tiny houses

August 1, 2024 6:25 AM

a miniature renaissance is upon us. “There’s an explosion of popularity around miniatures these days; it has emerged as this pop culture phenomenon" [AD]
posted by HearHere (38 comments total)

if you find yourself at The Chicago Art Institute swing by the basement level just inside the Michigan Ave entrance and check out The Thorne Rooms. It's a fascinating collection of miniature interiors from a variety of architectural styles.

(I confess, I thought this article was going to be about the explosion in miniature wargaming and roleplaying game pieces that have emerged from the 3D printing boom, then I saw it was AD, and I still hoped that Architectural Digest decided to do a feature on 3D printed dungeon architecture)
posted by bl1nk at 6:35 AM on August 1 [23 favorites]

This is great
posted by bq at 7:44 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

nice
posted by Phanx at 7:47 AM on August 1 [4 favorites]

Bankrupting myself at Games Workshop assembling a 5000pt dining room set.
posted by Artw at 7:58 AM on August 1 [17 favorites]

Very old post of mine with links to a mini cafe project I enjoyed quite a bit, if you want to watch some content.
posted by phunniemee at 8:02 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]

Canada has a competition reality show called Best in Miniature and I love it so much and also I DO NOT NEED A NEW HOBBY.

The best and worst thing about miniature making is that it is actually like ALL the hobbies at once. Woodwork, sewing, painting, sculpting, ceramics, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

I have some time booked in the flameworking studio this evening, and I might have a go at blowing a little tiny glass vase just to see if I can.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:09 AM on August 1 [7 favorites]

I got sucked into miniatures Instagram recently. I often think it's a hobby I would enjoy, but it requires so much stuff! I need to stick with my more portable hobbies and continue to just look at miniatures online.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:18 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

My paternal grandparents had a doll house in their living room. That was something I had completely forgotten about.

Last year I was working on a project with my preschools (a 2d house) and went down a huge rabbit hole of miniatures while looking for wallpapers to print. I was seriously shopping for a doll house for myself.
posted by kathrynm at 8:26 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

Fine... Twist my arm! I'll share a link to a diorama I made of Darnell's Garage from the movie Christine...

Not entirely the same as interior design miniatures, but it's maybe my favorite thing I've made. Also... it was mentioned briefly on the Christine episode of Blank Check. So that was a thrill.
posted by Laura Palmer's Cold Dead Kiss at 8:32 AM on August 1 [19 favorites]

I saw it was AD, and I still hoped that Architectural Digest decided to do a feature on 3D printed dungeon architecture

AD&D: Architectural Digest & Dragons
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:59 AM on August 1 [4 favorites]

Those aren’t miniatures; those are terrain pieces!
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:04 AM on August 1 [4 favorites]

This is one of my favourite genres of chill video to watch while falling asleep! Some of my favourite miniturists on YouTube:

hitsuji no ie - makes lovely little scenes and rooms, often from basic crafting materials.
hanabira - "Ghibli vibes" and Sylvanian Families housing, again all from scratch (some of the methods used are totally genius!).
Marklinofsweden - this guy makes diaoramas and landscapes for his model trains. Very detailed and delightful.
posted by fight or flight at 9:15 AM on August 1 [3 favorites]

I wonder to what extent the creepy dollhouse in Hereditary has contributed to this trend.

I also wonder what AD makes of the odd phenomenon of book nooks.
posted by Just the one swan, actually at 9:24 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]

I love art projects like the creepy death house in Hereditary, I have to admit.

See also Bobby Fingers and Dinos Chapman’s Fucking Hell.
posted by Artw at 9:30 AM on August 1 [3 favorites]

(Probably should be an “or” not an “and” there for clarity)
posted by Artw at 9:33 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

And I thought I would never be able to afford to become a homeowner! But seriously, check out the TV show Best in Miniature if you get a chance.
posted by Garm at 10:15 AM on August 1 [1 favorite]

Thanks for this. Can also recommend the UK Best in Miniature, which is called The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge. Though the bit with Sandi Toksvig walking around inside the house is annoying.

There are other MF miniature posts at the tags, miniature and miniatures. A good one is selfmedicating's with needlepointed rugs.
posted by paduasoy at 11:39 AM on August 1 [2 favorites]

There are many small things in the Office of Collecting and Design.
posted by armacy at 1:05 PM on August 1 [2 favorites]

I've been working on a point and click game along the lines of Myst (1993). Having failed a couple of times to engage an illustrator to work with me on the project, and being loath to use Blender, I am building the rooms as dioramas, and then photographing the insides. This is an insane way to do things -- but I have just completed the first room (but for some compositing and color correction), and it looks like it will work.
posted by novalis_dt at 1:57 PM on August 1 [15 favorites]

I adore the miniatures from Re-Ment. Look at the Petit Sample series for the more realistic (less cartoony) stuff.
posted by cheshyre at 3:20 PM on August 1 [3 favorites]

I'm excited to see all the 28-32mm people in this thread getting excited about dollhouses. Its the same thing! I'm personally enjoy that on the grimdark side you can build some trashbashed shithouses, but I love that its all the same thing down at its core.

I fell into this hobby just earlier this year due to burnout with my other hobbies that had me glued to the exact same computer I'm glued to for work all day. Building something physical that requires tunnel vision focus is just nice.
posted by jonbro at 4:01 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]

Fine... Twist my arm! I'll share a link to a diorama I made of Darnell's Garage from the movie Christine...

Holy shit.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:01 PM on August 1 [5 favorites]

Just to amplify, y'all are gonna want to check out that link.
posted by stet at 4:40 PM on August 1 [2 favorites]

I miss bondcliff and his New Year's Eve tradition, held on the Train Layout Of Inside Jokes.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:13 PM on August 1 [2 favorites]

I have some time booked in the flameworking studio this evening, and I might have a go at blowing a little tiny glass vase just to see if I can.

Narrator: she can not.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:18 PM on August 1 [9 favorites]

wow the Christine diorama is amazing! thanks for sharing!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:26 PM on August 1 [2 favorites]

Most of the miniatures/diorama folks I watch on youtube are wargame-focused, but two that aren't are Boylei Hobby Time, who has a recurring series about the Wild West except with mecha and giant monster animals (linked video is a swarm of jackalopes attacting a fort), and Studson Studio, who does a lot of buildings from video games and disney/Ghibli movies (and is a pretty funny guy). (Linked video is a totally bonkers scale model of Howl's Moving Castle.)
posted by rifflesby at 8:41 PM on August 1 [2 favorites]

Also of note are twin brothers Dan Does and Bill Making Stuff, who mostly make monsters and cool wargame terrain and are very good at it, as well as being very entertaining guys.
posted by rifflesby at 8:46 PM on August 1 [1 favorite]

If you want to make some miniatures or dollhouses but don't want to make a huge initial investment or do a big project or have a final product that takes up a big footprint in your home, try a Book Nook kit! You can get them on Amazon usually for about $40-60, but I'm starting to see them in chain craft stores (I've seen them at Michaels and, IIRC, Jo-Ann for sure, and I think at Books-A-Million, not sure about Barnes and Noble).

You get most of the things you need in most of the kits, but you might want to be sure to also have a fine-grain sanding block to finish edges, a small clamp (something like a chip bag clip will probably work, or a book you can set on top of pieces while glue dries), a set of basic small pliers (you'll be installing basic lighting that comes in the kit), and maybe a few craft glues like E-6000 and Aleene's Tacky Glue. Also probably some toothpicks for glue application. Some kits come with glue, but many don't.

These will not teach you any painting techniques, although if you know some, nothing is stopping you from customizing your book nook with them. But it will get you used to working with small components and give you some ideas about how to put miniature items together. If you enjoy it, you can move on to bigger projects. If you don't want to do any more of this kind of thing, you have a nice item for your bookshelf or a nice gift for someone else's.
posted by verbminx at 5:42 AM on August 2 [4 favorites]

It would probably help if I explained what a book nook is. They're small dioramas about the size of a large hardcover book, meant to be seen from what would be the spine edge. Usually they're a view down a street or into a room. Most of them contain lighting components, and many of the available kits have themes alluding to popular novels -- many hint at Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Lord of the Rings, and so on. They're meant to be displayed between books, on bookshelves. Easier ones are more like 3D puzzles, but some involve fully-built miniature furniture or buildings or objects.
posted by verbminx at 5:46 AM on August 2 [6 favorites]

They're meant to be displayed between books, on bookshelves

So wait, you're saying that there are people with spaces between books on their shelves, like not every square inch of space is filled up with books? I'll believe it when I see it.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:07 AM on August 2 [5 favorites]

I follow model makers Frank Kunert and Kieran Wright (Small Scale LA) on instagram.
posted by fridgebuzz at 7:00 AM on August 2 [1 favorite]

Also wow the blood tracks on the Christine diorama
posted by fridgebuzz at 7:01 AM on August 2 [3 favorites]

oh hey, a great place to gush about Amanda Kelly (@pandaminiatures on insta fb and tiktok), who creates miniature art about hoarding, the depression nest you make in bed when you're sick with covid, metacommentary about her own creative process and more.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:34 AM on August 2 [6 favorites]

This post, and @bl1nk's comment reminded me that there's also a Thorne Rooms exhibit at the Knoxville Art Museum. It's smaller, but it's also much closer. I'm going to make a plan to drive up there this month! Yay! Thank you for this reminder of a passion from my youth!

Meanwhile, my Victorian dollhouse, with only the kitchen fully decorated and all the other rooms bare, is all the way in my mom's house in Buffalo. Sigh. Someday.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 11:23 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]

Mod note: [Nice! Btw, this post and Laura Palmer's Cold Dead Kiss's comment have been featured on the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 2:44 AM on August 6 [1 favorite]

Thanks for linking to Amanda Kelly, The demon that lives in the air, those are bleak and fascinating.
posted by paduasoy at 1:52 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]

Abigail Goldman does wonderful work and is "the subject of an award-winning short documentary, Dieorama, made for Topic Magazine".
posted by fridgebuzz at 12:15 AM on August 23