An Early Thought for Christmas

I know it's a bit early yet to be thinking about Christmas but if you are one of those organised people already compiling a Christmas list for Santa here is suggestion for top of that list.

‘THE BIG BOOK OF A MINIATURE HOUSE’ by Christine-Lea Frisoni

I first stumbled upon Christine-Lea Frisoni on the internet some years ago via her blog. I admit to spending hours looking at the photos of her wonderful houses on the computer so imagine my delight when I heard that she was publishing a book! Only trouble was it was all in French. My French dates back to school days so is a bit rusty to say the least but I ordered a copy of the book, waited impatiently for it to arrive and when it did it very quickly became my favourite source for dolls house information. No matter that I couldn’t read the words – I just absorbed the pictures instead!

That was a few years ago. When I saw on the internet recently that an English version of the book was to be published I was thrilled. Now I could read as well as look! And when my copy of this new edition arrived I was enthralled once again by this artist’s skills at dolls house building.

‘The Big Book of a Miniature House’ is exactly what it says – it is a lovely BIG book full of illustrations and the most wonderful photographs so well done it really is impossible to tell whether the images are real or 1/12^th scale.

The first chapter of the book concentrates on tools, materials and techniques. These are all laid out very clearly so it is easy to see the equipment needed to start on the building project. Then we move on to constructing the basic house around which the book is based with cutting layouts and step by step guides to the building process. Once the shell of the house has been built the book then concentrates on decoration which is where the real fun begins with lots of new techniques and ideas to be learned covering each room in the house in great detail (I think the kitchen is the best room!)

At the end of the book there is a section on making the furniture and accessories for your house (right down to making roses) along with information on paint techniques. Lastly there is a gallery of Christine-Lea’s past houses – all beautiful of course and to be aspired to!

I think the most obvious thing about this lovely book is that it has been written by an enthusiast. Christine-Lea clearly loves the design and building of houses and all that goes into them and this shines through in how the book is presented. This edition has a wealth of information for both the experienced collector and the beginner and would make the most wonderful Christmas gift for anyone who has ever thought about owning a dolls house. 

The Big Book of a Miniature House by Léa Frisoni, translated by Stephen Haynes, published by GMC (£25.00, available from www.thegmcgroup.com)