Katina Beales' Art Deco Dollhouse

Alice Bell wrote a great article on Katina Beales' Art Deco Dollhouse in cdhm.org (Custom Dolls, Houses, & Miniatures) February 2010 Newsletter. Katina Beales spotted a 1:24 scale Art Deco style house at the Kensington Doll's House Festival in 2006. She commissioned Chris Rouch of Toptoise Design, to build this 1:12 scale version that is 36" wide by 27" long, 21" high on two stories and 10" high one story.

If anyone has any information on the builder please share. All I could fine was a 1993 directory listing on CraftScotland.org "Chris & Joan Rouch, Toptoise Design, Selkirk, Scottish Borders". I would love to see more of their work. The listing says they make collector houses and furniture specializing in the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Art deco, Victorian and Scottish vernacular buildings. Chris & Joan Rouch are also endorsed by Glasgow School of Art to reproduce their furniture collection. Considering they have been around since at least 1993 and have work showing in US exhibitions and museums (not sure which ones) you would think there are photos of their work on this interweb thing.


The house is full of beautiful custom pieces, but I laughed when I read the one thing the builder said when he delivered the house was "Do not over-furnish the house!" Really good advice. The article didn't have credits for the pieces in the study, but the living area has several artists filling this room.

I love the custom fireplace screen by Barbara Sabia (based in Melbourne, Florida, she specializes in miniature stained glass. The fireplace screen is the 15th image on this slide show of her work followed by images of the sconces that are also used in the bathroom photo below). The Dragon Screen is a one of kind made by Terence Stringer (Norfolk, England). The white leather chairs are by Arlette's Miniatures (Sutton Coldfield, England). All the other furniture in the living area was been made by Kim Selwood Miniature Furniture (UK). I would love to know where she got that fabulous silver cylinder mesh lamp next to the fireplace. Anyone?


Katina really did her homework on this house. For many of the custom pieces, she gave photos to the builders who recreated authentic Art Deco pieces. The bath room set was made by Lenham Pottery Models (Norfolk, UK) from pictures she found in magazines. The tiles in the bathroom are hand painted real ceramic by Tiny Ceramics (Germany). The furniture in the bedroom is again made by Kim Selwood Miniature Furniture (UK). The kitchen cabinetry was also custom built from photos by, yep you guessed it, ELF Miniatures (London, UK) - I LOVE LOVE LOVE the work of Elizabeth LePla, and love seeing how much her selection has grown over the years. One day I will own a house completely furnished by ELF Miniatures.

The article is really a fabulous read, but the best part is that her husband bought her a large 16 room Georgian house that she plans to give a luxurious Georgian background with highly decorative features, but with MODERN FURNITURE. I CANNOT wait to see what she comes up with next. I really hope that Katina can find away to start a blog or share her photos. She truly has the start of an amazing collection.

(all information from Alice Bell's cdhm.org article, all images from Katina Beales on cdhm.org and barbarasabia.com)

So you want a modern dollhouse

I have gotten several emails requests, so I thought this might be helpful for people interested in joining the mini world. Please send me links to other houses on the market, this is just a start. Here are some houses you may want to own (note, I haven't touched on Lundby, Brio & vintage options yet, more to come).

How to Get Started

My biggest piece of advice is to obtain a house first and then get the accessories that best fit the house. I started collecting accessories before I had a specific house to put them in, and now that I’m filling my Kaleidoscope House I’m realizing 80% isn’t what I want and is taking up space in boxes in the garage.

Step 1: Do some research. :D There are more and more great mini mod blogs out there but I recommend reading The Shopping Sherpa and MiniModern first. Most modern mini bloggers would credit one of them for inspiring them to start their own blog. The more you see, the more you’ll be able to pinpoint what you want to own.

Step 2: Find a house that best fits your personality, skills, time, budget and space. Do you have the patience, skills, time and tools to build a kit from scratch or renovate a house? Do you want a built, but blank canvas to paint and wallpaper? Do you want shiny, new, already assembled house ready to drop furniture and accessories in? What kind of space do you have for mini storage and to display your house(s)?

Out of the box and ready to play

M112 Pods 1:12 scale ($225 - $485) by Paris Renfroe Design www.parisrenfroedesign.com

Villa Sibi 1:10 scale? ($750-$850) by Wolfgang Sirch and Christoph Bitzer

Emerson House 3/4 scale (pre-order $299) by brinca dada www.brincadada.com

MH1 1:12 scale (wait list $299) and MH2 (check website for details, you have to REALLY want this big boy as it is a beast to ship) by Wes Christensen mymodernmini.blogspot.com

Kits (not many modern, but there are a few contemporary)

Clearview 1:12 scale (kit £395) by MIAIM based in London www.miaim.co.uk
Ocean Drive 1:12 scale (kits start at $99 but not available in US) by Dolls House Emporium based in London
www.dolls house.com

Lake View 1:12 scale (kits start at $179.52) by Dolls House Emporium www.dollshouse.com

1, 2 & 3 Waterside Way 1:12 scale (kits start at $250.24) by Dolls House Emporium www.dollshouse.com

Brookwood
1:12 scale ($102 and up) by Greenleaf Dollhouses www.greenleafdollhouses.com

Contemporary Ranch Dollhouse
1:12 scale ($162.95) by Real Good Toys

Summer House 1:12 scale ($121) by Celerity Miniature Homes www.celerityminiaturehomes.com

Auction sites, ebay, craigslist, garage sales, etc.

Look for an older dollhouse you can refurbish. Check out Craigslist, as many people don’t want to deal with shipping so you might be able to pick up a gem.

Search auction sites for discontinued houses
Kaleidoscope House 1:12 scale (discontinued) by Bozart Toys - Laurie Simmons and Peter Wheelwright

Malibu Beach House 1:12 scale (discontinued) by Dolls House Emporium www.dollshouse.com

Mackintosh House 1:12 scale (discontinued) by Dolls House Emporium www.dollshouse.com

Custom

Go to your local dollhouse shop/hobby shop/toy store, they might know someone who could assemble a kit for you, or someone who could design and build an original for you.

Put an ad on craigslist for a custom modern dollhouse. You might be able to find an interested architect/woodcrafter/design student that could build you a one of kind within your budget.

Please send me websites of other builders, but here are a few that do custom one of a kind modern houses and roomboxes.


Mark Turpin www.markturpin.com

Peter Tucker www.roomboxes.com

Tom O'Dea www.virginiadollhouses.com

Gidon Bing Australian sculpture www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile//81041. Scroll to the bottom of his gallery to see the dollhouses, you can email him through this site.

Henry Colbert He doesn’t have a website, and last I heard he has a 2 year plus wait list.


Step 3: When you get a dollhouse, PLEASE share your photos. Start a blog or add pictures to the Modern Miniatures Flickr group. We just can't get enough!

Step 4: After you buy the perfect house, inevitably something better will turn up shortly after. It's easy to end up covering every flat surface of your house with this hobby/obsession. With enough money and space, we could all be so lucky to end up with a basement like Mary's Dollhouse Nook.

Thanks to everyone who has checked out my blog after the mention in The New York Times, and thanks to all of my readers who have inspired me to keep blogging.

Coming soon, where to buy modern miniatures...

Thoroughly Moderne Henry Colbert

I fell in love with Henry Colbert's work when I first laid eyes on his Art Deco house in Jean Nisbett's book The Modern Dolls' House (2004). Years later, here I am staring at these gorgeous works of art and reading a brilliant article on his work (THANKS AGAIN Writing Sideways!) I scanned the color copies of the article from Dollhouse Miniatures magazine and you can download the article in its entirety here (thanks DudeCraft, I borrowed your idea to use MediaFire to share this file). I am sure this is copyright infringement, but I couldn't buy the Sept 07 issue anywhere, so we'll see how long I can keep it up. The image quality is the best I could get scanning the color copies of the magazine, but still quite droll worthy. Click on images to see the larger version. Enjoy!

House in Poole, Dorset — The Amyas Petite

Henry grew up in "Barnet, Hertfordshire, just north of London, his world was a wealth of modern inspirations: the architecture of his local cinema; Arnos Grove, the nearby underground station; the Penguin Pool at the London Zoo; a Sun Trap House he passed on the way to school; and a Clarice Cliff vase from EW. Woolworth sitting on his mantel. Nearly 70 years later, many of these landmarks Henry remembers still look fresh and modern."

House in Hendon, London — The Amyas Deluxe

In 1997, ill health forced Henry into early retirement and he began to search for a hobby that could combine his skills and background in architecture, engineering, computers and a home workshop to die for. "Having attended some local miniature shows, Henry realized no one was making modern-era dollhouses. With interest piqued, he attended an evening class on 20th century architecture, bought a camera, and set out to photograph every Art Deco house he could find within a 150-mile radius of his home. Two houses stood out from the rest: a small house in Poole, Dorset, and a larger house with interesting features in Hendon, London."

The Amyas Grande

"Since the style of his dollhouses would be unique, and no parts readily available in miniature shops, apart from the hardware, Henry had to design and build every component himself. For the next 18 months he experimented by trial and error, producing the necessary jigs and fixtures to build his first models. He uses computer-aided-design (CAD) software to design each module; walls, ceilings, and floors are constructed from top-quality birch plywood with lime-wood trim. His dollhouse designs leave no room for error; the minimalist style dictates that mistakes cannot be covered up with paint, paper, or fancy trim."

The Amyas Grande Deluxe

"With key components designed and prototyped, he was now ready to launch three models that would incorporate certain key design elements. Designated the Amyas series in honor of New Zealand native Amyas Connell (1901-1980), who studied architecture in England in the 1920s and designed High & Over, one of the first International Style houses in England. Along with architect Basil Ward, they later designed their Sun House for a proposed Moderne community to complement High & Over. When war intervened, the project ended with only four houses constructed. The Amyas Petite, inspired by the Poole house, has Crittall (steel) windows, a flat roof and sun terrace, a portholed front door, and a conventional staircase."

"The Amyas Deluxe, a combination of the Poole and London homes, is a medium-sized dollhouse with the same features of the Petite, plus a flat-roofed wing, railed porch, imposing entrance doors, portholes, decorative chevrons on the bay wall, a spiral staircase, and wood-strip floors. His Amyas Grande contains all these features plus symmetrical front bays on either side of the central hall. Later Henry added an Amyas Petite Deluxe. Each house is one room deep, to make them, as Henry says, 'playable.'"

Sun House

"Henry has also reproduced a Sun House in 1:24 scale, using original house plans and photographs to ensure authenticity. The finished product is mounted on a turntable with hinged panels to access all the rooms; the house is fully electrified and has been fitted with a bathroom and kitchen."

 

"As demands for dollhouse accessories has grown, Henry has also designed period lighting, fireplaces, bathroom fixtures, and even a swimming pool illuminated with blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that shine beneath the resin to create an underwater glow. The pool steps are nickel-coated brass cast into the resin to create an underwater step. The pool deck is tiled with products from Richard Stacey. The end result is impressive and will delight anyone desiring a swimming pool for their dollhouse."

"With his meticulous attention to detail, Henry typically makes two dollhouses a year. His dollhouses have found homes throughout England and Scotland, with one currently under way for a customer in Wales. As interest in Art Deco has grown in the U.S., and accessories are becoming more available, hopes are that one of his houses will find a home outside the U.K." As of the writing of this article three years ago, Henry is stiff with arthritis, and is booked with orders for the next 18 months. I've read elsewhere that the wait list is over 2 years now. By my calculations there should be at least 15-20 of Henry's dollhouses in existence. I wish the owners would share some photos of these treasures.

The article continues with the topic of the future of dollhouses and miniatures artisans and the replacement of small miniature/hobby/toy shops with the big-box craft stores. It's a great read, but a much longer conversation that I'll save for later.

I have an email in to Henry and I will post his response if the email still works.

Here are pictures of the four constructed houses by Amyas Connell and Basil Ward. Sun House 2 & Sun House 1, Sun House 3 and High & Over.


(Henry Colbert images from article "Thoroughly Moderne Henry Colbert" by Deb Weissler published in Dollhouse Miniatures Sept 07 issue, top High & Over and Sun House pictures from flickr page of Metro-land revisited and bottom High & Over image from achome.co.uk)

Ocean Liner House

Huh. I was trying to find images from some British dollhouse shows and randomly came across a photo of Henry Colbert's Art Deco dolls house, with a caption on it "Ocean Liner House by Henry Colbert". I hadn't seen that name associated with that house, but I kinda like it.

Now I'm really curious if Henry Colbert was in attendance at the Nov 09 show, just his work, or why his 1997 dollhouse is featured (he's not listed as an exhibitor). If anyone is in London May 14-16, 2010 the next Kensington Dollshouse Festival will be then.

Could this be Henry Colbert? This photo was taken at one of the Birmingham Miniatura shows this year. The Art Deco house looks like 1/24 scale and is similar to Henry's other work. I found the photo on a Japanese blog, but other than "Modern house" I can't make out much else from the translation. I'm assuming this guy is the builder, otherwise I'd kick his @$$ for leaning on the dollhouse.

(Top image from The Kensington Dollshouse Festival website. Bottom image from I love it! Japanese blog )

Henry Colbert's Art Deco Dolls House

In my search for Henry Colbert I found a great blog entry by Linda Gavin on My Imaginary World with pictures from the Dolls House Discovery website that is no longer running, but I found the below information on web archives: http://www.dollshousediscovery.com/craftsmen/henrycolbert.asp.

Linda says he makes a few houses a year and has a waiting list. Pamela Hurley posted that she got a Henry Colbert dollhouse in Sept 2008, after a 2 year wait. Pamela - where are the pictures? PLEASE!!!!

Henry Colbert's Art Deco Dolls House: Where It All Began

In 1997 I was seeking a hobby that would satisfy my architectural, engineering and computing skills/interests and contribute to increasing my home workshop and computer facilities.

After visiting various ‘Doll’s house’ fairs I concluded that I should concentrate on this market – but what product! Whatever it was to be, nobody else should be making it. Following research and a day at the Hove fair resolved the problem – there were not any makers of 1930’s ‘Art Deco’ houses.

Accordingly, I attended an evening study course on ‘Twentieth Century Architecture’, took a camera and photographed every 1930’s ‘Art Deco’ / Moderne house that I could find within a 250km radius of where I live.

As this style of doll’s house would be unique, apart from the hinges and screws, every component would have to be designed and made by me.

A basic design was established from which it was apparent that the house(s) would have to have curved bay(s) and all the windows and doors would have to be modelled on the designs produced by ‘Crittall’ in England during the 1930’s. The house had to be instantly recognisable as the house every body knew in their childhood.

A major challenge with the house style that I had chosen was the plain simple features, free from architectural mouldings and trim that could cover up any defects and mistakes.

The next year was spent developing techniques and special equipment to engrave and where appropriate bend Acrylic for the window panels. Preform the plywood for the curved bay sections and then manufacture jigs and fixtures for the assembly of the windows / doors together with their associated frames that were assembled from special sections of wood produced by me.

The spiral stairs were another challenge, (shown left.) A wooden pattern had to be made, and then a silicon rubber mould produced so that the basic staircase could be cast in synthetic stone.

The houses are principally constructed from 9.5mm and 12mm plywood, with simulated wood strip floors created with wood veneer.

Currently two basic designs are available; however, to date no two houses have ever been the same as every customer has required a high degree of customisation some with extensions and garages. These may be basic shell for them to finish or fully finished complete with lighting and decoration.

Customers complained that they were unable to purchase bathroom equipment in the 1930’s style, – Accordingly, I designed a product range, produced prototype models and developed a manufacturing technique. I now supply a full range to include: Low flush toilets, hand wash basin, bath, bidet & shower unit in a selection of colours.

The range also includes a towel rail, an illuminated wall mirror with shelf and ‘Art Deco’ wall lights.

My portfolio also includes a twenty forth scale replica ‘Sun House’ house based on the ‘Le Corbusier’ concept, (shown below) Five of these houses were built in Amersham at High & Over Park by Connell & Ward, in 1934 (all still existing).


(images from archives of Dolls House Discovery website and The Modern Dolls' House by Jean Nisbett (2004))

Peter Tucker workshops @ Chicago International

Chicago International (April 2010) has two Peter Tucker workshops this year, building Art Deco/Moderne style furniture based on a work by American designer Paul Frank. The class will "discuss how planning an approach before starting to build can simplify the process and aid in getting neat and accurate results". Jeez, do I ever need this class.

SKYSCRAPER BOOKCASE & ART DECO/MODERNE DESK

(All images from Tom Bishop Shows, Chicago International, www.bishopshow.com)