I was fortune enough to receive a set of dollhouse furniture as a Christmas gift, it's a mid-century modern set that my friend got at Hobby Lobby. It's simply beautiful, I was so excited because it was so unexpected! Since I have so many dollhouse kits in boxes waiting for me and I was on the fence on which to start next, I immediately thought of my Artply Highland. It's meant to be a mid-century modern dollhouse but I had planned to make it a Spanish Style mansion. I'll stick with mid century now though, I have always admired the architecture and decorating style of that period. Now I have a jump start with my new furniture. It has motivated me to get going, it's a new year - new dollhouse.
I was born in the 60's, so I lived through this time period and remember it well. I have fond childhood memories when I see some of the inspirational photos I've been looking at. I've been doing quite a bit of researching on the architectural features, just to confirm what I already know however. I came across this great description of the period:
"Sometimes it takes a generation or two removed from an architectural
style to appreciate it. Such is the case of mid-century modern.
Mid-century modern is a style of design, from roughly the 1930s through
the mid–1960s, characterized by clean lines, organic and streamlined
forms, and lack of embellishment. It reached is height of popularity
after World War II, where it was used in residential structures, with
the goal of bringing modernism into America's post-war suburbs." Link to article
I've been looking at DH furniture from this time period on several websites and certain pieces are quite pricey. There's some great stuff available that I would love to have, I guess you could call them "designer" pieces. It's unlikely I will indulge, since a lot of items from this era can be hand made because its a simple design. The color palette is important as well, and the pop's of color can make or break a room. The decor is easy, lots of globes, geometric shapes, starbursts and wood grains. I made this wall decoration in about 10 minutes, which I may or may not put a clock in the center eventually.
So as soon as all the Christmas decorations are put away and all my spaces are back to normal I'll be getting the Highland ready to go. I have yet to open the box, I always look forward to that moment. Then the construction shall begin. As usual, I will document the build step by step so I can do a video at the end. Even though this is a large house, I really don't anticipate taking as long as I usually do. There are minimal details involved, intentionally, and that's where I usually spend most of my time. Here is the Highland as she sits:
Here is a closer photo of the house as the manufacturer imagined it...notice it has a garage, which is kind of unique for a dollhouse:
I remember when I found this house on eBay, I was so excited to finally find one and when it came in the mail I was smiling for days. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get to it right away, so I've always had a happy little feeling inside knowing it would always be there waiting for me. As I mentioned above, I had been drawing plans to bash it a little into a Spanish Style home, and I have some goodies I've been collecting already for that style, so I'll have to get creative with a different kit to go in that direction. In the meantime - my focus is back in time to the 60's!
Happy New Year and thanks for visiting!
~ Mini-Shack
