In October/November 2022 I took a class at the Smithsonian called Build a Tiny Interior, taught by Marcie Wolf-Hubbard. Yes, it’s an offshoot of a class I have taken a couple of times before taught by the same artist – Build a Tiny House!, and you have seen examples of my Tiny House work here on the blog.
As I have mentioned before, I have always loved dollhouses and as a child spent a lot of time building my own mini homes in various materials. Now so many years later, I am rediscovering this path with great pleasure.
In a short series of posts I will tell you about my Tiny Interior project.
Now it was time to make the room itself. I used a cardboard box. I stood the flaps up and taped them into place with the paper hinging tape to get some height to the room. I also did some preliminary trimming (see the right hand side, it’s a little hard to see at this angle but later photos will make it clear) because I knew I didn’t want the room to be too narrow. It needed more of an open feeling, so that it would be easy to see inside.
Next, I gessoed the whole thing black and cut the window out (using an exacto knife).
I started to think about how I would shape the box. It’s still too enclosed. I drew some more trim lines but did not cut them until later on, when I had started to make furniture and could see how much room the pieces were going to take up. You can see one of the lines at the front. I’ve also put in window framing.
I interrupted the room construction process at this point to make the furniture. So that is what I will show you next time! Here you get a bit of a preview.
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
So impressive Claudia
Thank you. I really love doing these. What a nice way for me to return to something I haven’t done for years but I LOVED when I was young. I especially like it that the materials are cheap, or free, and easy to find. You just need your imagination! And you can make almost anything you can think of. I love it.
❤️🏡
Thank you!
This project looks like it’s progressing well. Can’t wait to see the finished room.
Thank you. I had learned a lot from Tiny House building and so my work on this project was more confident, I think. And, I am convinced I can make anything now as long as I have cardboard boxes, tape, papier mache, and paint!
Amazing! I can’t believe the drawers open. Wonder what will he stuffed inside?
No sorry, they don’t open. I tried a test and I could make it as I did on the fridge I do a while back (and would elsewhere)but I thought she is too small now and they could be lost. This is my faux version!
I still like it. She can pretend. Or she can get prepared for real life in that anymore you need to jaws of life to open even a box of cereal!
Let’s imagine that she has stuffed the drawers so full that now they are stuck. I remember that happening when I was little and I had a cranky old dresser with drawers that did not slide well and of course I also did not understand the Marie Kondo method of storage back then, either!
I love especially that crib. (K)
Thank you. I am very happy with the crib as it turned out and I learned a few things along the way (such as I should have papier mached the slats before I put the top rail on…! I am also impressed by how sturdy the crib was once it was done. I feel it will hold up to being played with.
Oh my goodness – look at that furniture – very creative! This would have been so fun to do when I was a kid also if I had those skills – my parents couldn’t afford a fancy doll house and I could have done a lot with cardboard scraps!
Thank you. When I was growing up we made lots of the things we played with. Now I’m returning to that time.
I am very impressed by the way you break such projects down into a really efficient process. This is a great example of the maxim to measure twice and cut once.
Thank you. My previous Tiny House experience is coming in handy. And I like constructing things. And planning the process, too. It’s satisfying to do something like this start to finish.
Fascinating construction methods. And again I look forward to the next episode.