes at Jazzi Minis and MinisBHappenin.

Retro Lake House Tour Concludes

Back in tha' day: when visiting my grandmother's house as a little girl, my mom
and aunts bathed the youngest children (including me) in a washtub like this one.

Let it rain...

The Retro Lake House tour concludes with the most private space, the outdoor shower and bathing area.  Ironic no? bathing outdoors. Hope you enjoyed the walk-through as much as I enjoyed creating this space.  Thanks so much for all of your kind and enthusiastic comments on the other lake house/I'm a Giant posts.  The feedback was so encouraging.

Details: rain shower head and faucet by ELF miniatures; metal tub and mirror from local craft store; mirror frame is metal lid of seamless tin from The Container Store; screen and towel holder are Rement.

Retro Lake House Tour Continues

The main space of the house is for eating, lounging, reading, sleeping, TV watching and more.  The sheep skin rug and floor cushions make it comfortable for sitting around the coffee table or looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows to gaze at the lake. How tranquil is that? We aren't totally cut off while here at the lake, there's a phone and the antique TV.  There's loads of natural light inside during the day, but a paper lantern style pendant gives enough light when the sun sets. Let's take a closer look...

The television is on. (Oh no! nothing but static.)

Corner Kitchen: a bar size refrigerator sits atop
 a cabinet holding kitchen supplies.

The wood burning fireplace doubles as the kitchen oven 
except on the days when we grill over the fire pit outside.

Details:  wood sculpture is PRD miniatures; red cabinet is Mighty World; coffee cups, overhead light, refrigerator and telephone are Rement; wall mirror, coffee table components and bowl are craft supplies from Michael's; white rug, pitcher and red books are Dolls House Emporium; TV is keychain charm made by Kikkerland; yellow book, vases, bed and floor cushions are Kaleidoscope House; neck rolls are handmade by me.

Welcome to the Retro Lake House

Welcome to my Retro Lake House.  The first room we'll be touring is outdoors. (The outdoor space is as important as the indoor space with this structure and I really love that). We southerners love sitting on the front porch, even when there is no porch. The Rietveld chair is the perfect perch for people watching and enjoying an evening fire. The address is Lakeview Way because we're right on the lake. Looking over at the zen garden is so peaceful. It has been modified. In addition to pebbles, we've placed a large round sculpture in yellow, of course.  Everything rests upon gravel rather than sand (simply because it doesn't make a mess).   

Come a little closer. A glance through the door reveals a cozy daybed and two generous floor cushions. A mirror topped coffee table holds a collection of seashells.  Beside the sofa, a crate of books sits in front of the very old black and white TV. (It's a real antique but don't laugh sometimes you need the news, right?) Well, that's all for now. Sorry, only the family dog is home.  We're out on the lake. Gone fishin.' 


Details: chair, ReacJapan; yellow sculpture is a miniature letter 'o' from Barnes & Noble; miniature zen garden kit also from Barnes & Noble; firepit is a condiment bowl from Ikea with four mighty magnets from The Container Store; sign, coffee table components and bowl are craft supplies from Michael's; white rug and red books are Dolls House Emporium; TV is keychain charm made by Kikkerland; yellow book, vase, bed and floor cushions are Kaleidoscope house; neck rolls are handmade by me.

Color - Schemes & Backstory

Transforming the Neville House into the Retro Lake House involved a serious design decision. In the last post, I shared materials I had purchased for this project.  Ultimately, I left the wood surfaces unfinished.  The structure itself prevented good access that would allow me to do a top rate job covering or painting the interiors.  Without a second house, I didn't want any decor to be irreversible. Besides, the wood is just too fabulous!  I may give it a clear wax coat down the line, but for now the wood shall remain naked unfinished.  With that decided, here's how the rest of the design emerged.

The yellow fireplace got me thinking about a color scheme. Since its style is straight out of the 1970's maybe just go with it. I then looked for materials that were from or felt like they were from that decade. I went all out with the yellow and grey and came up with an inspiration board. It felt more modern than yellow and black.  

But, as I began selecting furniture to work in this small space, a new co-star and complement to the groovy fireplace emerged.

So it was in with the Rietveld chair and out with the grey. New color scheme? Why, all the colors of the chair, of course.


Every mini home becomes easier to design and outfit with a backstory, right? The wall of windows screamed, "setting with a wonderful view".  To me, wonderful view is almost always synonymous with a body of water.  But this Asian-influenced design didn't strike me as a beach property.  Then, it came to me...a lake.  A vacation property, a weekend home...but just how luxurious or stark would it be? I came up with this mood...

I'm A Giant Wannabe

Emily Henderson's Famous Dollhouse Challenge

I know, I know the audacity of me to launch into this series of posts and associate them with the famous and now defunct apparently ended dollhouse challenge.  But alas, this is a true story and maybe Mini Dork wouldn't mind adding this wannabe me to her Giant Roll Call. *wink, wink* There appear to be no prizes at stake, so friends give me some latitude, okay? *Wry grin from ear to ear.* 


With the launch of the I'm A Giant Dollhouse Challenge last fall (I didn't stumble on it until mid-October), I was motivated to finally remove my Neville House from its box.  It had been sitting in my craft room for months, waiting for me to clear away a space to set it up and give it some design attention.  At that point, I had not done anything with my dollhouse miniatures for some time because play-scale dioramas had been getting all of my attention. 

my first adult dollhouse purchase, the Neville House from CB2

Never-the-less, I got all sorts of ideas, thinking the challenge was just what I needed. But I still wasn't committed to blogging about this hobby of mine...maybe I'd document the updates on Flickr.  I was so moved, I hopped online to Miniatures.com and purchased some materials...flagstone flooring paper, tin roofing material, and wood wall paneling.

Perhaps, the Neville House should really be tricked out!?   But alas, the more I cruised the other participant's websites to enjoy their updates, the more intimidated I became.  People were doing scratch-builds and working with large multi-room homes. My house was just a shack okay a well designed studio, but one room nonetheless.  Then, I check out my regular blogger hangouts only to find over-the-top creativity in the form of unconventional structures.  Dazzling! So my inertia won out, partially. I just decided to continue being a stalker.  However, I did follow through with creating what I think is a nice design for this beautiful architect's model dollhouse. Allow me to share just how the Neville became the Retro Lake House. More to come... 

Those Who Live in Glass Houses...

(17 3/4"W x 13 3/4"H x 8 3/4"D) Image Source: Ikea.com

I just thought I'd share another product with you. If you're in the market for a greenhouse glass house, this one is perfect for your miniatures!  And, of course the price is right ($19.99).  There is one drawback however, you cannot purchase this item online.  It is only available at the Ikea stores.  It you already have this little gem and have repurposed it, please let me know how it all turned out.

Modern Rustic

I purchased two new miniature items and was excited to feature them in a scene.  I nabbed this awesome wood sculpture from PRD Miniatures during his holiday sale shortly after Christmas.  I so love the texture and the line of this little art piece.  It is also helping to feed my current obsession with gnarly wood.  

Image Source: PRDMiniatures.com

The asian-style cabinet came from a store I discovered using the search function on Etsy.  My Small House features both miniature furniture and accessories, some country and some transitional but the asian cabinet stood out to me as the real star.  It is very well made with sliding doors and opening drawers.  The raw wood appears to be finished with some sort of flaming technique and the metal accents pull the piece together.  At a price of $12.50 and under $ 4.00 for shipping, this piece was a great buy.

As seen at Etsy.com

I set up this scene in the first floor of the Hampton Brownston (the tea house) which I've staged and re-staged many times over.  I pulled in my PRD Miniatures love seat because the calf hair upuolstery makes the piece a bit rustic like the asian cabinet.  The colors of the Prove chairs also worked well with the cabinet.  I needed a coffee table and I felt that the acrylic one (thanks margaret_loves) kept the space from appearing too cluttered.  Since the wall beside the chairs was bare, I added a console table and accessories in white to bring a little bit of light over to that corner of the room.

Details: chairs by Reac Japan; love seat, rug and sculpture by PRDMiniatures; console table, storage box (beneath table), white vase(s), flowers and books from Dolls House Emporium; TV charm on keychain by Fred & Friends; scrapbook paper, wood side table, metal box (on table), silver vase from craft supply store; lamp and orange vase from Kaleidoscope House; laptop and telephone by Rement; teapot and frames from eBay sellers; 'Love' sculpture from party supply store; stainless bowl from Ikea; blanket, disco ball, coffee table, and rhinoceroses 'sculputre' from swap with Margaret.  Time to set up: 1 hour because I kept interchanging accessories as the pictures reveal.


Update/correction: TV keychain is made by Kikkerland

The Power of a Portrait

The power of portraits comes from the fact that not only are they a good piece of photography or artwork in their own right,

Some interesting good portraits
in my home.

but when the subject of the portrait is known or an iconic figure, it can become a symbol or shorthand for all that individual represents.  The portrait itself becomes an icon.  (Andy Warhol certainly knew this.) I think that's why I enjoy using portraits in my miniature scenes and my personal space.

I reduced and printed photos of notable DC 
residentsand put them in painted metal frames.

When I was creating the tea house in the Hampton Brownstone (my first complete dollhouse project made in a piece of furniture from Ikea), I wanted to create the feel of a neighborhood spot that included all kinds of references to Washington, DC both past and present.  Beyond landmarks and places, I got the idea that there are also people faces that are just as iconic and synonymous with the Chocolate City Capital City as the monuments.  That's why I included a black and white photo of a famous mural of Duke Ellington and adding other accomplished Washingtonians like Addison Scurlock just served to enriched the entire setting.

Details:  shelf unit, dishes, tea pots and pitchers are all from Dolls House Emporium; metal tins from A Miniature Marvel; violin and green frame are magnets from a store in Durham, NC called Morgan Imports; ashtray is by Rement; 3-tiered server and metal frames are eBay finds; doll's hat and dress are by the Enchanted Pumpkin at Etsy.com

A creative space needs a big inspiration board, right?
Made from cork contact paper covering basswood slats.

The room just above the tea house, I set up as the studio (studio7).  It's a creative workspace, so of course it had to have an inspiration board.  This one is huge.  And just like the inspiration board in my own studio craft room, it's filled with portraits of interesting if not, dare I say it iconic people.  These portraits spill over into the display area as well.  So let's see, this portrait collection includes: Dorothy Dandridge, Romare Bearden, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and President Barak Obama.  What does that say about me those avatars (Shapphire and Amaya)? Haha!

Details: metal frames are scrapbook accessories by Making Memories found at the local craft store; metal tin is from A Miniature Marvel; low bookshelf from Dolls House Emporium; printer and fax machine are by Rement; cork contact paper and colored plastic box are from The Container Store; Jonathan Adler vases from Kaleidoscope House Accessory Set; doll's hats and dresses are by the Enchanted Pumpkin at Etsy.com