My Rennie Mackintosh
Emma Waddle is a professional miniaturist with a talent for creating mutli-era builds. She tells us more about this beautiful Rennie Mackintosh-style project, built for a client and how you can adopt her practises to make your build easier.
Emma Waddle gives her expert advice on how to renovate a dolls house, in this case transforming the Georgian era into a Rennie Mackintosh-style project.
I have had a few requests in my time to alter houses, from adding secret passages, putting in grand staircases, increasing ceiling heights, even putting in a lift, but I had yet to change a Georgian mansion into a Rennie Mackintosh residence, this was a first. I have to say, these are not my ideas, they are the long-held dreams of my clients, I have to extract them from their head and as best I can make them a reality. It’s a little easier now with the help of talented friends who can work laser cutters who really can snapshot your dream and manufacture it into a tangible miniature but sometimes I’m still left scratching my head thinking now how am I going to do that.
My client had bought a Georgian Ashvale house from The Dolls House Builder a couple of years ago, it’s a Georgian residence with a staircase running up the centre. It has a lovely Georgian façade, but the opposite really of what my client wanted. My brief was to make this into a Mackintosh house, with a bit of the Arts and Crafts movement thrown in. Oh, and a library based on one she had seen in on a miniatures blog.
First I always research. If you are attempting anything like this I suggest you do your research, decide what will work. I looked at every Mackintosh house I could find and picked up elements of what could be re-created in miniature, with a bit of artistic licence of course. Some items I can buy in, like ready made lights, some have to be made from scratch and some I need help with.
I showed all the options to my client, Mackintosh styles were all over the place it seemed.
I take inspiration from real houses not miniatures, but it can be several rooms made into one. I then draw (with an old-fashioned paper and pencil!) my room with colours to see if it will all work. I will also remove staircases, apart from the grand staircase, giving more rooms where I can. I will put in more corridors, fully lit and decorated, to give the illusion of stairs and rooms beyond. You can use false doors to the same effect.
All this can lead to a fair bit of blocking off doors and ceiling holes I admit, but sanding and painting later will give you a nice clean finish. Do the building work first, then you can paint your house a white coat as a base for the paint and paper, ceilings and walls, but not floors.
Another tricky request, my client wanted a spiral staircase. I was adamant this would not work, simply because the tool to cut the circle did not fit into the house, not only that, I needed to make a hole in the same room to allow a chandelier to fit through the ceiling, making a galleried effect.
I did it though, I cut a square out where I wanted the hole, cut the hole in the floor then re inserted the square back and finished with a bit of sanding and filling.
I had to put in some extra supports, but it was solid enough.
I designed the house so the colours would compliment each other and the client chose exactly what she wanted on each room,
including the star and moon night sky in the library. It’s important to think when you decorate and design a room; it’s a box, how can you add interest, can you make an extra rear wall in the kitchen to allow for a pantry for example. I liked the clean lines of Mackintosh and the vibrancy of the Morris papers, there are some lovely textures in this house too limestone, slate as well as wood. If you are not sure how much you need to cover a room, ask the supplier, they are very knowledgeable. Or ask me and I’ll ask them…
The exterior was a challenge, I took elements of real houses and some from my head. I looked up the Glasgow School of
Arts and I ended up remaking the entire frontage. I didn’t charge for it as I really didn’t know if I could achieve it. It turned out like I had drawn it, it turned out like something I’d had in my head for a change, and very different to how it started. Once you’ve done your research, draw a crude sketch of what you want, or use a kit or a ready made house so you can achieve the dream you have in your head.
The miniature community are generous in their time and knowledge, I am fortunate to know a few of them who always help me out with my (or my clients) ideas. Also included on this client’s wish list was a rather beautiful Mackintosh style-stained glass arch, only ever seen before in real size. I think in the 11 or so years I have been designing houses and the 40 plus years of collecting I have developed a skill, it’s not in the work itself, it’s knowing the very talented, friendly people I can turn to for help. I can’t do it but they can. I know my limitations, but if you know the right people there are none really. That’s how I managed to make the arch, I ended up with a beautiful laser cut kit that I painted and also used fine pens on the etched perspex to mimic stained glass.
So if I can do it so can you. Work on one room at a time, plan it out, ask us for help, we will tell you who our suppliers are and our secrets, that’s how I learnt.