Creating the shell

As I said in my last post, I didn't want a "dollhouse" for my miniatures.

The reason was quite simple-- I realised that most dollhouses are actually quite closed off.

And although I love the idea of decorating the outside, I wanted to actually see the interior without leaving the doors open all the time. I could just remove the front of the house and have a giant gaping hole-- except I hate dusting and would have to create a new door with glass to cover it up.

Also, most dollhouses are 1/12 scale. My miniatures are typically 1/6 scale-- or slightly larger, or smaller, as we'll get into later. A 1/6 scale dollhouse would be HUGE, and I don't have the luxury of that sort of space.

So I brainstormed. To me, the pieces inside were the thing I wanted to view. I already had a lot displayed in a book case, but it was too narrow, and wouldn't allow for a "room" feel-- I needed something with slightly better proportions.

Finally, I came up with the MALSJÖ from Ikea:

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/malsjoe-glass-door-cabinet-black-stained-black-stained-60303481/

To be honest, It's not perfect. It has glass sides, which I did not want, and the sliding doors can cause issues as they have to be removed to slide out the actual "room". But... the proportions are pretty good. Each "section" creates a good room-- it could be wider-- but it's ok. I just have to accept that floor space is not a thing in my house.

The other advantage was that the shelves are solid, and not glass. I rejected a lot of better options because they had glass shelves-- I knew this thing might need to take a lot of weight, and flimsy glass brackets were not a good choice.

I also added another cabinet that is no longer available, it's a wall cabinet with two doors, and sits on top of the main cabinet. I sort of thought of it as the attic space.

So I had the shell, now I had to fill it.

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This is a miniature, Rosewood coffin shaped box.

I have no idea as to the age or use of it, I suspect it's a hobby piece. But it's lovely, and at only 7cm long, fits perfectly into the rooms.