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Exploring the World of Me Made Miniatures

4 Makers Share Their Top Miniature House Styling Tips

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Reading Time: 19 minutes
Published: May 18, 2022
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You may have heard about the tiny house trend, but what about the miniature house trend? Where all your favorite things, ranging from teeny tiny kettles to pocket-sized pillows are at 1/12 scale (and sometimes even smaller)! 

We talked to Chelsea Andersson, Deborah Carr and Robb and Jess Coffee about their work with tiny things and got their top tips too! 

A look at small changing room inside a miniature ballet shop. Pink ballet slippers and a blue dress hang on a dark metal hooks on a white strip of wood. A small pink tote bag, large (relatively) bottle of water and magazine sit to the bottom left of the changing room next to a large mirror. The wallpaper design has a black background and a repeating design of a ballerina wearing white holding a white swan with orange flowers and green leaves at the ballerina’s feet. A gray-and-white curtain is pulled to the right of the changing room door. To the left is one step going straight up and then a flight of stairs ascending to the left.

A close up in Deborah Carr’s miniature Odette’s Ballet Shop. Featured design: Swan Lake – Odette – Small Scale by ceciliamok. 

A hand reaches in above a small bed in a miniature bedroom. A small pillow with a pink background and white flowers sits in front of two white pillows on the head of the bed. A comforter with a geometric gray, white and peach design is on the bed and a cream rug with repeating lavender, peach and dark pink squiggles. An abstract design featuring rolling hills in dark pink and light pink is on the wallpaper behind the bed and light pink curtains are in front of the two windows, one window is on either side of the bed. A small monstera is in a white planter to the right of the bed. 

Featured designs: ChelseaMakes x Spoonflower collection

Meet the Miniature Makers

Chelsea Andersson portrait

Chelsea Andersson of ChelseaMakes

ChelseaMakes

Chelsea Andersson is a maker and miniaturist with a background in landscape architecture. She uses miniatures as a 3D vision board, experimenting with interior design styles, furniture design and as a way to test out new craft techniques.

A small white round table with a rounded white chair at either side sits in the middle of a miniatured room. A white casserole dish, along with a pitcher and two mugs that are all blue with white flecks, sit on top of the table. A tall green plant with long fronds sits to the table’s back left. A small white-and-light-brown-striped rug lays under the table on a light wooden floor. The wallpaper on the wall behind the table features a design with a cream background and bright red, green, pink and yellow geometric designs. 

Featured design: Mid Century Summer Abstraction / Small Scale by evamatise

A hand reaches in above a small bed in a miniature bedroom. A small pillow with a pink background and white flowers sits in front of two white pillows on the head of the bed. A comforter with a geometric gray, white and peach design is on the bed and a cream rug with repeating lavender, peach and dark pink squiggles. An abstract design featuring rolling hills in dark pink and light pink is on the wallpaper behind the bed and light pink curtains are in front of the two windows, one window is on either side of the bed. A small monstera is in a white planter to the right of the bed. 

Featured designs: ChelseaMakes x Spoonflower collection

What got you into making miniatures?

I’ve loved miniatures ever since I was a kid. I spent all of my free time making furniture and outfits for my dolls. It wasn’t ever something I thought could be a career and so my love of tiny things sort of fell to the wayside as I got older. It wasn’t until I was working full time as a landscape architect and building scale site models that I remembered how much I enjoyed it. From there it quickly became a way for me to design and imagine furnishings and home decor that I couldn’t fit or afford in my tiny Bay Area apartment.

 

What about miniatures has kept you going?

Just about anything can be miniaturized, and miniatures cross so many different techniques, styles and mediums. It’s impossible to get tired of something with so much diversity. One of my favorite projects in miniature was the Replica series. I worked with artists from dozens of different mediums including paper, wood, fiber and ceramics—and worked with them to better understand their methods in order to recreate their work in miniature. It was a way for me to learn about dozens of new materials and simultaneously celebrate my favorite makers. The options are limitless!

A cream armoire with floral embroidery at the bottom and red edges sits on a dark wooden floor in front of wallpaper featuring a design with large off-white flowers and details outlined in dark blue on a gray and dark blue background. A hand is reaching in to adjust the armoire to highlight it’s small scale. A white ceramic vase sits at the bottom middle of the armoire and a stack of books to the bottom left. A small plant in a copper planter sits to the armoire’s left. 
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A very small armoire

Featured design: Bloom (Duck Egg Blue) by nouveau_bohemian

A small tan wooden credenza sits against a wall with wallpaper featuring a white squiggle design on a light pink background. An abstract line portrait is on top of the left of the credenza, a round mirror is on the wall in the middle and a small blue-and-tan vase with dried white flowers is to the right. A small black rug with white flecks is on the floor in front of the credenza and small wooden chair is to the left. 
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A teeny tiny credenza

Featured design: Wiggle Pink by chelseamakes

A hand reaches in to adjust a dark orange bedspread with large repeating starburst leaves. The bed has a small navy lumbar pillow at its top in front of two white pillows. A tall plant is to the bed’s left and small wooden stool is to the bed’s right. Tan curtains are framing each window, one window to the left of the bed and one to the right. The design on the wallpaper behind the bed has a light blue background and white, dark blue and bright blue flowers growing on green stalks with green leaves. A few small orange flowers on long green stalks are to the top left. Two white birds with dark blue accents are each sitting on a floral stalk. 
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A very Spoonflower bedroom

Featured designs: ChelseaMakes x Spoonflower collection

 

 

A hand reaches in to adjust a dark orange bedspread with large repeating starburst leaves. The bed has a small navy lumbar pillow at its top in front of two white pillows. A tall plant is to the bed’s left and small wooden stool is to the bed’s right. Tan curtains are framing each window, one window to the left of the bed and one to the right. The design on the wallpaper behind the bed has a light blue background and white, dark blue and bright blue flowers growing on green stalks with green leaves. A few small orange flowers on long green stalks are to the top left. Two white birds with dark blue accents are each sitting on a floral stalk.
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The cutest tiny bench

Featured design: Bloom (Duck Egg Blue) by nouveau_bohemian

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What are your 3 best tips for styling a miniature house?

1. Experiment. The best thing about miniatures is that they can easily be changed. They don’t require a ton of time or materials, so you have the ability to change your design easily and quickly. You can be bold and bright one day, and neutral and natural the next.

2. Use what you have. Miniatures can easily be made out of scraps (or samples!). It’s a fun challenge to use recycled pieces and found objects in your mini home.

3. Find inspiration in the real world. I often look to furniture pieces and decor that I wish I had in my real home. It’s a great place to start when brainstorming what to make for your mini home.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chelsea Andersson (@chelseamakes)

For the video above, what was the idea process behind creating several separate bedrooms?

I love Spoonflower’s removable Peel and Stick Wallpaper because it is so easy to use. I wanted to show how quickly you can remove and replace the patterns as your style changes. I loved selecting unique patterns and determining which styles worked with one another. There are so many amazing Spoonflower artists to choose from and a seemingly endless amount of patterns.

 

What were the most fun and challenging items to make for the video and why? 

When I make miniatures I want them to look realistic. This can be especially difficult to achieve when sewing because fabric doesn’t drape the way it would at full scale. To achieve bedding that had a bit more “weight” I filled the blankets with sand. This made them a bit heavier and easier to fold over the sides of the mattress. To drape the curtains, I actually soaked the fabric in a glue stiffener mixture for similar reasons.

 

What’s next for you?

I’m teaching a class all about creating miniatures on Domestika! If you’ve always wanted to learn techniques for miniatures—this course is a super fun place to start!


Deborah Carr of Ashton House Miniatures

Deborah is an amateur miniature maker and performing arts teacher.

A look at small changing room inside a miniature ballet shop. Pink ballet slippers and a blue dress hang on a dark metal hooks on a white strip of wood. A small pink tote bag, large (relatively) bottle of water and magazine sit to the bottom left of the changing room next to a large mirror. The wallpaper design has a black background and a repeating design of a ballerina wearing white holding a white swan with orange flowers and green leaves at the ballerina’s feet. A gray-and-white curtain is pulled to the right of the changing room door. To the left is one step going straight up and then a flight of stairs ascending to the left.

A close up in Odette’s Ballet Shop. Featured design: Swan Lake – Odette – Small Scale by ceciliamok. 

A hand reaches in to adjust small white wine bottles in a miniature fridge. Baskets of beer cans sit in front of the fridge. The fridge sits underneath a white-and-black marbled counter with an espresso machine to the left with small dark green mugs on top and liquor bottles to the right. Above the counter is red brick wall and a shelf with white bowls and silver serving containers. To the left is a wooden shop countertop with beer taps, an orange flower stalk and a glass container holding a cake. 

What got you into making miniatures?  

I’ve always loved tiny things and bought Ashton House about seven years ago. However, during the first UK lockdown I decided to revamp it and document the renovation on Instagram and from there my obsession grew. I now have four houses as well as lots of smaller projects.

 

What about miniatures has kept you going with it? 

For me, miniatures are both a creative and therapeutic outlet. Tucking myself away at my workspace and losing myself in creating tiny details is the best medicine. I’m inspired by other miniaturists to continue pushing my abilities and love learning new techniques. I’ve got a million ideas in my head that I want to bring to life in miniature.

A close up of a miniature living room with a brown wooden parquet floor, and cream walls. A dark blue sofa is to the left with small dark red pillows on the right side and a white knitted throw and cream blanket on the left with a cream pillow with dark red geometric accents. A white nine-cube bookshelf is on the wall behind the sofa featuring knickknacks, candles, glass vases and small plants. A black storage chest is against the wall to the right and a black coffee table is in front of the sofa. The chest has two small white vases to the left in front of small posters, and a silver round lamp to the right. The coffee table has a stack of magazines, a round white vase and a larger blue-and-white striped vase with green leaves coming out the top. 
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Look at all this detail!

A miniature living room

A close up of a miniature kitchen with white tiles on the walls and flooring with a white background and rows of large black stars. The rest of the kitchen is silver, gray and black, except for a wooden island to the right which has a white bowl of brown eggs, a small pumpkin, a white vase with white flowers and a large white mixing bowl with a dark wooden spoon on the top level, two rolling pins on the middle level and a brown bowl of red apples on the bottom level. 
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All the kitchen things, but at 1/12 scale

Teeny tiny produce in a teeny tiny kitchen

Two sewn and finished miniature pillows sit next to a turquoise sewing machine. One has a white background and gray rabbits and the other has a brown-and-white background with rows of carrots. Several other pillows are in various stages of production around the finished ones. A small pile of stuffing is to the right.  
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Teeny tiny pillows

Featured designs: Easter Carrots and Gray Rabbit, both by erin__kendal

A miniature round wooden hot tub sits on a white floor by green walls. A small sun hat and a small white cube unit with a rolled-up light blue towel and phone in a pink case sit to the outside right of the tub. A small bottle of wine and two clear wine glasses site on the edge of the tub. Several tall to scale fake trees sit around the tub in planters.
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The tiniest of hot tubs!

Complete with Champagne

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What are your 3 best tips for styling a miniature house? 

1. Create a mood board. I always like to create a mood board before I start a room. It helps me to get all my ideas down on paper/screen and plan my budget. This hobby can get expensive! Keep samples of fabric, paint and household odds and ends. You never know when they’ll come in handy. I built my hot tub from a yogurt pot and lolly sticks.

2. Make it personal. My favourite thing to do is include meaningful miniatures in my tiny homes. The nursery in Ashton House has my son’s favourite childhood books, other items in the house also have links to family holidays, and the dance studio is an ode to my time as a ballet teacher.

3. Remember there are no rules! It’s your house so let your imagination run wild!

What’s next for you? 

I’m about to start on a new project building a Spanish house inspired by our families’ many trips to the island of Mallorca.


Robb and Jess Coffee portrait

Robb and Jess Coffee

jessicacloe.com

Robb and Jess Coffee run Jessica Cloe Miniatures. They love working together to craft realistic and relatable miniatures!

A close-up of two rooms in a miniature house, one upstairs and one downstairs, with wooden flooring separating the rooms. The upstairs sitting room has three cream chairs, two clear chairs sitting behind two white wooden desks and a clear coffee table with a stack of two magazines, and a planter with white flowers with yellow centers. A white rug with brown lines is one the wooden floor. A bookshelf is to the left, with books and a small piece of driftwood on the shelves. A small lemon tree is against a window to the right of the bookshelf. A print of a magnolia blossom in a black frame is to the right of the window. The room downstairs is a bedroom with black walls and cream accents, including cream bedding and double doors. A white chair at a dark brown desk with white flowers in a planter and a laptop on it, and a white bookshelf with black shelves to the desk’s left. The bookshelves have pillows and storage boxes on them.

The back of Robb and Jess’s Mini Modern Farmhouse.

A close up of a miniature living room. White shiplap is on the wall, with two surfboards hanging horizontally on the wall too. The sofa and chairs are white, the coffee table is clear. The floor and a small tray on the table are brown wood. Three small succulents sit in the tray on the coffee table several small potted plants are in the corner. A faux bearskin rug is beneath the coffee table and the top of a freestanding fireplace extends into the screen and is dark green. 

The living room of Jess and Robb’s Long Farmhouse.

What got you into making miniatures?  

Jess: My obsession with minis goes all the way back, but Robb finally talked me into finding a dollhouse to remodel in 2019. At first I pretended that it was just going to be a cool, modern hangout for the kids’ action figures, but we were all hooked in no time.

Robb: Jess lured me into miniature creating with the prospect of new and varied creative adventures. And, of course, new tools. I’d been wanting to dabble in 3D printing and laser cutting, so it didn’t really take much convincing.

 

What about miniatures has kept you going with it?  

Jess: It’s honestly the perfect fit for frustrated remodelers. We’re always in the middle of changing up something in our full-sized homes. It is time-consuming and expensive. By comparison, working in miniature offers fresh, fast results. Plus, with three little boys running around the place, sometimes it’s nice to create a little space that looks nearly tidy.

Robb: I love that we are always having to come up with new solutions. One of our family mantras is that everything is figure-out-able and working with miniature really forces you to embrace that.

A close up look at the back of a miniature doll house. On the middle floor is a white bedroom with white bedding, window seat, walls, dresser and table. A white rug with black boho accents is underneath the bed. To the left of the bedroom is part of a bathroom, with flooring with rows of brown and black stars, a white storage unit, white brick walls and part of a white tub. A small portion of the upstairs sitting room is visible with a white table and white chair. Down below, part of the kitchen is shown, with a round light brown kitchen table with two clear chairs and white-and-black gingham wallpaper. 
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The back of the Bay View house

See more of the Bay View house here

A close up of the front of a miniature store with a white front and awning and two glass doors with white trim and gold handles. A black light fixture is on either side of the doors.  
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The front of the miniature Jessica Cloe Minis shop

With a miniature house inside the mini shop!

A close up look at a miniature bathroom featuring a large white clawfoot tub with a copper faucet and wooden gray parquet flooring. The wallpaper has a white background and a gray-and-black boho design. A small soft what table is in the photo’s foreground with three small candles sitting on a silver tray and a book on it. A large white-rimmed mirror is learning against the wall to the left and a bathroom scale is to its right.
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Mini Modern Farmhouse bathroom

See more of their Mini Modern Farmhouse here

A close up look at a miniature laundry room. A small washer and dryer sit side by side against a navy wall with large rust-colored flowers. A white sign hangs above the appliances that says “Laundry Service, wash, dry, press, fold.” A ironing board leans against the appliance to the left and an iron and small metal planter with green leaves coming out of it sits on top of it. A white laundry basket with clothes and a turquoise bottle of laundry detergent sits in front of the machines. 
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Long Farmhouse laundry room

With detergent ready to get to work!

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What are your 3 best tips for styling a miniature house? 

1. Choose your big moment. Keep the rest calm and complementary. If you want to go with some bold wallpaper, do it! But maybe tone down rest of the space to really let the walls shine. – Jess

2. Don’t over-decorate. It’s a bit tempting to smush all of the “cute” little things into one space, but that can feel overwhelming, even in miniature. Plus, if you are looking in at a dollhouse with all of the rooms visible at once, it helps to have somewhat of a consistent theme throughout the whole space. – Robb

3. Revel in the imperfections. In miniature, the temptation is to go a bit precious. It can’t be helped. But definitely try to find moments to add those realistic touches. Laundry baskets, dirty dishes, a craft project left out—have fun with it. – Jess

 

What’s next for you? 

We are currently in the middle of a custom commission. It’s pretty much the most fun ever, but we don’t get to share it quite yet.

Want to learn more about Spoonflower makers?

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About the Author

Betsy Greer portrait

Betsy Greer

See some of Betsy's favorite Spoonflower designs

Betsy is a writer and stitcher who joined the Brand Marketing team in July 2021. In her spare time, she talks to people about their choice to make things by hand and related lessons learned for her project Dear Textiles. She also aims to befriend all the dogs she meets and is forever looking for the perfect dress pattern with pockets.

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