Cha-cha-chages (Parting with my collection)

Long time, no see. I'm now married with a baby girl, and two promotions later, moving into a new home in a new state. Whew!

As we've packed I've realized I simply can't take it all with us, miniatures included.

I've saved plenty for my little girl to enjoy and now I need to find homes for the rest, namely one very large Kalidescope house.

If anyone is interested in the Kalidescope house, or any other specific pieces of my collection, you can reach me at the email address linked on this blog. Please know, I am not interested in selling anything, I happy to give the items away. I hope someone else in this amazing community will enjoy them as much as I have. 

Emerson Walkthrough

This house is hands down my absolute favorite. In fact, if I had to keep only one house, I would keep the Emerson over the Kaleidoscope. It's sturdy, it won't yellow in the sun, the real wood is beautiful and it's self lighting. I couldn't have designed it better myself!

The Great Room Check out the solar lights, even during the day they are nice and bright.
I love that the stairs are separate so they don't monopolize a room.
Even in bright light the fireplace is clearly visible.

And, of course, they are watching Project Runway : )

The Exterior

I'll have to scout out some cool patio furniture to make a roof top scene. This square looked more blue in the photos on the website. I kinda thought it was meant to be a pool but it seems more like a concrete patio in person. Still, very cool.
The second roof top area is a lawn. All of my patio furniture here is from Mighty World which runs a little small.
The last platform is for the solar panels. I have left my house near an open window for about a day and the panels seem to charge quickly. I love that there's no wiring to mess with and no cords to hide like the Stockholm.
No time to charge the panels? No problem! These guys have literally thought of everything. The house comes with 3 AA rechargeable batteries, pre-installed so you will always have light. Plus, since they are NiMH they'll work on any battery re-charger. They fit behind this sliding door right by the switch. A few people have asked about the Flagstone. It's made of vinyl and it's similar to shelf liner. There's no embossing but it is still extremely life like in photos. Also, the house comes with plugs to cover all of the screw holes. They take a little finessing and I was pretty eager to set up scenes so that will have to wait. : )


The Study
This little room above the Great Room may be my favorite. It definitely has the most versatility. For now, I made it a study but only because I was dying to use the guitar, Pac Man and drafting table.

The Bathroom
I used Lundby bathroom furniture to show how the 1:16th furniture fits. Honestly, I think it accommodates 1:12 and 1:16 equally well. Sigh...perfect house!


The Master Bedroom
I made this bed myself in an attempt to make something close the Paris Renfroe bed I can't bring myself to buy. I've been wanting to use it forever so I'm happy to have finally found a great room for it.

The Dining Room

This is the last room I set up and it's pretty sparse. I found these drawer pulls at IKEA months ago. I think they are make great modern bench seating. So that's the tour! This house truly is something special and I know everyone that has a chance to own one will love it every bit as much as I do. I'd also like to say that the customer service from the guys at Brinca Dada is as wonderful as their products. I actually received an Emerson for my birthday last month from the few that were sent to FAO Schwartz. Sadly, it arrived badly damaged and I was heartbroken. When we notified Brinca Dada much to their credit they immediately made it right. In fact, their CEO Doug personally took the time to make sure we were satisfied. I could not be happier.



Why are you still reading this? Go to brincadada.com and get one too!

The Emerson Is HERE!

I know I haven't posted in forever but this is HUGE news. I finally received the Emerson and it is beyond amazing. Pictures and review to follow very soon. Until then here's a teaser of the retail packaging and a quick iPhone picture.

I plan to spend all night tomorrow doing a thorough review with pictures of every single thing so stay tuned!

And the winner is

Drumroll please.....

The winner is

Thank you to everyone who posted. It was great to get feedback and it gave me a bunch of new ideas for the blog. I hope to get started soon. Congrats, Gina I can't wait for you to get your MoMA house! E-mail me at petitenouveau@me.com with your shipping address and it'll be on it's way.

FREE MoMA House - win this post!

The MoMA house came this afternoon and I could not be more impressed. I tried to document everything from the start. To begin with it was packaged extremely well, entirely encased in foam so there was no chance of damage. It's looks like it is made from cardboard but it is thick and looks to be very durable.

The packaging unfolds to provide full color assembly instructions for all of the furniture provided. It's quick to assemble, tab and slot construction, but if this may be helpful for younger kids.

It also comes with a little introduction book that looks like it is geared towards getting kids to think about spacial design. Also on nice cardstock. No detail was overlooked!

Here are all six of the interchangeable surfaces on the front....

and the reverse.
This is my absolute favorite feature of this house. There are four panels that can be placed in the recessed areas of the wall to show a modern painting, real life aquarium....wait for it....

a giant plasma tv and a FIREPLACE!

Next on to the flooring and ground cover. It is made of the same thick, glossy cardstock. You can see how thick this is! It will definitely stand up to some hard use and not show a nick or scratch.

It even comes with vinyl cling accessories. Check out the chiminea!
Love, love, love the goldfish bowl....
The furniture was incredibly easy to to put together. I had the pieces put together in under 10 minutes without needing the instructions. The parts are clearly labeled and snap out of the cardboard without ripping. In my excitement I tore a little piece of one of the chairs but since the paper is pre-scored it didn't tear the design. Now THAT's great thinking!

The furniture is a little small for 1:12, I'd say it's definitely closer to 1:16 scale.

And ta da...the FIRST scene!

This was a breeze to put together and SO much fun. I thought about adding in some of my other pieces but just wanted to see how it all worked together for now.

Outdoor seating - dig the grass!

This would be a great introduction to the hobby. It's a tremendous value for any budget and provides limitless possibilities in a compact design. I can't wait to try this out with my other pieces. The walls would be excellent room dividers in the K House and the Stockholm too.

So now for the good part. These wonderful people at Chronicle Books want to give you a chance to win your very own MoMA house. Leave a comment or e-mail me telling me what you would like to see more of on this blog. It can be anything, set ups, tips, where to find stuff, just whatever you'd like to see more of. Anyone who comments will be entered to win. The house can only be shipped to the US and Canada right now, that is the only stipulation. I will pull a winner this Friday! Good luck!