A cozy place-updated

I was so enchanted with this cozy "room" inside the computer tower set out below, I tried my hand.








(http://dornob.com/doll-scale-pc-decor-super-small-space-living-room-design/)

I recently bought a 1962 radio on eBAy that was selling for parts only:






So, I created a reading nook between the vacuum tubes and wires:








(Chair is vintage Lundby, books made by me, reader is a Figma Anime figure)

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Honey, I shrunk the room!

"My Mini Mod" challenged us to recreate a room in miniature; here is my response to the challenge.

First, my inspiration room:




And, here is my interpretation of the inspiration room reduced (shrunk) to a scale of 3/4 inch equals one foot.




Unfortunately, the sofa photographs as more red than purple. I substituted flowers for the steel bowl, and there is an ice bucket with champagne on the coffee table.




Here is what the coffee table started life as,




The beautiful painting over the sofa is an original, done in acrylics, by my mother, Eileen. Here is a close-up,




I have finally convinced her to have a show with both her large and mini paintings. She is a professional painter, born in London, evacuated during the war, and transplanted in the 50s when she married my Dad (she's too young to be a war bride, they met at the wedding of her cousin from London, and my Dad's cousin from Leeds).
We had some other problems with the photo shoot. First, my associate could not figure out what was on the table. I tried to talk him out of it, but, here are his interpretations.








We then had a problem with our resident zebra. We told him it was just paper on the floor, but he had to check for himself.




At the end of the shoot, all of the extras demanded "in" on the shoot.




(Sofa is Lundby, rug is an Internet printable, lamp is composed of bamboo skewers, and a painted, eBay- find lamp shade, painting by Eileen, table from the dollar store, animals are house guests that arrived in various Toobs.)
Thanks for reading my blog!
Wishing you only good things, Neen

More rooms to shrink. (I have three posts today, so please scroll down)

Here are some more potential rooms for shrinking in response to "My Mini Mod Pod's" challenge.

A peaceful room in which to think and read, or just stare at the fire (I think a painted, plastic sauce bottle with a tea light insert would work for the fireplace) (ever hear an interior designer say that?)




I love the simple elegance of these rooms (and I happen to own a miniature Barcelona Bench).







Notice that the sofas in this photo seem to have a wave-like quality; and who would believe that a wall mural of rocks could be so beautiful and dramatic? Recreating this room in miniature would be quite an exciting challenge.




Here's another room with a beautiful picture of rocks! Hmm, this picture, since it has water, may go better with the wave-like sofas. The lights, together with the rock picture, bring the room to life.


The use of navy and red in this room is very appealing (and the lights could be made with fimo or plastic pens, cut down and painted).



This room appears in the 1956 Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. The use of color blocks is very much like the work of Piet Mondrian, a Dutch painter who was part of the DeStijl movement.




Here is one of Mondrian's paintings:




I think that a sleek bar, with interesting stools, adds elegance to a kitchen, and, if done well, can transform a dollhouse from a toy to a well-designed miniature house:













Although I am not a big fan of purple, the use of light, art, the zebra coffee table and rug, and the Mid-Century Modern lamp, makes this room interesting, warm and inviting.




On Friday, I will show you which room I "shrunk."

Thank you for reading my blog! There are two more, new, posts below.

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Speaking of elegant houses

Have you visited modernminihouses.blogspot.com? Created by Mini Dork (she's not), it is a go-to blog for all things modern and miniature, and it displays Mini Dork's Fashion House, winner of a First-Time Entrant Award in HBS's 2011 contest.







What is it about this house that is so exciting? It is elegant, without any cliche. It is modern, as modern should be, i.e., cutting edge with no apologies (take a look at the acrylic stairs), and it is daring. I am an architecture and interior design amateur-nerd (but you knew I was a nerd, didn't you?) I have to know the history. Elsie De Wolfe rocked Victorian NY with her uncluttered, cutting edge interiors (more about her later), Art Deco stunned the design world in the 20s and 30s, and Mid-century Modern gave Post-War America hope. We don't see this from our 21st century perspective. Mini-modernists like Mini Dork show us that it is still possible to push the boundaries of design, even when creating in miniature.

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Pod chairs and egg houses

Yesterday, Casey (creator of the award-winning, and extraordinary blog, http://caseymini.blogspot.com/) reminded me of the incredible pod chair she created (woven by hand, cushions all hand-made) (I am constantly amazed at her talent, I have learned so much from her blog). Here it is, with Tessie making sure we notice the Beatles pillows:



Coincidently, last night, I saw this wicker egg house on Dornob.com







To learn more about this "egg" residence, go to http://dornob.com/1000-egg-house-on-wheels-for-a-working-urban-architect/. (Although, I appreciate low-cost, portable housing, I think the egg house would work better indoors or in a backyard, and I still like Casey's pod chair better.)

TERRARIUM

Casey also suggested that a terrarium could be used to recreate one of the bubble houses I talked about in my last blog. Yep, they do work! Here's what I found at http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/hanging-glass-terrariums-bubbl-127596




Can you imagine little people, with little furniture, along with the greenery, in these glass bubbles?

POD HOUSES

Speaking of pod chairs and egg houses, I am reminded of the Pod (or Mushroom) House that was built in Rochester, NY, for Robert and Marguerite Antell in the 1960s. Rochester is my hometown, and I was fortunate to spend a little time with this lovely couple when I was 17. Here is the Pod House:










Wishing you only good things, Neen

The incredible shrinking room

My Mini Mod Pod set out a challenge "to take a picture from your favorite catalog, magazine or even online pic and replicate it in miniature." Inspired by that challenge, and deciding that I was going to finally learn to post photos on this blog, I have narrowed my "inspiration rooms" to the following pictures.
Bubbles of Luxury.

It stands to reason that, if a person loves miniature houses, that person will also love portable, real, little houses, and I am that person, I mean, I am one of those persons. The full story on the Bubbles of Luxury set out below, can be found at Dornob.com, which has a section devoted to portable architecture.












Clearly, privacy would be an issue if these bubbles were inflated in an urban area, but they would be great for camping in a remote area, like on the empty beach above. How do I recreate these bubble-rooms in miniature? Possibly by reducing the scale considerably and using CB2's "Whirly Hanging Tealight" ornament.




Eggs-actly

Dornob.com also published an article on the following egg-like mini rooms that can be used for min-libraries or mini-offices and the like in larger spaces. I love the concept and would love to try and create one in miniature.








Mid-Century Modern
Mid-Century Modern architecture and interior decorating began in the 1930s and ended in the late 1960s. I am inspired by its clean lines, bold colors and patterns, and arrogant styling (arrogant only because it was pushing the envelope). Here are a few of my MCM inspiration rooms.




(Photos from Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, 1956)
There are a few more rooms that inspire me and which I may recreate in miniature. I will post those later in the week. Thank you for following this blog. Even if there is nobody out there listening to my rambles, I enjoy putting my thoughts on paper.
Neen

Dwell's LEGO® Modern Home Design Competition

I admit it, I am overwhelmed by Dwell's LEGO® Modern Home Design Competition. Why am I overwhelmed? Because the entries are INCREDIBLE and Dwell wants the "design community," i.e., me (because I love design) and you (since you care enough design to read this blog) to vote for the best entry by April 15, 2012. Go ahead, check it out at http://new.dwell.com/contests/lego-modern-home-design-competition/submissions/vote. I do not know which entry is the best . . . yet. Which one do you think is the best?