Wednesday, August 19, 2009

16 Ways to Organize - in Miniature

dollhouse miniature sewing armoire

Want to furnish the dollhouse for organized living? Let's take a look at some of the neater furnishings you could consider - starting with this miniature sewing armoire. Update on June 19, 2013: Earth and Tree no longer has this armoire, but does have many other miniatures.


dollhouse miniature pie safe

I've written about pie safes - but who knew you could buy a pie safe for your dollhouse? Update on June 19, 2013: The site that sold this specific pie safe is gone, but there are others. Here's a miniature pie safe from Shaker Works West.



dollhouse miniature chest

Ann High makes some lovely and unusual miniatures. This is her miser's chest, which she says is "based on the chest in a painting by Hieronymous Bosch."


dollhouse miniature desk

Colin Bird does some great miniatures, too. While he seems to specialize in chairs, he also makes some other neat pieces, like this pedestal desk with a real leather top.


dollhouse miniature hand-painted armoire

Margie's Petite Palette offers hand-painted miniature cabinets and hutches, including this armoire.


dollhouse miniature armoire

And Alice offers some amazing miniature armoires, too. Update on July 25, 2015: The site that sold this armoire has disappeared. But I think I may have found the same Alice on a new site, which also has wonderful armoires.


dollhouse miniature display table

Wendy has a very specific niche; she makes enchanting miniature display cases and tables - for those collections of shells, rocks, etc.


dollhouse miniature bookcase

And of course, (almost) every house needs a place for books. Note that the shelves on this miniature bookcase are adjustable.


dollhouse miniature binder

But not all organizing products are big pieces of furniture. We also have the more prosaic binders, magazine files, and such.


dollhouse-miniature-pencil-box

And how about a miniature pencil box from Chris Sturgess-Lief? He can also provide you with some lovely mahogany coat hangers.) Update on June 10, 2013: Sadly, Chris Sturgess-Lief died in 2011.


dollhouse miniature potato basket

And then there's the ever-popular basket: everything from the laundry basket (empty or full) to the miniature baskets by Zara Thomson Ribeaud, which include this potato basket. Update on July 24, 2015: The full laundry basket is no longer sold.


dollhouse miniature kitchen canisters

And staying in the kitchen, we can admire these miniature canisters, from Reutter Porcelain of Germany. Update on July 25, 2015: I'm not finding this canister set any more.


dollhouse miniature umbrella stand

You can get a miniature umbrella stand, complete with cane, from Pinchbeck Miniatures. Update on July 25, 2015: Pinchbeck Miniatures seems to have disappeared — sadly, Tony Rivett of Pinchbeck has died — but this umbrella stand (or something similar) is available elsewhere.


dollhouse miniature wall clock

And let's not forget the clocks, so useful in organizing one's time. You can get mantel clocks, wall clocks, or longcase clocks - running clocks, in miniature. This miniature American banjo wall clock comes from Small-Time.


dollhouse miniatures - 3 mantle clocks

Halls Miniature Clocks is also worth a look.


miniature dollhouse cupboard, oak, carved

And finally, let's circle back to the furniture and admire this miniature Tudor oak court cupboard. Update on August 5, 2011: The site that sold this seems to have disappeared.

5 comments:

Julie said...

Oh, Jeri, you're making me nostalgic for my beloved dollhouse, which lives in my childhood bedroom all the way in Buffalo. (I think my mom still dusts the furniture in each little room.) It was a San Francisco style Victorian Gothic, and while I saved money for years to buy it, I never got past painstakingly decorating the kitchen. A budget-buster--perhaps that's why I'm not yet a homeowner?

These pieces are fabulous...maybe this could become a series? ;-)

SueBK said...

My daughter (11 yo) is a minature maker. She belongs to a club that makes all their own furniture ieces, and promotes recycling for a lot of fittings and things.

It's amazing what you can turn things into. Carved toothbrush handle pieces for bottles; the lid of a shampoo bottle with some bits added to make a dressing table; the large squirty thingie off a fly spray can turned into a TV.

Jeri Dansky said...

Julie, I figured there had to be some dollhouse fans/owners among my readers! I'm so glad you enjoyed the post, and I'll look into making it a series. The Hotel Chopin I've stayed at in Paris is right next door to a store selling miniatures, and I was always enchanted by them.

SueBK, what a fun (and green) thing for your daughter to be doing! If she makes any storage pieces, I'd be glad to feature them when I do that next "series" post that Julie is asking about; you could e-mail photos to me.

Cynthia Friedlob said...

Charming and amusing! You'll undoubtedly trigger lots of pleasant childhood memories today. My small dollhouse was furnished simply, but it was adorable.

Bet you had fun putting this post together!

Jeri Dansky said...

Cynthia, this was indeed a fun post to research and write!