Fantasy Friday: An Art Deco House

Now that I've finished my Throwback Thursday posts on my previous builds, here is a "Fantasy Friday" post on something I'd like to build. 

Once upon a time, someone at Greenleaf asked, "What would be your dream dollhouse?"  I had recently discovered the dollhouses of Henry Colbert, and it was a no-brainer for me to pick his 1:24 scale Sun House.  (Check out the Sun House, as well as more of his houses, in the link above.  One has a pool, a pool, beautifully lit with blue LEDs under the resin water!)  While looking around to find good examples of similar dollhouses, I saw plans for a dollhouse in a 1937 issue of Popular Mechanics. A couple of versions apparently built from the plans can be found here and here.  I immediately fell in love with it.  The moderne, ocean-liner style of architecture with its art deco elements had me swooning.  It occurred to me that I might even be able to build it someday.  Someone else on Greenleaf has put together half-scale plans for this house, but I've been working on some of my own.  I have very specific requirements for the house, one of which is that it must fit on a bookshelf. 

My floor plan is not a true one-half of the original.  For example, the original kitchen was only 6 inches square, which would translate to 3 inches square in half scale—that is a tiny kitchen, and almost nothing would fit there.  I expanded both it and the dining room a bit, so that I could put furniture in them!

Second, there was no bathroom. I took some space from the bedroom to make one.  I couldn't do a moderne home without an eau de nil bathroom!  (Here are some examples that Henry made.)

The sink I have sitting on the plans will likely get swapped out for the one on the right, once I've affixed it to a pedestal.

As you can see, I've been collecting items and kits to be made up for the house, with a few more on the way.  (Hi, Shannon!  😊)

I've also been collecting ties, have purchased the Brodnax 1:24 scale leopard print fabric, and have been test printing some other fabrics to use in the upholstery for the deck furniture.  I won't necessarily use all the ties, but I like their patterns.  The tie second from the right is a beautiful silver color that doesn't really show up in the picture.

Take a look at this amazing art deco dollhouse that has provided further inspiration.  More information on it here and here.  Believe it or not, this house was originally designed in half scale.  Here is an example of the 1:24 version.  (Of course, it's no longer available on eBay, although I probably couldn't afford it if it were!)  The makers (Chris and Joan Rouch of Top Toise Designs) appear to still be in business, but they are based in the U.K. and don't have a Web site, and I'm not going to be making it across the pond to attend Miniatura.  😔

So there you have it.  Once I'm back in full build mode, I really hope to make this my next big project.  Stay tuned!