Kitchen Construction Pt. 1

This is the first of what I expect to be many posts on the dollhouse's kitchen. I'm starting right from the beginning and sharing my inspiration, plans for the design, and current construction progress.



Before we jump in, lets take a quick trip down Paper Doll Miniature's blogger memory lane! This is my 3rd kitchen and I'm using a lot of elements from my previous ones.

The white traditional kitchen roombox:  I made this kitchen before I had access to a laser cutter.  It's made from thin basswood sheets and a kraft knife.  All it's posts are here (some posts are missing images).

 My first laser cut kitchen roombox: for some reason, I made this kitchen twice over!  Looking back now I love the first edition with its earthy tones, but at some point during the build, I decided to change it's style and painted everything in greys and whites.   You can see all the posts for it here.
  (finished with new cabinet colour):
My Belmont Kitchen: this is last year's kitchen that was part of my Belmont dollhouse.  You can see the posts on this one here.

This new kitchen takes a lot of design cues from the Belmont kitchen.  I wanted to fit a fridge, range, and double oven along one wall once again.  So I kept a similar layout.  For colour and style, I'm leaning towards a mix of my first laser cut kitchen with the earthy tones of wood, but also greys.
I'm using a small herringbone tile pattern for the backsplash and a rectangular inlay above the stove top.  The fridge is going to have cabinet fronts for seamless integration.  For the floor, I'm doing another herringbone pattern with wood veneer.

The other side of the kitchen features a sink under the window with some open shelving.  I'm not quite sure what I plan to put on the far left, a tall pantry or something?  It needs to balance out the cabinets on the right. 
I don't have a photo of the 3rd wall but it will feature some sort of row of windows and have a hinged opening to see inside.

Here's a look of the design in scale with the room:
 I'm just squeezing in the row of cabinets with the fridge before the doorway!

All this planning is necessary at this stage because there are so many parts of the kitchen that intertwine with the construction of the house.  For example, the wall with the window will feature a tile backsplash and I need to have that laser etched before I assemble.

Here you can see the tiles in place.  I have to paint them still.
I also threw in some extra cabinets from another kitchen to visualize the space.

 Now that the cabinet layout is planned I can also fix the window placement on the exterior wall.
The plan is to complete the tiles the next and glue the walls.  This is my last step before I could take the dollhouse out of dry fit stage.  The new faucets, pot filler and other hardware are on the way but I'll probably focus a bit more on the construction before I get to them.

Hope all your own mini projects are going well, too!

18 comments

  1. Oh what I wouldn't give to have a REAL LIFE kitchen like your mini one!!!
    It's not even finished and I'm already madly in love with it! ❤️

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    1. I know wouldn't it be a dream? At least I get to put everything I want into the mini one! Well, almost... I still find it difficult to fit things into these small dollhouse layouts. If I had a 3 sided layout it would be much easier for sure.

      Hoping I can keep up the construction pace!

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  2. I'm in love with the grey, white and dark blue version of your first kitchen. Hmm... dream kitchen for real life.

    If you're trying to balance out the pantry you could do a concealed coffee bar/station. A little door to roll up or open and you could have the coffee maker inside.

    This is going to be gorgeous!

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    1. A coffee bar station would be a great idea. It's such an awkward placement... it's right beside the side exterior wall and the sink. I almost wish I had another section of cabinets for a wine chiller and coffee bar, but I want that side wall to open. Tough choices. Either way I'm going to get one of those instant coffee maker machines for my counter tops :)

      Now the real dilemma is whether to make the cupboards and drawers open? I feel like that would be a nightmare and a half... but tempting no less!

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    2. Yeahhh... tempting but man that's a lot of work. And when you can open them there's the temptation to fill them up.

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  3. I love your kitchens, it's what started me following your blog. I am going to love following along from the start in this one. Your plans are meticulous, which, I'm sure, is why your kitchens look so polished in the end.

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    1. Thanks Keli! Like I said they're my favourite too. Part of me thinks I could spend all my miniature time making mini kitchen roomboxes and I'd be content. I probably will once I finish this monster size house! ;)

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  4. Cualquiera de las cocinas,enamoran a primera vista! son increĆ­bles,trabajas de manera genial,por lo que los resultados son espectaculares!
    Me encantarĆ” ver como haces Ć©sta Ćŗltima!
    Besos-.

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    1. Thank you Pilar! I'm really excited to see how this one turns out. I feel so much more confident making this one now. It will be fun to try new things to elevate it.

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  5. Kristine, the new design looks marvelous! And the older designs, like this one, are ahead of their time. Truly the pinnacle of what is possible in miniature! All are dream kitchens in any scale! I'm really excited to see the tile all painted - the design is amazing! There will be no end to the miniaturists you'll inspire with this "out of the park" project!

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  6. La verdad es que me encantan todos los modelos . Creo que ni en la escala 1:1 he visto unas cocinas tan bonitas.

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  7. I love kitchens and yours are quite spectacular! No doubt you are a pro. Looking forward to see more :)

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  8. What a great project! I can't wait to see more... Your other kitchens are fantastic.
    GeneviĆØve

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  9. Those earth tones speak to me, though I do love a white kitchen. I painted my real life cabinets white. :] This is already spectacular in the planning stage! :D

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  10. Your kitchens are so beautiful.

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  11. Hi Kristine! Your kitchens are all so Fabulous... I can't wait to see this one as it develops!!! You are off to a great start! It is always so much fun to begin a big project! I am a fan of color... and I think gray is a beautiful one! :)

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  12. Well this is going to be spectacular. I may require you to travel to Australia and build me a RL one. :D
    I wonder what you are doing for lighting? Will there be pendants over the island?

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