That Mattel Spell.

I think I did start this whole I House project to showcase my vintage wooden Mattel furniture. You know how when you aquire something you suddenly notice it is all around you?
 I first noticed this vintage wooden Mattel set on ebay and then noticed others had used them on flickr. I looked up "mattel furniture" in explore and found these! They gave their permission and I want to share these with you.

photo by beastiegirls

                Look at this wallpaper! I love the stripes.

picture by beastiegirls

 The color couldn't be better. The apricot color really works.

picture by beastiegirls
                                         She titled this "Kerouac Attack"

See her photostream on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/beastiegirlsinc/4366219737/


Then with high polish is the work of Maryann Roy. You have read about her on Minidork's blog: http://modernminihouses.blogspohttp//www.flickr.com/photos/welcomehomefurnishings/5618615243/t.com/2011/04/maryann-roy-in-112-who-wants-some.html

Look at how chill this is.

http://maryannroy.wordpress.com/new-dream-house-comes-to-life/ 

to see her website where you can purchase her designs.

And these colors! Maryann says these are the same style as the mattel couches in 1/12 scale. Look how good they look when they are positioned that way! I would never have thought of trying that!

Her flickr stream is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/welcomehomefurnishings/5618615243/

Last, as  I found this

clever approach by Blytheowl, very pregnant! (great way to update your status!)

photo by  Blytheowl, very pregnant!

 by Blytheowl, very pregnant!

She used these vintage napkins for the upholstry Brilliant!

You can see more of her work on flickr too

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48068176@N06/5199700514/

So my head is swirling about how to play with this great furniture.

photo by Leftcoastmini

Fondue Anyone? My picture as soon as I unwrapped them!  It is great that these cushions come off so you can experiment with this set without ruining it.

Oh P.S. My Elder Assistant took that photo upper right for us on her first business trip to Indiana for the design firm she works for, and she and all the guests had to spend the night in the basement of the Hampton Inn she stayed at due to tornado warnings! Wow. C

Front door experiments for the I house, needs Eichler style house numbers

The last 3 posts are about working on the I house.

 Because we deal in ideas I like to credit where I get them. Thanks MiniDork for telling me about artificial plastic plants when you gave us the gift from the SF mini meet up. Here's my try.

The white pot is the plastic top of my sun umbrella. Side wall by tap plastics.

The black pot is a make up bottle top. Carpet by minimodernistas.
Greenery from Michael's. Front door from Jonathan Adler box.

Here is my sun umbrella bereft of it's top piece. I hope it lasts without it!
So what I am looking for are miniature Eichler style house numbers.
And a ball light for the front... Any ideas when I can find them?

These are from http://www.eichlernetwork.com/HDext_numbers.html a net site to help you reburbish your real Eichler.

I really want Mid Century style they show:

I may have to print them and then glue it to the house.

Just playing with my plants.

Credits: Barbie chair repainted, mighty world cup and saucer, Plants Michael's, planters are shampoo bottle tops.

Cheers! CM

Seeing double

"I have no comment at this time".

Credits: Jonathan Adler Barbie lamp, repainted orange. Imaginarium Glitter Suite house stairs, 2 sets. Mattel vintage wooden side table,

silver grid stair guard by tap plastics from Minimodern, white desk, computer monitor, desk phone, Gloria Barbie furniture repainted, black printer Delph miniatures. Shell that fell on the floor at the foot of the bottom stairs and unnoticed by photographer, Mother Nature.

Update: The little Assistant's mother came over and I showed her the I house. She didn't notice and when I pointed out the double stairs she said "Oh she won't even miss them!" and then "I didn't know that dress was a Jonathan Adler, I helped her take it off and put it on Snow White!" CM

Can I steal Candy from a baby?

I want this child's plastic staircase.

It's not like she's using it.... I saw her Imaginarium Glitter Suite house. She put a Barbie to bed with a pink striped wash cloth over her and left her for days. 

"Oh take it" said Barbie, "She probably won't even miss it... she took my Jonathan Adler dress off me and put it on Snow White..."

I transferred my set that came with my house to the second floor. Then I could put HER SET of stairs on the first floor.

I'm afraid if I ask her she will say "NO!" and even after a lengthy discussion about sharing, the Care Bears, whatever, I might not prevail. And then every time she walks by she will keep an eagle eye on them.

What should I do? If I just BORROW them she might not even miss them for a while and I can experiment with them... I could always say her dog took them and she would believe me.... A moral dilemma. What do you think? She is at pre school till 5 today.  The coast is clear...C

Update: My elder assistant reminded me of 2 instances tht might provide deep background on the ebb and flow of items between our two houses.

1. I have a beautiful silver southwestern cuff bracelet I often wear. It dissappeared last July. We searched both houses asking everyone if they had seen it. No luck finding it.

Around December when my little assistant and her parents were nicely dressed and going out, her mother paused to get Grampy to take a picture of them for their Christmas card. "Just a moment" the little assistant said, ran to her bedroom and trotted out with the silver bracelet on her arm.

2. The elder assistant and her sister were watching tv and giggling when the little assistant came in and out of the blue said, "Jessy, you better stop playing with Mommy's makeup"...
I like the saying Mi Casa es su Casa. Literally.

Please help me pick contrasting colors!

The model is wobbly because the walls are not screwed together yet.

The color scheme is Brown on the outside walls with grey trim.
I moved the front door to the left and added a deck with a pool. I hope to make it an infinity pool and add a hot tub. I need to spray paint the purple arched front wall and sides of the pool brown.

The tile is colored xereoxes of the original bathroom tile in the Imaginarium Glitter Suite. You can see a sample in the background.

 Interior walls are white in the bedroom, kitchen, office and tv room. 

The owner of this house is a therapist. Here is her office. I want to paint the natural wood supports grey like the rest of the trim.

BUT it needs some contrasting color. Any suggestions?
Update: I spray painted the styrofoam and it disintegrated. Maybe it will look pebbly like  stone. Have to wait and see. Thanks C

Rule #1 lose the elevator.

It is my intention to not use the elevator that comes with the house and have a grand entry space instead. I am seeing minimodernistas 3 ball light fixture there.

I love the metallic plastic stairs but I think they might be best used outside.

I need to square the Norman curved windows to keep the lines clean.

I am seeding the roof. There is always Chia pet goo if nothing else works. I was inspired by this business card of Dave Anderson of Event Farm. (dave.anderson@eventfarm.com)  He finds palces for events. Farms are popular with the wedding sets right now. 

At first I thought his card was dirty, but seeds are embedded in his business card. It says "plant it, it will grow, really".  And My Little Assistant is very involved with seeds.  Her nursery school projects don't sprout. Ever. I will keep an eye on this living roof. 

The outside is being sprayed a grey brown color.

The interior lower level is white, the second level is beige, the top level has no walls yet.  

Ma Grande Folie

We all know and love the blog: Une Petite Folie http://une-petite-folie.blogspot.com/2010/03/la-petite-maisonpart-5.html. by Linda Carswell.

We love the visions of Paris and delicate workmanship that goes into each scene. It was also nominated for "best miniatiure blog of the year". Want a to relax? Go there. Wile away the hours.

I mention it because I am afraid my I House project will be Ma Grande Folie.

BUT... I'm doing it anyway. Why? For fun. Somehow I am driven to convert (hack, bash, pick you own action verb) a mini house designed in High Barbie Dungess into a Eichler like green house.

So Here goes. I googled "ultra modern house" and got this model on the left. Much later I saw the add "ultra modern doll house" and said why not?   http://www.kabmurungraya.net/2009/04/20/custom-designed-contemporary-homes-2009/

Do you see it?

I house inspiration

.

http://www.tschumi.com/projects/59/

This incredible roof is on the M2 Metro station in Lausnne by Bernard Tschumi

And I have always admired this project, http://www.greendollhouse.org/ from oh yeah! 2005!

Do you see it? Tum ta Dah! The I house begins.

Big Mini Meet Up

Tonight a group of the Bay area mini modern enthusiasts met in San Francisco. We met in North Beach at the Cafe Greco. Yummy coffee drinks, pannini sandwiches and great people watching.

 What a good time! It is so interesting to talk to others who share your interests yet each if us has a different approach or kind of collection or project we are working on.

Mini Dork brought pieces by Paul MacAlister she has been blogging about see:    http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-04-23T09%3A36%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=20  and Maryann Roy's 1/12 scale pieces. That is a Paris Renfroe bed (white right back)  for comparison of scale. It was so great to be able see them in person.

Another major topic was storage. How to, what works with what scale, etc. Below is a picture of sharing pictures and articles.
Personally I think we might be called "the Ichabod Crane group" as everyone wishes to remain headless...

We had so much fun talking. AND there were treats! Mini2be brought my all time favorite cultural icon needed in every one of my scenes. A Starbucks mug!

Modern MC brought the black plastic grid and it included a white pannel too, so useful for making walls Thank you!

Mini Dork made this planter in a plastic vase with tiny rocks! So realistic and she made the little lucite cube sculpture. I plan to use them in my I house I am starting.
 I took wood and fabric samples from my daughter's design company in D.C. that were being thrown out. When my daughter asked if she could have them her boss asked suspiciously why? He suspected industrial espionage and she said , "Well... you see my Mom and her friends like little dolls and these would make great rugs, and they like making little chairs..."
So she got to keep them.

It was so much fun and now my head is buzzing with questions I wished I'd asked!

Thank you Modern Mini for starting the ball rolling and everyone who came! Hope to see you soon. CM

This blows my mind

Look at this life sized light fixture!

This, below is from my dollhouse!

A 1/10 scale from my German puppenstube.

This is a real sized plant stand.

                    This plant stand (full size) is amazing too.

THERE ARE  NO PHOTO CREDITS Of THE REGULAR SIZE ITEMS BECAUSE THE ARE FROM OLD EBAY ADS. IF THEY ARE YOURS, LEAVE A COMMENT AND I WILL CREDIT YOU.

This photo is from http://www.puppenhausmuseum.de/ to show the dollhouse plant stand. Miniature scale. This site is one of my all time favorites. If you haven't been there you must go. I can spend hours pouring over the incredible designs.

But the thing is, though familiar with DDR, Vero, and Crailshimer dollhouse designs I had never seen the real thing until these mid- century light and plantstands were on ebay. Too Much! CM