Props 1/4 Trunk House

I'm working on making a 1/4 scale roombox out of an an old steamer trunk.



This is my most "complete" picture so far, with most of the furniture I've collected, and Quielle (Magic Time Rain) for scale. The trunk itself is 30"/76 cm tall by 15"/40 cm wide by 12.5"/32 cm deep. It was completely empty when I got it; the walls are sort of thin board stuff with that black-and-white patterned paper inside. It's faux-leather black with brass fittings outside. There's even a working lock ^^

I wanted a sort of living room w/closet set-up in the deeper half, and a window-seat on the other side. The trunk would be awkwardly tall with those dimensions, so I added a false floor with storage compartments underneath.



All the woodwork is stained and varnished, and installed with a combination of wood glue and air-pressure nail gun pins. The walls of the trunk are too thin to nail through, so the wooden pieces are nailed and glued to one another and then slotted into the trunk with more glue. It's something of a miracle that all the pieces fit as well as they do, but I did measure and draw up very detailed plans before cutting the pieces (via table saw). As my father likes to tell me, "measure twice, cut once".

The hinges for the closet door and the fold-down floor were the trickiest, because the wood for these pieces is also very thin, but attaching them with pop-rivets is sturdy and not too visually distracting.



The closet is just the right size for a 1/4 doll and a safety pillow, in case I want to bring the trunk anywhere, but the whole thing is pretty heavy with all the wood in it, so that's largely moot.



The floor folds up when the trunk is closed for storage, and slots in under the window seat for stability.

Right now I am trying to get the velcro that holds the picture-frame window to stay (it keeps tearing down, either directly off the walls or off the back of the picture frame; I believe the problem lies with the fact that I used sticky-back velcro. I've tried three kinds of adhesive and can only conclude that the sticky from the velcro is interfering). I want to be able to change the "view" out the "window" at will, so it has to be easily removable, and due to the thin trunk walls I can't use picture-hanging hardware.

I am also "wallpapering" (heavy air quotes ) the interior; I don't like the existing pattern and have also scraped it up pretty badly with installing the wood and the aforementioned Velcro Problem.



This is tripping me up more than I really expected; you can see that I did not do a very good job on this first wall. Hopefully it will go more smoothly from here, since the other walls are smaller. I may have to add baseboards on this side, though, and maybe wall art, to cover the inconsistencies.

What else?

• Curtains; probably something simple with a dowel for the curtain rod
• Some kind of afghan for the window-seat, to break up the dark wood; I have some pretty sky blue fluffy yarn and I want to crochet something airy (a learning process, as I have crocheted exactly one thing before, ever)
• Possibly adding window cross-bars(?) for realism
• Some kind of rug to cover part of where the floor hinges
• I also got some cute tiny string lights which will be fun for lighting :3

Suggestions welcome; thanks for looking~

 

Thank you! I can't decide if adding a cushion would make the seat too high, but it would be really cute *-* That's kind of why I've settled on a blanket for now; it takes up less volume But making one out of covered foam would be a fun experiment, at least~

I definitely intend to! Starting this thread was mostly a move on my part to motivate myself to get it done, so it's nice to hear other people would also like to see me get it done ^^

I probably should have just started with command strips, instead of the random sticky velcro I had on hand That's a good idea!

Casters are also a very cool idea *-* In reality I will probably never take it anywhere, but now I really want to go to Home Depot and check, because I think the last time I needed casters for something they had ones that would match the outside of the trunk super well ><

Thank you! That would be a really good excuse to take it places, or at least a good rationalization for adding casters

 

Thank you! Yeah, I really don't have a ton of extra space, so being easy to store is important (I actually use it as a kind of end table when it's closed ) and it's helpful that all the furniture and stuff fits inside.

That would be a nice easy idea for a rug! I was thinking of doing something with cross-stitch (some of the old-fashioned unicorn patterns are so fun *-*) but that would be great at least in the meantime. I haven't really though about a doorknob for the closet, but that's a good idea too

It doesn't have a chain, but it stays in place pretty well just by weight. The floor just slots in and the whole thing is heavy enough that it stays by itself.

Installing the frame that way would definitely be more permanent/less frustrating, but I think the walls of the trunk are too thin, and I've been trying not to nail anything through in a way that would show on the outside :/

A base coat of paint would be smart! I'll have to try that out; white or cream would definitely show imperfections less ^^ Thanks for the suggestion!

I keep forgetting about those chandeliers! I'll have to go find one *-* It might be tricky to find one that doesn't look either too fancy or too childish/plasticky, but if the right one os out there... I have some tiny string lights in the meantime (also battery-operated) that would at least look cute for pictures.

 

Thank you! It's really lightening up the space compared to the old paper, I think

Aw thanks :3 All the advice re: window fixtures is really making me wish I'd asked before doing; magnets would have been a good idea :/

@TheYUO Those lamps do look really cool! The YouTube channel is really interesting, too; thanks! The way they're using all the printed images looks surprisingly realistic (I love those Michael's boxes, but I don't have any dolls in that kind of scale ><)

 

I got all the wallpaper up finally! Is it perfect? No, but few thing are It's done, and looks good enough. I probably will add some baseboards/ceiling moulding.



I got better at it as I went, so that's good.

The real miracle is that the pattern in the corners matched up! I wasn't even trying, so that's just one of those moments where you realize that there is some order in the universe *-* Getting the pattern to join correctly on the walls was hard enough.



Next I'll paint the ceiling, maybe touch up some of the worse spots on the wallpaper, and measure for the moulding.