'My little sanctuary': Meet the Irish dollhouse enthusiasts who are big on miniatures
Miniatures and dollhouses are enjoying a resurgence in popularity with adults and children
So many of us have tackled tidying or renovation or decorating projects during the past couple of years — and some have even fully kitted out several entire homes. Of course, it's a different story when these houses and everything in them are on a 1:12 scale. Meet some miniaturists who have houses that at first glance you might think are actual furniture store showrooms or are for rent on property sites.
Miniaturism or dollhouse projects are having a bit of a moment. Channel 4's More 4 has just started a new competitive dollhouse series, The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge with Sandi Toksvig. And you can go down a beautifully appointed and decorated rabbit hole of miniatures on Instagram or TikTok.This show challenges designers to renovate an entire derelict mansion, inspired by real-world designs: "The catch is that the luxury fantasy home they must renovate is doll-sized. Whilst the projects may be tiny, the task is huge. Our cast of miniacs (people who create all things miniature) will be set a series of challenges to test their design and practical skills."
One miniaturist keeping a close eye on the show is Saskia Van Goethem, originally from Antwerp and now living in Cork's Ballintemple.
She started her miniature projects when one of her daughters asked for doll furniture for Christmas.
"I bought a cheap dollhouse-shaped shelf to house the furniture. The shelf has no set scale — but it's perfect for playing as it's easily accessible and the ceilings are high. It's when we were renovating this shelf dollhouse and started doing some research that I discovered the world of 'miniatures' on social media."
Then when lockdown restrictions first came into play she became hooked on the intricacy of renovating and decorating dollhouses herself.
"The key difference between a dollhouse for playing and one that is designed by miniaturist is the 'realism factor' I think. And the storytelling. A miniaturist tries to tell a story through pictures/reels etc of their dollhouse. My story is that of a nearly retired couple (we actually call them Oma and Opa as that is what the grandkids call my mum and dad) living through the renovation of their downsized house."
"Just like my parents, they love good food (so the Hello Fresh box was a must); wine and relaxing. It's an 'ode' to my parents' way of life," she explains.
In terms of creativity, a dollhouse/miniature hobby has it all, according to Saskia: "It's the perfect outlet to be creative in all sorts of disciplines. And on a small and affordable scale, small means less fabric; less wood; less paint; less glue; less wool. For the 'miniaturist' house I try to make as much as I can myself — so I'm the interior designer, builder, kitchen cabinet maker, bathroom maker, carpenter, painter, and electrician. I made the wooden floors; I knit and crochet; make miniature books, miniature food, tiny little shopping bags and Christmas presents, artwork... so it never gets boring."
"It's a great way of escapism — and I get a lot of enjoyment just scrolling through miniature social media accounts."
Suzanne Beattie in Dublin (bijoubea_miniatures on Instagram) is also a keen dollhouse fan. She had always wanted a dollhouse as a child and when she 'had a roundy birthday' she asked her husband for one as a present.
While she is happy for her hobby to be called 'dollhousing' or making doll-sized miniatures, she doesn't actually have any dolls in her houses.
"Funnily enough there are no dolls in my houses, I think they look a bit creepy. There is no doll going to look real enough. You can make the furniture look so realistic that when you take a photo you wonder for a moment if it is a real room or not but if you put a doll in that room it just throws it completely."
She explains that lockdown really made her enthusiasm for miniatures flourish: "So I finally found a dollhouse I loved in a Spanish miniature shop and I got it shipped out from Spain. I 'tracked' it the whole way over — I couldn't wait. That was I think November 2019 and then it just took a life of its own then because there was nothing to do and actually in a way I could just hide away in my own little imaginary world and make stuff that I was in control of when everything else outside was a bit crazy. I kind of felt it was my little sanctuary or whatever."
Suzanne has three teenage children and she says they were somewhat bemused by her new hobby but she got a suggestion from her eldest to use Instagram to document it.
"I think I started with 36 followers. It was a bit of a joke. I've nearly 16,000 now. And that's nothing compared to some people who would have hundreds of thousands of followers but this is just a lovely hobby and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than ripping a room apart and putting it back together and getting a new three-piece suite or whatever."
Many traditional dollhouses would be Regency or Victorian but now there is a move towards modern styles or shabby chic or French farmhouse.
Household materials can be repurposed with a bit of spray paint and imagination as dollhouse furniture — for example, Suzanne has used a toothpaste tube lid as a tiny flowerpot and Saskia orders parcels of offcuts of MDF to sort through and use for making miniature couches or beds.
Kits to make basic dollhouses can cost hundreds of euro and dollhouse miniatures such as footstools or wreaths can cost around €15 each.
Both enthusiasts say it's tricky to put a price on an actual completed dollhouse as it is a hobby rather than a business.
"Honestly, they are kind of priceless, I mean the hours you put into them alone. I buy old furniture and paint it up myself. I've no idea how much," says Suzanne.
"It's a brilliant escape, and I've loved working on them in the evenings and I've loved watching my girls and their friends enjoying them too," says Saskia.
- The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge with Sandi Toksvig is on More4, Sunday, 9pm
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