Bloomberry Dollhouse
A dollhouse with a cabinet of curiosities
2012–2013
Introduction
This dollhouse, designed and hand-made for the Bloomberry family, is loosely based on the idea of the cabinet of curiosities. From the outside, when closed, it has the iconic house form of a seemingly simple box with a pitched roof. However, the box is unusually hinged and opens to reveal the interior spaces that are not otherwise immediately apparent. One opens the house to reveal secret places and the evocative world of its small inhabitants. Each room has a unique character and atmosphere. Kaleidoscopic bits of color and light shine through the roof and floor, offering small peaks into adjacent rooms.
The design displays a few clues as to its inhabitants, their lives, tastes, and ancestral history, but leaves much to be imagined. The house hopes to occupy not only a new physical space but also a place within the imagination.
Technical details
Pro Bono for Children's Hospital Auction
Bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen are located on the ground floor, with a grand ballroom, study and garden on the upper level. A Royal Empress tree grows on the second floor and is home to a cardinal.
Floor patterns, wall treatments, roof shingles and decorations are eclectic and fanciful with themes of nature in the foreground. The wing-like form of the roof, with its opening motion emphasizes the transformation which takes place when entering a world at another scale.