TOMY Smaller Home Kitchen


Even though the TOMY Smaller Home and Garden house is 1:16 scale, the kitchen somehow feels bigger than my 1:1 scale one. I felt like I had so much space to fill, in what is the last room to furnish in this house (for the first time at least). I posted on the upstairs and living room, and have been meaning to get to the expansive kitchen for a while.

I do love the design of this space and the 70s vibe. I decided to put a work space in the nook under the stairs, and dedicated the other half as kitchen. While I always try to evoke the reality of living spaces in my scenes, this one is a departure...there is no refrigerator, nor a pantry, the orange shelving in between the sink and stove is actually two Bodo Hennig chairs from a nursery set (you can see it here in its intended state), and the light fixture above the sink is a vintage German table lamp that I dismantled. Oh well...these are miniatures after all, folks!










Sunshine yellow has really been an inspirational color for me lately, so you'll see those pops of color around. Perhaps the lack of a refrigerator makes this a summer kitchen, perfect for those lazy afternoons.





Credits: Table is Princess Patti, from the Petite Princess line; chairs are Reac; sink unit and plant are vintage TOMY; oven unit and abstract painting are vintage Lundby; orange counter is made of two vintage Bodo Hennig chairs on their sides; microwave is Miele by Theo Klein; garbage can and desk lamp are AG Minis; desk is from the Villa Sibi; wall board and file boxes are handmade by The Shopping Sherpa; laptop is by Lilu Shop on Etsy; vase is a bead from The Place to Bead; stool is vintage German; cat is Playmobil. Accessories are Re-ment, Mighty World, AG Minis, and many different doll house store finds.

The time it took me: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Opposing Views


Once my TOMY Smaller Home and Garden came to live in my dollhouse room, it ended up facing my Kaleidoscope House. They couldn't be more different, of course--not only in scale and shape, but color. The K House is a multi-colored gem that shifts hues as you play in it and move the plexi panels, while the TOMY is a study in neutral yellows, tans, and browns.

I worked on a scene in the K House that was all about bold strokes of color. This is a case where I would only do this in 1:12 scale, instead of my 1:1 life. I picked up the table base in the clearance section of TJ Maxx for $2, and have no clue what is supposed to be. I am sure that there are pieces to it missing. It has the word "limonata" on it, which I know is a tasty fizzy drink, but who knows.




See the blond wood flooring (it's actually a sheet from the Paper Source)? What do you think of this look for the K House? This is my first time experimenting with any wood-type flooring here. I think I dig it.




After finishing that scene, I decided to throw a very quick one together "across the street" in the TOMY. Thus far I have only set up scenes in the upstairs, so I decided to use the living room space. Really only 1:16 or smaller works in this room -- most of the 1:12 pieces I tried looked so gigantic. So in went my vintage LISA set and a diminutive 1:12-scale PRD Miniatures coffee table along with some other neutral pieces.





Quite the opposite of the limonata, eh?

Credits: K House: Table base is from TJ Maxx, and top of the table is a holiday ornament from Crate and Barrel; Eames molded chairs are Reac; desk chair is vintage Wolverine; desk is a plastic box; plant is vintage TOMY; wall art is a jewelry charm from Michaels, and the wallpaper is also from there; fixture is by Bozart; record player on top shelf is from a set of Japanese magnets; wood flooring is from the Paper Source; rug is Peppercorn Minis. Accessories are Re-ment, AG Minis, beads from Pubdoll, ELF Miniatures, and dollhouse store finds. TOMY: Couch and chairs are vintage LISA; standing lamp and plant are vintage Lundby; coffee table is PRD Miniatures; side table is vintage German, as is the table lamp; logs are a train layout accessory from Michaels; picture on fireplace mantle is by Gigi N Studio, and vase is from a dollhouse store, don't remember which one.

Re-ment: I've written about the Re-ment in these scenes with one exception, in the K House scene. The flower pot receptacle on the desk is a tea pot from Fairytale Tableware #4, and is good for 1:12.

Moving On In


This picture of me is dated March 1980. I was on the cusp of ten years old, perhaps around the time TOMY put out its 1:16 scale Smaller Home and Garden dollhouse. Instead of coloring a picture in my striped pink suspenders (WHAT was I thinking???), I should have been begging my Mommy for my very own Smaller Home and Garden.

So...for quite some time I have been keeping my peepers out for one. One of the first scenes I did on this blog was with the bathtub and living room chairs-- just some of the many pieces that were manufactured with the house-- so I have a special fondness for this gem. As a child of the 70s, it speaks to me! For a time warp, check out this YouTube video of the original TV commercial for the house.


Well, the big day arrived and I now am movin' on into my TOMY. Mine came in its original box (with directions):



Here is the front of the house after I put it all together. It's crammed next to my large VERO.



The construction is very straightforward, but the directions were helpful when it came to the smaller roof...tricky, tricky. The chimney is still not completely flush, so I still need to fiddle with that. I was pleased to see that the second floor piece was not warped; I often see these houses for sale with sloped or buckled flooring.

The house is in used, but very good, condition, and I purchased it from a seller on eBay from whom I have acquired other TOMY items, such as my beloved rectangular potted plant. I think I have used that thing in more scenes than any other accessory! Despite my leanings toward complete laziness about the original adhesive wallpaper (not to my liking), I forced myself to address the upper floors over the Christmas holidays. The ground floor does not have any papers at all, which is nice.

Here's what the upper floor pieces looked like:

The papers were in OK condition, but preferred not to leave them. I decided to stay true to the creme and blue color scheme, and used some very nice vintage textured wallpaper that I purchased at a dollhouse store on Long Island for the long bedroom wall (I cleaned the store out of every sheet-- about $3.50 per sheet, on sale).


I love the neutral tone and subtle texture. The small bath adjacent to the bedroom needed a little blue "pop," though. So, I used some Japanese folding paper for an accent wall, and papered the other two with the creme paper.

I neglected to paper the fair right wall by the stairwell, and have left it for now. I'll likely use the same creme paper.

This is a very fun house to photograph. The windows and flooring are great. You'll see that I used a "rug" of sorts in the bedroom -- this is a cut up place mat from West Elm ($4.95 on sale). I finally got a pair of Reac zigzag chairs, too! Love them, but they are smaller than 1:12 scale, which is why they work well here.










Thanks for tuning in to my retro moment! I hope to set up the bottom floors soon.

A reminder about my Love Giveaway: it ends at midnight (EST) TOMORROW, January 15, so hop on over to that post and comment!

Credits: Bath: sink is Dolls House Emporium; light is Lil' Bratz; rug is a window shade sample from Lowes; tub is a soap dish from Crate and Barrel with a Mighty World funnel; table is Re-ment. Bedroom: bed is vintage German; rectangular rug is by Peppercorn Minis; green rug is a West Elm place mat; chairs are Reac; plant and lamp are vintage Lundby. Accessories are minimodernistas, Re-ment, and eBay finds.