Props 1/3 scale Victorian Parlor

I've been thinking about doing something like this for years for my 62 cm. vampire. The plan was to have three sides that connected together in the corners in some hidden way, with really nice tall windows. One side would be finished with wallpaper and paneling for the interior. The other side would be finished with faux brick and used for an exterior garden. I've not ever really gotten started, but I have a bunch of miniature roses in pots for the garden!

 

This looks like a really fun project! I definitely agree with your thoughts on the red wallpaper, it would make for a really pleasing background for green plants.
I admire your planning and mockups, really nice!

 

I'm leaning towards green, but I think red could be really gorgeous too. I definitely see your point about plants maybe blending in too much with green.

Really looking forward to seeing the result (and of course the interesting journey)!

 

Not at all! I too was thinking of hinges with an easily pulled pin. They would have had to have been hidden by some sort of molding in the corners. Never really worked that out. And yes, the scale is huge! One reason I wanted them to detach or be able to fold in some way, for storage sake.

 

What a lovely project this sounds like!! I'm wishing you the best of luck and I'll be eagerly awaiting seeing this project update and evolve.

 

I've been working on similar ideas for centuries! (Well, decades anyway...) Long ago I built the kitchen, parlor & a bedroom for my Barbies using Cardboard boxes, light wood & a jigsaw, and great prop ideas from a 1950's cloth doll book (can't find it atm...)

Enter BJDs and my Victorian parlor dreams have expanded, as you are beginning to realize. ;}
In trying to take photos of more than one or two dolls my setting has had to expand. Currently a banquet table or the empty desk in the corner of my spare room can be transformed. But you'll need at least 2.5' x 4.5'. deeper space would be better for room proportions but really starts eating into real life floor space! (And can become tricky to reach into to make stage dressing adjustments...) Mark out the space & wrap your head around it for a preliminary exercise. (I have the same issue with my over ambitious schemes for an Egyptian Archaeological expedition encampment with tent. I've ended up using an 18"ag tent modified to be taller but not actual 1/3 scale floor proportions as it would be a whole set in & of itself!?!?.)
For a preliminary set up, you might consider photo backdrops. They are light weight & easily taped or tacked to the wall or hung from a tripod. The fireplace etc. will be awesome when you get them completed but in the meantime some backdrops can give you the ambiance with out all the effort.
Here are 3 backdrops that I hung up & overlapped as needed to get two walls of my "parlor" for last Christmas.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20211121_151657387.jpg
Spinel is 65cm. The room proportions would prob still be fine with 68-70cm as the fireplace is technically oversized & I've dropped it down behind the "floor" to get the mantle height to work.
Fabric for a carpet is a light weight upholstery piece. I've learned to drop it over the front edge to disguise that sight line for photos. And then furniture placement makes the room come together.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20211121_160734251_2.jpg
Once you're happy with the dimensions & aware of how much space you will need to dedicate then by all means dive in! The desk in the parlor was a gift from a friend. She found it on etsy. It would be a fairly easy construction project. Also many of the "books" are covers printed and then glued over foam core which also came from etsy. Storage of all the furniture when not in use as a parlor has definitely required some thinking at my house & limits what I have for furniture(although I have way more than needed for the scene). And the tea caddy is an 18" AG doll prop. Would be short for 70cm but works ok with 60cm. But the photos are so worth the effort! Can't wait to see what you do with your ideas.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20211205_112849986_2_(5).jpg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20211205_113402019_3_(2).jpg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20211205_114348654_2_(4).jpg

Here's the same desk space, with out the backdrops, still working for the idea of an SD size parlor...
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/DSCN4560.JPG

And another backdrop with some fabric drapes being extended to work with a banquet table for another temporary setting...
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/f56/LionHeartHats/IMG_20170905_231346445.jpg

 

I love this idea and honestly I vote red wallpaper. When I think Victorian homes, I think RED because that color hides the soot better.
Green reminds me more of the 18th century (1700s) but that might be because I worked as a docent in a George Washington's Mount Vernon and he had a thing for green. So I associate green more with the wealthy of the 1700s, and red with the Victorian middle class.

 

@cthulhu I love the use of backdrops!

 

I wish you success and will be watching your progress to cheer you on. I started a 1/3 scale room box this summer and made or altered several pieces to suit, including a fireplace, only to grind to a halt due to pregnancy symptoms. I documented things, but the photos are on my home computer and I'm away for a few weeks.

Having gone the foam board route before... I will warn you it does warp and dent pretty easily at this scale and the height can be limiting for 'across the room' shots of 70cm+ dolls. Maybe do the math for how tall your characters are in relation to their walls. I was considering plywood this time but my husband insisted it would warp if left upright. So the current thought is 1/8" hardboard panels, braced from behind and suspended on pegs/nails from the wood frame I made from scrap 2x4s in my basement. The panels could then be swapped out and stored hanging flat on the basement walls to keep without warping or abuse from sliding against each other. (Something which was a problem with the wallpapered/scrapbook papered foamboard presentation panels I stored by sliding behind a cabinet.) ... But I realize the whole semipermanent wood box frame is pretty extreme as far as space commitment for most people. My husband certainly thought I'd lost it. I like the simplicity and easy storage of @cthulhu 's photo backdrop suggestion. With the right lighting it looks to be convincing.

I recently found they sell these adhesive 3D foam pieces on Aliexpress and I'm considering them to decorate some of my panels.

Some other thoughts- foam sheeting can be cut/melted with heat and then painted for a convincing brick or stone texture. I did some of this for my fireplace insert. I also planned to do a mirror over the fireplace but shortly realized managing the reflection in photos would be obnoxious and opted for some artwork instead.

Some lamps that might fit your aesthetic after a paint job?
Lamp one
Lamp two
Lamp three

 

what an incredible idea! I personally prefer the red, or green if it's a darker green (would make the furniture and any plants pop out more)? It really depends on the vibe you are going for though, e.g. a cozy town home or a more gothic residence

quick note though I've used poster boards for some non-bjd related projects before and I've found that they tend to bend quite easily (same goes for thin ply wood), especially in more humid places for obvious moist reasons. I haven't used it myself yet but I've seen people recommend foam boards/pieces for dollhouses and decorations! they are fairly steady and easy to cut (I think a lot of people who make dioramas use foam)

I love the tall window design you have going on, it'd be really cool if you have two layered plastic panel so it could be transparent, or you could also insert printed images of scenery for different times/settings!

good luck with the construction!! I would love to see your progress, this is already looking to be a promising project

 

Amazing! I wish you the best of luck with this project. Since you'll have plants, I say go with your gut with the red.

 

Ahh...room in the basement sounds ideal! Good luck!
And the plum & dark teal dress I made by adapting a pattern from Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion Vol2". Historical clothing's my thing & then of course requires an historical setting. ;}

 

Definitely lots to test and potentially adjust on the fly. I still haven't completely figured out how I want to do the windows for mine. Laser cut pieces in a pretty lattice or a gothic arch would be ideal, but I'm not sure how to source that in this scale or how much I want to spend.

The need for getting behind the walls for lighting, setting up 'outdoor' scenery, vacuuming up spiders, and the fact I am hoping to use a computer monitor for my fireplace flames was what led me to the free standing wood frame... whatever you use for your wall material would certainly be stronger if doubled up with 'studs' in the hollow like a real wall, and then you could have different scenes on the front and back to be flipped. It would also offer a hidden gap for wires if you put in wall sconces. Consider also if you need to hang shelving or something that would need additional support, like a wood block inside the wall to screw into, in certain areas.

 

For anyone wanting to set up background settings for their dolls Antique Lilac's blog is a wonderful resource. For most of her interchangeable settings she uses the end of her dining room table! She also has some 'behind the scenes' areas that are a great resource for ideas. Definitely eye candy and well worth a look.
To find behind the scenes go to favourite photos at the top of the blog post and scroll to the bottom of each years photos.