Inside the Very Big World of Really Tiny Things
Photo: Michael Hogan
Michael Hogan says he isn’t an interior designer. And yet, he spends a good deal of time doing what most in the trade do: deciding on material palettes, sourcing furniture, and planning room layouts. The only difference? No one will ever live in his designs—they’re only a few inches big.
About eight years ago, Hogan won a Lawbre Rosedawn dollhouse—which he says is considered the “Cadillac of dollhouses”—in an online auction. He thought decorating it would be a fun, one-time project, but nearly a decade later, he is fully invested in the wonderful world of miniatures. “As a kid, I always loved design and architecture, so this is the perfect hobby,” he says.
Miniatures are nothing new. Most reports date them to the Egyptians, who would make small-scale replicas of gods, buildings, and other artifacts to place in tombs, believing they’d travel with the deceased to the next life. So-called baby houses and cabinet houses emerged in Europe about 400 years ago, which were intended for adults but eventually made their way to children’s play rooms. Additionally, miniatures have long been cornerstones of museums and other cultural institutions, which often use them to recreate and educate on important events.
Even with this history, a miniature renaissance is upon us. “There’s an explosion of popularity around miniatures these days; it has emerged as this pop culture phenomenon,” says Darren Scala, owner of D. Thomas Fine Miniatures, a miniatures auction house based in Westchester, New York. He believes that the pandemic heightened an interest in tiny—perhaps happier—worlds, and social platforms like TikTok welcomed new patrons into the folds. “Anecdotally, I think it's probably doubled over the last few years in terms of interest and popularity,” he says.
These days, miniatures span everything from inexpensive children’s toys to hand-crafted artisanal designs (that can easily reach into a four-figure price range). “I like to say we have something for those aged two to 92,” says Leslie Edelman, owner of the Tiny Doll House, a miniatures store in Manhattan. Stepping into the shop is a vibrant immersion of the breadth of mini offerings today. Staged cubbies organized by category line the walls and are full of tiny food, bathroom supplies, bedroom decor, and the like. Less expensive pieces hang in plastic bags below, while Victorian, Colonial, and cabin-style dollhouses sit above.
Customers are often dollhouse hobbyists, though—like the products in the store—there is a range. “We supply a lot of things to set designers, stop-motion filmmakers, even interior designers who use miniatures for client presentations,” Edelman explains. “I also have customers who just collect one thing, like mini chairs, and come in whenever we have a new one.”
Hogan specializes in realistic miniatures. He works with artisans around the world (his woodworker is in Florida, his metalsmith in Spain) to help bring these teeny creations to life. “When I take a photo or video, I want someone to look at it and think, Is that even miniature?” he says. Usually, he succeeds. Now, when he shares images of his final projects to his nearly 40,000 Instagram followers, he’ll include his hand in the photo. It’s become a trademark of sorts, and often involves adding a finishing touch—a vase, candelabra, or similar—into the scene. “It takes a lot of work to get it this realistic,” he adds. “Everything has to be the right scale, and the details really matter. If anything is off, you can tell.”
Carmen Mazarrasa, an artist based in Spain, sees miniatures similar to still life paintings, and much of her work involves recreating transportable and permanent versions of real places. “It’s an artistic process, like any other,” she says. “There’s so much pleasure in being able to bring ideas, pictures, and memories to life.”
These days, many of her commissions are from people who are moving or have had a loved one pass and want a keepsake of the home before it changes hands. In these cases, she’ll often visit the residence before it’s packed up and listen to stories from the people who lived there. “It’s kind of like painting a portrait,” she says. “You start to understand the person based on their relationship with their objects and spaces.” It’s the most rewarding when recipients get the final products. “It’s very moving,” she adds. “All at once, they’re just in that space again.”
In addition to commissions, she also creates similar pieces for friends and family. “I've been surrounded by so many who have had to give up their homes for one reason or another,” she says. “They’re in a rental for 20 years, and then in this new market it’s no longer affordable, things like that.” It’s under these circumstances in particular that she’s eager to capture a version of what once was. “They’re sentimental to me, but they’re for someone else,” she says.
While not always based on lost spaces, many see miniature’s rising popularity correlating with increasing homeownership costs and other daily expenses. This is particularly relevant when using the pandemic as the origin of the modern miniatures revival.
“It’s so expensive to get anything for your house, and then in this economy, it’s even more expensive,” adds Rosa Moran, a miniaturist who specializes in contemporary styles. For her, designing tiny spaces gives her the same rush and excitement as if she were doing it in a real home, where continual redecorating and remodeling isn’t practical. “In miniatures, you can do anything; you could buy anything,” she explains. “I get so excited to redo my living room, or redo my bedroom. Doing a miniature feels exactly the same as if I were doing it in real life.”
Christopher Thompson, a miniaturist and marketing director for Miniatures.com, adds that the hobby allows those interested in interior design to play around more. “It gives you the chance to experiment, mix things up, and try new things,” he says. “Like maybe you wouldn’t use a certain wallpaper in your actual house, but you can in a mini.”
The recent mass appeal of miniatures has also paved the way for minute replicas of real-life objects and recognizable products, which has become an increasingly accessible way to get into the world of minis. Two popular miniatures companies, aptly named Mini Brands and Mini Verse, are easily available in major retailers like Target and Walmart. Tonya Ruiz, the person behind the popular Instagram Grandma Gets Real, believes it’s brands like these that have been particularly successful in drawing younger generations into miniatures.
“A few years ago, Zuru Toys came out with Mini Brands, and it hit TikTok,” she says. “Teenagers and younger people started collecting them, and they were buying them by the boxes, you couldn’t find them in stores anywhere.” Though it’s easier to find stock these days, it has ensured that a hobby that was previously favored by older generations is reaching younger ones too.
Ruiz often makes short videos on Instagram and TikTok of her miniatures in action and has since grown a loyal following of nearly 500,000 people. “My biggest demographic of followers are those that are 18 to 34,” she adds. In her experience, people are most drawn to miniature versions of what would otherwise be very ordinary, perhaps even boring, objects. “Things like ice trays or ziplock bags,” she says. “I’ve discovered that the more mundane, the better.”
Thompson says this younger interest helps keep the practice alive. “The internet really changed a lot of things in the craft industry, and now a new generation is joining.” Perhaps this is also why Scala feels that miniatures have reached a new heightened plateau. “Miniature’s popularity has been very cyclical in the last 50 years, and I don’t get the sense that it’s going to be anymore. My feeling is that it is here to stay.”
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
More Great Stories From AD
Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the best of design in your inbox.
Inside a Roman Palazzo Hotel Designed by Call Me By Your Name Director Luca Guadagnino
Jennifer Lopez’s Homes: Inside the Superstar’s $124.8 Million Real Estate Portfolio
What Is an Adobe House? (Short Answer: A Lot More Than You Might Think)
Hollywood Director Ruben Fleischer’s Historic Estate Demonstrates Livability on a Grand Scale
This Brooklyn Home Shows How Timeless Design Can Pack a Memorable Punch
Jay Cutler Sells the Tennessee Home He Shared With Kristin Cavallari for $7.9 Million
AD Editor’s Pick Their Favorite Farmhouse Decor With Enduring Appeal
Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now.
