Jump to content

New Dollhouse Furniture Kits


cdisdero

Recommended Posts

I am a new member of your fine community, and I've recently designed and engineered several new miniature dollhouse furniture kits in 1:12 scale that I'll be releasing soon through my company Silver Ridge Modelworks. Here are some photos of the finished prototypes. There's a writing desk which features real dovetail joinery on the drawers, a round table, and a wall cabinet. The kits will feature all the precut and laser-cut wood parts along with full assembly and finishing instructions. Many hours of fun for those who love to build miniatures. Tell me what you think. If there's some interest, I hope to produce many more designs. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Christopher Disdero

Sole Proprietor

Silver Ridge Modelworks

post-63940-0-08842100-1418586931_thumb.j
post-63940-0-94918700-1418586932_thumb.j

post-63940-0-82939700-1418586934_thumb.j

post-63940-0-66626600-1418586936_thumb.j

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mini dovetails! I want to be you when I grow up, Christopher! Will your kits be made of basswood or other woods? Will they include hardware? I suggest not including stain packets, like the House of Miniatures kits do. Is your little round table a pie crust table, or will that be an option, and is the top fixed or a tilt top? (I built the tilt top HoM pie crust table kit and I cant ever get the top to stay up level to put items on it). Can you tell I'm excited about this? While I enjoy building kits I have even more fun cutting my on pieces and seeing them turn into furniture, so much so that I drive other people here batty urging them to give making furniture a try. Your kits so far look as though they will take the newb mini cabinetmaker into a more complex and therefore more satisfactory level of accomplishment and produce something a lot nicer than the stuff that comes from China.

Oh, an will your kits include the weensy hardware?

Please introduce yourself at the Newcomers Forum.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the interest in my kits! To answer some of the great questions that havanaholly brought up:

Q: Will your kits be made of basswood or other woods?

A: They will be made from basswood to begin with, but I could produce versions with cherry, maple, mahogany, or walnut. The other woods are more expensive, but I could make them available in limited quantities if there's interest.

Q: Will they include hardware?

A: Yes. Probably Houseworks hardware. That's what I used for the prototypes.

Q: I suggest not including stain packets, like the House of Miniatures kits do.

A: I agree. I won't be including stain packets. I give people suggestions in the instruction manuals on the kinds of stain and finishes I'd recommend along with part numbers and places to buy.

Q: Is your little round table a pie crust table, or will that be an option?

A: The round table kit featured in the photos does not have a pie crust top. Perhaps if I get some ideas about mass-fabricating that top style, I will add that design later - great suggestion!

Q: Is the round table top fixed or a tilt top?

A: The round table kit will have a fixed top. I hope to introduce a nice tilt-top design later that will use a much better and more stable tilt mechanism than that original HoM kit you are referring to.

Q: Oh, an will your kits include the weensy hardware?

A: Yes. All the hardware and wood parts to assemble your craftsman quality furniture will be included.

minilover62 raised an important issue about the price tag of these kits, that I'd like to address. Sadly, the costs of the wood and laser cutting is skyrocketing. I intend to produce the kits so that I only make a modest profit over the actual cost of the materials. Even so, the cost of these kits will probably be more than the original HoM kits from 40 years ago. I don't have accurate costs yet - I need to have my laser cutting service cut the final designs (after fixing issues I ran into during prototyping) and then I can calculate actual costs. This should happen within the next week or so.

After that I'll have some kits to sell. I'll keep you all posted when they are available. I'm so glad you are interested in these kits. I have a lot more designs to produce so before long we could have a rich series of kits to enjoy building. I'm so excited to get started, and I'm glad you are too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Christopher, I dipped my toe into furniture making building House of Miniature and Mini Mundus kits, and neither one offered dovetails! Also, do read the rules at the Trading Post; people can PM you for prices; you can put the link to your website in your signature line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Christopher, I am so glad you will be making kits! :D

Could I ask pretty please for some more contemporary furniture too? Not simply Ikea style stuff, but some more versatile & practical pieces that you'd find in modern houses and furniture stores these days.

:construction:

Simple kitchen cabinetry, for example, with individual floor and wall units (plus corner cabinet, a wine rack, open shelving, a diagonal end piece etc) so that we can customize our little kitchens more properly. Countertops are easy to fake with wallpaper samples, but the cabinets are beyond my skill level.

I would also love to see more styles of bookshelves, with modern asymmetrical shelf arrangements. And standard shelving units that can be added together to give a more bespoke carpentry feeling to the modern rooms with built-in display and storage spaces.

I don't want to build fake pieces just to get "the look", but would love some quality pieces that have doors and drawers that can open too, just like the period furniture.

Do you think that's something you might be interested in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since I've begun making some of my furniture from scratch I collect different magazines for furniture ideas to make. Perhaps some contemporary furniture using Plexiglas for parts might be an idea. Eventually I want to give upholstered furniture a go, too.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lene, excellent point, I love period houses and furniture, but I am already looking into modern things, and there is almost nothing available on the market, including houses. I don't like plastics which is what you can find now that is "modern".

Christopher, thanks for all the details about your project. I can't wait to see what you will offer. Maybe a special little lot with introductory prices for your mini friends here will help to hook us up with your pieces!! I will give them a try for sure and will review them for you. :rolleyes:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh---such beautiful work. I'd love to give your kits a try. I really, really love Craftsman furniture and there aren't really any kits for that style either.

I found this one for Mission furniture: http://www.furniturekits.net/Mission-Style-Furniture/6 I also built a Mission dining room table and chairs and a rocking chair I got back when Northeastern Scale Lumber sold the kits. There used to be a link to plans to scratch build Mission furniture; I remember that Emily/ fov built some. It's certainly an area for a kit maker to explore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So sorry to have been gone so long, but I've been working on manuals, assembly diagrams, and costs and suppliers for my first three kits. I think I'm getting close to finalizing everything.

Thanks for the link to the Mission style furniture, havanaholly. Great suggestion - I could do a series on Mission! I love that style.

Merry Christmas to everyone, and thanks for all the advice and support!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've updated my website at http://silverridgemodelworks.com/category/products/dollhouse-furniture/with information on my three new miniature furniture kits and added pre-order information to my store. As a special gift to all my new Greenleaf forum friends, I've lowered the prices up to 20% through Christmas day. Check it out and I hope you like what you see. Spread the word. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Just beautiful! I love the mini furniture kits. I have so many HOM ones and mini mundus. There's just something so satisfying about making my own furniture. I second the suggestion for mission/stickley style! I would love to see some furniture pieces with scallop shell decoration-I have a real life antique chest of drawers like that, and I would never get rid of it. Would be nice to reproduce in miniature, so I can put it in one of my planned houses-a new England whaling captain's house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've updated my website at http://silverridgemodelworks.com/category/products/dollhouse-furniture/with information on my three new miniature furniture kits and added pre-order information to my store.  As a special gift to all my new Greenleaf forum friends, I've lowered the prices up to 20% through Christmas day.  Check it out and I hope you like what you see.  Spread the word.  Thanks and Merry Christmas!

I have just discovered these posts and absolutely love the writing desk. It is the exact replica of one that I have in my home. Would love to have one in ,y dollhouse. I will be sure to order when I am ready. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...