Farmhouse Collection of Room Boxes~ Dollhouse Miniature Display

One day while perusing eBay's miniature listings and not seeing any new auctions that tickled my fancy I popped on over to the Hobby Lobby website to see if they had received new items.  Lo and behold they had!  I had already tracked down their current mid mod dining set...for some reason I am  a bit obsessed with it. I also picked up a trio of house shaped display boxes at the same time that had an IKEA-esque modern vibe. Somehow they should fit together but I didn't have a clear vision so it all got set aside...my half scale house build had a deadline to completion.

Hobby Lobby really had some fun new items so I filled up my wishlist and headed to town.  Oh boy, this stuff was cute!  Loaded my cart with new modern farmhouse minis...the framed cow print became my favorite.  And, bonus, a display shelf I had my eye on a long time was on sale so it went in the cart too.  (I was pretty excited when the whole trip cost me a whopping $14.38!  Ok, the most expensive item was on sale; I had a coupon; and a Christmas Visa gift card that was burning a hole in my wallet!)

My cart at Hobby Lobby...

Back at home I laid out my treasures on the kitchen counter.  Out came the mid mod dining set and the additional three house shelves...it was time to make it all work.  The shelves easily fell into place like jigsaw pieces.  No matter what configuration I put them in the contemporary cabinets and table/chairs just didn't fit right.  Well, now what to do?  I needed a smaller table and chairs...and furniture for the rest of the rooms would be a good thing...

The dining set that fit and changed the design...

I began a mental memory shopping of miniature furniture I currently had on hand.  It dawned on me the perfect little dining set was displayed in a Breyer horse barn turned dollhouse in my laundry room.  It was the absolute perfect fit and just adorable with my favorite little cow print!  All my farmhouse style furnishing were actually in the barn/house so I emptied it for this project.  The kitchen came together quickly with three pieces from a set that was originally sold at Hobby Lobby.  I always liked it but couldn't justify the purchase years ago.  The set popped up on ebay not long ago so I grabbed it...the perfect farmhouse style.  From there I went through a storage box of items for other projects.  Within a couple hours I had "decorated"all but one of the roomboxes with things I already had...win win!

Laying out furniture and finishes...

A roll of new decorative wallpapers and sheet of arabesque tile made it into my shopping cart.  There were enough designs to get me started but I needed a couple more.  Etsy downloads to the rescue!  The first step was papering the floors and walls.  I chose to use Modge Podge to seal the surface of the paper so I can dust and clean without damaging it. 







While working on the walls my busy brain expanded the project by adding working lights...which I've not completed in any of my builds yet. Luckily the layout of the roomboxes means I'd only need to drill tiny holes in the back wall or ceiling for wires.  The power strip adhered nicely to the back of the dining box leaving plenty of room for the plugs.  I did end up cutting down a couple of the dollhouse "extension cords" to keep the wires neat.  Because the whole thing is not permanently attached to a shelf as of now it is really easy to move it in three pieces because you can unplug the living and kitchen boxes and carry them separately.



The tall peaks of the ceilings were also screaming at me for some detail.  The dining box got simple straight natural beams.  The bedroom was dressed up with natural flush mount support beams.  And the large living  drove me crazy putting in the web of white fancy beams.  Turns out these boxes were not totally square which made angle cuts even more interesting!

 I found a huge package of vintage black shingles in my studio closet.  They were octagon cut so I flipped them and used the straight edge.  The addition of the shingles nicely covered the electrical and gave the whole thing a contemporary farmhouse exterior look.





As work progressed I had to start thinking about the "bedroom" which I hadn't figured out furniture for.  There was a very pretty brass bed in one of my dollhouses but it was a little too wide.  There were several online that were a little more than I wanted to spend.  Finally I found the perfect brass bed buried in a lot on ebay.

How the bed  looked in eBay listing...

Refinished bed...

  Luckily the lot had a coverlet, quilt and pillows that would work for my scene and I was able to resell the rest of the items.  Bright brass doesn't really go with today's farmhouse style so I experimented spray painting mini metal furniture on a vintage brass coat tree.  It turned out awesome...and so did the bed!


 I had a couple sets of boots and thought it would be a space saver to have some coats to hang on the wall which I found online. 

Refinished dresser beside coats & boots

Photo in eBay listing...

Surprisingly I found a tall narrow little dresser that with a quick coat of black paint and different hardware finished off the space.

Custom electrified little light 

The completed bedroom...

Almost forgot the light fixture!  Fell in love with it online and was so excited when it dawned on me how perfect it would be in the bedroom.


















So the bedroom ended up being the left box in the cool shelf  I picked up during my mini shopping trip.  It was obvious the open space between boxes would be a patio.  I had a wrought iron table and chair set in storage from a never-started project...perfect!  I cut beams for this area into a simple pergola.  The floor is mini herringbone brick sheet that I rubbed some acrylic paint around the edges and corners to make it have some moss growing on it. The light fixture is a glass globe from the jewelry department.  The original plan was to wire two-three tiny seed bulbs inside it.  It didn't work as planned so I used a lighted candle stick that's been in my stash for years.  Just hung it upside down from a beam and attatched the globe to it!   

Plants all from Hobby Lobby; view from internet

 The small little room on the right was a concern until the small black corner cabinet slid neatly back into the corner.  The brass coat rack that I experimented spray painting before tackling the bed fit too.  So it became the entry.  The vintage rocking chair was from when I was a kid and wasn't working in my updated houses but the small scale worked well in the tiny room.  I had wanted to paint it black too but kinda liked the gold in this small box...for now.

Welcome mat, light and wallpapers from Hobby Lobby

I love this room!

 The flat area above the entry became the perch for the smallest of the house box trio...and home to the cow print!  The dining box came together so quickly!  The back of the box was already black...perfect dramatic backdrop for the cow.  Simple beams, quick paper job on two walls and the floor and an inexpensive chandelier...and wah la! ...let's eat!

Next box over would have to be the largest and therefore the living room.  After doing quite a few mini builds I truly believe you should have the furniture in hand before designing the spaces.  This room evolved around the pieces I had for it.  The sofa was going to be in it one way or another.  Loved it but it wasn't going to make it back into the house I took it out of.  The "doors" on the back wall and the two chandeliers were all from the same never-started project that the patio set was from.  the fireplace was removed from another project and with a simple coat of paint worked perfectly into this one. 


Laying it all out I realized the doors had to be offset in the back wall to leave space for the fireplace.  I struggled with the doors, trying to make them look real.  I found the scene and glued it with acetate glazing behind the "iron" panels.  I finally cut out the back wall to recess them back with a door jamb.  My interior trim is a bit rough even though I cut it three times.  I realized through the process I needed to upgrade my tools.  I do still have plans for some door handles...just deciding whether they should be installed high so you can see them over the sofa.

Finally I found a home for the tiny framed horse watercolors that I've had for many many years.  They went so well with the wallpapers! 

Completed living space...

Finished kitchen...

 The last room on the right turned into the all important kitchen. At the beginning of this article I mentioned the vintage Hobby Lobby set I finally let myself buy off eBay...three of the five pieces made up this kitchen.  The stove cabinet, wall plate rack display cabinet and small lower cabinet that I added a sink to the top.  The multiple papers work so well together on the floor, walls and ceiling!  The light shade is vintage Lundby that I had for my half inch house but it gets more attention in this project than it would in that one.  The kitchen really needed an island to fill the floorspace but it was going to have to be pretty shallow.  I found the unfinished one and have not yet decided if it should get a finish or left as is.

And here is the final project.  I am very excited to share another streamlined way to display a miniature collection in lieu of a dollhouse on a table.  That is my personal mission...finding new creative and decorative ways to show off these tiny works of art.  People innately gravitate to miniature detailed scenes so lets get them out where they can be enjoyed!