Are dollhouses the new colouring book?
I’m staring at a photo of one of my favourite styles of kitchen: dark herringbone wood floor, teal green base cabinets with brass hardware, white honeycomb tile backsplash, white farmhouse sink. Thick slabs of weathered wood provide open storage above the white marble countertops, showing off a collection of copper and green kitchenware, gleaming white mugs and plates.
The only part of the photo I don’t get is the dude in the backwards baseball cap standing proudly near the cabinets. The caption doesn’t mention his profession, but unless he’s an actual pro or semi-pro baseball player returned home from a game, or a teenage boy, there’s no excuse for a grown-ass man wearing a backwards baseball cap. Get out of my dream kitchen, dude. You’re ruining the vibe.
I don’t feel like I’m hurting his feelings, either, backwards baseball cap guy. Because in this instance, he doesn’t actually exist. He is a mini figurine inside a mini kitchen inside a dollhouse. The photo, posted by @little_structures, is one of 1.2 million posts under the #dollhouse hashtag on Instagram, where you’ll find mini everything, from minimalist rooms and decor to mini rainbow pancakes topped with a mini pat of butter and served on a mini plate, to mini solariums and walk-in closets, complete with mini handbags and shoes.
They are the homes, rooms and decor we wish we owned, but in real-size. They are the finished renos we wish we’d completed. And they are the newest-old version of fantasy home styling, this time in mini, touchable 3-D.
Because according to a recent Associated Press (AP) story, dollhouses are surging in popularity right now amongst young women, thanks to social media. Which maybe shouldn’t be too surprising considering our collective obsession with home reno and decor shows, magazines, blogs, photos and so on.
But the dollhouses of today are not necessarily the Monica Geller versions, all proper and pristine and Victorian, filled with mahogany china cabinets, absent any ghosts in the attic — although there do seem to be plenty of those, if that’s your thing.
Continue searching #dollhousedecor, #dollhouseminiatures, #dollhousereno on Instagram and you’ll find even more posts of all sorts of mini representations of the homes in which we’d love to live.
For some of us, that means a modern cottage with floating staircase and arched entryways. For others, it could mean a Zen, spa-like bathroom with round, modern tub. And still for others, it could mean something completely out there like Phoebe Buffay’s dollhouse with the slide for a staircase, licorice room and chimney that blows bubbles. Only different.
“If the rise of Instagram hadn’t happened, neither would this resurgence of dollhouses,” Australian dollhouse hobbyist Stephanie Wallace explained to AP. “All of a sudden the focus has been on visual content. And it’s a way to form connections with people.”
Wallace goes on to explain that unlike some social media forums, the dollhouse community on Instagram is extremely supportive of one another, offering inspiration and encouragement to its members to try new projects they previously didn’t think they could accomplish. It’s relaxing, she says, and a connection to childhood.
And, of course, buying a replica of your favourite designer couch is much less expensive in mini version than it would be in real-size versions.
If you hop on over to Pinterest, you’ll find Pins linked to blogs detailing how to properly build dollhouse elements, like laying hardwood floors — a dream of mine in real life for my real house that I know I will never have the time or energy to tackle. Dollhouse? Maybe.
I was curious about whether or not this new version of an old hobby was seeing any traction in Hamilton, so I reached out via message board to a few local Etsy sellers of miniature items. Eva Kong, owner of Ever After Miniatures, told me that she has, indeed, seen a spike in miniature sales, especially as Halloween approaches.
“We often hear our customers talking about decorating their dollhouse witch shops, school libraries, and other Christmas dollhouse projects,” writes Kong, who sells a neato paper printable coffin-shaped bookcase for those interested in crafting Halloweenthemed furniture. “To respond to the trend, we have many Halloween miniatures and over 30 different miniature books on the magic topic alone, and miniature books of a vast number of topics such as science encyclopedia, textbooks, fairy tales, cooking, antique manuscripts, etc. This September sale was our best so far.”
It makes sense, though, doesn’t it?
With home prices where they are, building our dream homes in tiny versions could be therapeutic. But mine would include pets who don’t eat and claw everything in sight.