Designing A Dollhouse Miniature Patisserie

If you're anything like me, you have a lot of different projects going at the same time.  This mad system works, because a) different projects fill different creative needs, and b) since they're all in various stages of doneness, you're never really stuck with downtime.  I begun today with the Wizard's Eyrie, and during the copious stretches of drying, weighting, etc, I began work on my next project.  The Tudor Bakery has been awesome so far...but in creating all this food, I came to the realization that I'd gone far beyond the purview of what even a fantasy tudor establishment could contain.  Pictures of various cakes, pies, tartlets, etc will be forthcoming...eventually.

So, naturally, I just had to create a Parisian Bakery roombox for all the overflow.  My shop, though small in space, is mighty in spirit--and I have a lot of extra bits and pieces floating around.  I decided to put a few of them together.  Now, in all fairness, this project did require one pit stop at Michael's--for the board the roombox is sitting on (and for some modeling paste, but that's for the Wizard's Eyrie).  Tomorrow, I'll make a foot for the board, the way I did for the Tudor Bakery.

Most of today's crafting time was spent blocking out the basic design.  As I wrap up for the night--many hours (and breaks to do actual work--I work from home, mainly, and while I generally try to take Fridays off, it didn't happen today) later--I can just start to see the finished patisserie hiding in the mess of wood and tape.

In its purest, most basic form, design is about repeating elements.  Here, I built this bakery around an old Dijon Limited door I had lying around.  I found the shape of the frame around the glass insert really appealing, and decided to echo it on the display windows.  The swoops in the egg and dart moulding and the curves of the columns again, echo the feeling of roundness.

After fairly extensive research, I concluded that while French bakeries all share certain basic characteristics, as far as colors, decorations, etc, the sky's the limit.  I saw a number of quite enchanting facades, which were quite elaborately painted.  My bakery will have two pictures framed in, one on each side of the "patisserie" sign, which will itself be framed.

I find the contrast of curves and straight lines very appealing.

The bullnose edge of this crosspiece adds interest, too.

Right now, most of the details are taped into place; I'll fix them permanently once I've had a chance to sand the major planes.

A look into the actual roombox, which is, as of yet, not even a real "box".

After putting together a number of different kits, all with disappointing results, I started making my own roomboxes.  It's a lot more satisfying, design-wise, and I can create something that's engineered to my rather peculiarly exact specifications.  One major issue I've had with commercially prepared kits is that the roombox facade is rarely, if ever, thought out.  I've seen sliding glass panels (trust me, a bad idea), facades that attach with rivets, hinges, you name it.  Nothing's ever really worked the way it should.  One problem with hinges is that sets small enough to be discreet are also almost too small to actually hold the weight of the facade without sagging.

And then the answer came to me: magnets!  This facade will lift on and off, and be held in place by two discreetly placed magnets around the rear sides.  I know, I know, it sounds ludicrous, but trust me, it'll work fabulously.

So...thoughts?