Props Fandom Living Room Diorama

In 5-6 months I'll have my first bjd, an Atelier Momoni+ Momonita. This will be her primary living space, where she relaxes, reads, works from home? I haven't thought about her character yet, but this is her space, so I'll figure it out as I go.

That's one heck of a run-on sentence.

Anyway, here's the bones of the thing:

Took three sides off of a box and started in on wallpaper (scrapbook paper)

A box! And with the wall paper:

The box looking more like a room!

Updates posted as they happen. Likely to be picture heavy. I'll include links to tutorials or other references I use/am inspired by.


EDIT ON DEC 10, 2017: Updates to this thread now include June, my Momonita -- she arrived in October and I'm in love -- and a mostly complete diorama by page three! The aesthetic I'm going for is inspired by fandom, cosplay, and a love of comics and books (especially adventure/fantasy).

EDIT JAN 5: I'm going to be fixing links so that they're pictures for my posts. Also I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS THANK YOU and specifically @ the inspired people, I'm gonna stalk all your diorama threads

 

Thank you! I'm going to have to make a little paper cutout or something so that I can have a stand-in momonita for scale until she arrives. I love her bendy posing!

I want the room to have really fresh, modern, aqua/mint/white base palette with pops of bright colours and fandom paraphernalia.

There are some incredibly intricate 1/12 roomboxes on Etsy, you might find something you like there. (I'm forever browsing the beautiful teeny details)

 

It's a tricky choice. I left the lid on the box with the idea of building some kind of closing door or storage-safe siding that I can fold out of the way. Not sure if that'll work out. Either way I'll post pics if I do!

 

@Naisha @Anglerfishee Thank you! ^^

 

Small updates:

Fixed the wallpaper, glued everything down

The rug can be reversed for a different colour

Apologies for the weird filter, the light in the room was super yellow. Also this is a good time to put some of my plans down in list form!

• Furniture
  • Fold-out couch (dove grey? Grey with a subtle pattern maybe? Bonus if nerdy.)
  • Wall unit (white, cube shelves)
  • Storage chest as coffee table (white, wood)
• Props
  • Electronics: wall TV, laptop, gaming systems, old-school Gameboy
  • Throw pillows that are Steven Universe themed (if anyone finds a print for this gimme a shout)
  • Tiny framed prints and canvases
  • Floor lamp (LED)
  • Comics character statuettes (modded heroclix)
  • Shelf items: books, comics, DVDs, toys, knickknacks

 

So, I have a problem, and a question. It's too short. Do I fix it, or, find a bigger box?

Cardboard momonita and fashion doll for scale.

Too short??? :/

 

That's a very good point. I hadn't considered the floor. I'll play with it a little as a photo staging area and then turf it. Better to restart now than later eh?

And thanks! I figured the cutout should free stand for maximum usefulness

 

I came up with a solution!

I thought to myself: what would myfroggystuff do? So I turned the box on it's side for more height and to use the lid as extra wall space.



Unfortunately I had to tear off and recycle the pretty polka-dot wallpaper since that was all I had of that particular print. But the paper I have now is the same colour, and looks good against the grey side wall. (Formerly the floor.)

Couch pattern inspired by the Ikea solsta fold-out.

The seam ribbon is not a perfect match, but, I can probably lighten it with paint later on. Or hide it with furniture. It's there to let the wall bend for storage purposes.

 

I'm a crafting WIZARD and it feels pretty great.

Furniture progress! Coffee table, bookshelf, couch + base with working drawers

Three pieces of furniture that fit my modern, bright foundation for the fandom accoutrements to come.

 

New desk and chair! I went for a faux leather look with the chair. I thought a darker desk might be more interesting than another white piece of furniture, but, I might change my mind on that one. The drawers under the couch and in the bookshelf all work which is super exciting. :3





(The flowers are real dahlias that give it a temporary, colourful touch for pictures.)

 

Thank you! The cutout has been helping size everything lol

 

@ethso Thank you! I'm most proud of the fact that it folds out out to become a bed.

 

@ethso Yep! I folded it out for these lighting tests:

Spoiler: Other tests that didn't work out as nicely

I took the LED out of a clip light and made it into a desk lamp. It won't be the only source of light, but on its own it makes a sleepy or dark evening vibe.

 

Thank you! She's going to be a fan of a bunch of shows and comics, so I'm picking her living room decor to reflect that ^^

 

DECOR UPDATE: The desk was maybe too dark so I made a new top in white. It's detachable if I change my mind! Also, new decor.

I found some metal star wars helmet figures and they look just like life-sized replicas! (1/6 scale life, anyway). Also I made the desk white with a new back shelf, and added some more throw pillows, and some other details.

Thanks! Scouring other people's dioramas and design blogs for inspiration has been a big help. Plus, I'm designing a living room that I would want, so that's intuitive at least. :P

*Edited to add image

 

Thank you! :') It definitely is helping! It's satisfying to think about when she gets here I can already settle her into her own space, dress her (that's a project not in the works yet, but soon), and take some fun pictures the same day I get her out of the box.

 

Mini update: more art on the wall, tidied up the desk, made some Buffy graphic novels for the bookshelf (based on pictures I took of the slipcovers from the real things!)



Any ideas on how to deal with the weird seam at the wall corner? I took off the ribbon because I didn't like it, but I don't have more of the same colour paper to cover it up. I could do a seam of grey maybe? If I put up a string of fairy lights I don't think it'll be very noticeable, but it's s little distracting in the meantime.

 

**Edited to add mockup pic

HANGING PLANTS omg that's a great idea! That would hide it and break up some of the geometric lines of the room

I haven't read the novels yet despite seeing the whole series my husband's graphic novel collection is so big that I get overwhelmed. I'll definitely be taking lots of pics of it (and my own collection!) for reference when I'm filling the doll's bookshelf.

Edit: Here's a mockup design for what I'm thinking for the plant, as well as an artificial window. Lighting is key!

 

The mid-wall ones, yeah? I tried before with popsicle sticks and I can't cut them straight for the life of me lmao. (Plus they're a little too thick.) But I think if I can find some long skinny stir-sticks or craft wood it would work! Or maybe thin washi tape in a cute complementary colour.

 

Details update!

Made a hanging planter and more books. Bonus: check out the replica recycling bin under the desk, it's a miniature version of the one my city uses!

I'm so so pleased with how it's coming along. I ordered a string of mini LED lights to make a faux window with, so that'll happen in another three weeks or so. I think this is a good time to update the to-do list. Strikethroughs are things that I decided not to do.

• Furniture
  • [✓] Fold-out couch (soft grey, bonus if nerdy. The rest of the room is plenty nerdy!)
  • [✓] Wall unit (white, cube shelves regular shelves)
  • [✓] Storage chest as coffee table (white, wood)
• Props
  • Electronics: wall TV, laptop, gaming systems, old-school Gameboy Colour, 3DS XL
  • Throw pillows that are Steven Universe themed (if anyone finds a print for this gimme a shout)
  • [✓]Tiny framed prints and canvases
  • [✓] Floor lamp (LED)
  • [✓] Comics character statuettes (modded heroclix)
  • [✓] Shelf items: books, comics, DVDs, toys, knickknacks
  • [✓] Hanging plant
• Structural
  • Faux window (LED backlit)
    • Changeable view panels
  • Flooring (fine grain or faux wood, two panels I can fold or stack for storage)
  • Velcro closure
  • Storage reinforcement
  • Storage lid

Spoiler: More pictures

 

Adventures in 3D printing! My local library has a 3D printer that's extremely reasonably priced to use. As a test of its abilities today, I made a laptop.





Pattern for the laptop by Cymon on Thingiverse.

I'm posting it now because I'm impatient, but I want to make a decal for the back later. The keys turned out a little wonky, so if I print anything on the same machine later I probably won't expect super delicate details to come out right.

I am so excited to print little hobby-related things for my Momonita. Handheld gaming devices in particular!

 

Thank you!! I'm a sucker for details. I can't wait either. Especially once I fill the entire bookshelf and add mini display shelves to some walls. :')

 

Mockup, round two. This is how I'm loosely working out the details and thinking about colour. There is a lot of colour going on, because that's pretty much what it looks like when you've got a big collection of something (you folks probably know that firsthand). All that colour has to be balanced to stop it from becoming a visual mess.

Mockup2

The ref pic is a bit dark. (Also ignore the OT doll hanging out at the desk, whoops. She's just apartment-sitting for Momonita until she arrives, I swear.) I'm thinking that while I will take some pictures in great light, I want it to still look good in normal settings for impromptu shoots.

 

Thank you! The sofa was a scaled-down and simplified version of an IKEA couch, so by all means, go for it. ^^ I have some more progress pics on my flicker that show how I put it together if that's helpful.

Speaking of the window, I got the frame printed yesterday. It didn't work out at first.

Spoiler: Window details

The window panes didn't work out when scaled down, but I'll sand it down and modify.


Open, before painting the tape, and after. It would look nice with a real hinge, but this works for now.

Here it is stuck temporarily in place for a sense of scale and placement:





It will look more natural with curtains, I think. I'll be looking for a fabric that's gauzy and translucent. I won't be able to finalize anything until I get the LED lights I ordered but I think the placement is good. I might not need to cut the wall if the LEDs are very thin!

 

I'm moving! This diorama is on hiatus until November, while I move houses and get settled into the new place.

I'm planning to switch to a witchy/botanical diorama in the meantime in honour of Halloween. You might see a thread pop up about that before this makes a comeback. It will strongly depend on how much of my life is stuffed away into boxes and whether or not I can get a crafting station ready next month. We'll see!

 

Hello everybody! The diorama is finally back, out of storage, and setting the stage for stories with June (my Atelier Momoni+ Momonita)

Here's an excerpt from the photo story I did where June moves in [thread link]:



And a behind the scenes shot:



I am so excited to be playing with the diorama again!

 

Aw, I'm glad! If you feel inspired and have some unused cardboard boxes and craft paper, definitely give it a try! It's fun and less pressure than something wooden. ^_^

Me too! I find them a little overwhelming and often have to rewatch to absorb everything, lol, but she has a real knack for simplifying projects into approachable steps.