Interiors at 1:12 Scale

Sometimes I'm really intimidated about decorating my apartment. There is so much to consider: colors, lighting, the scale of the furniture, etc.

That's why I'm amazed at what Mrs. James Ward Thorne, a Chicago woman, created at just 1:12 scale: these lifelike recreations of the nineteenth and twentieth century American home in doll size.

These dollhouses are chicer than my home!

The little girl in me is enchanted, while the adult in me is envious of the beautiful decor.

(Cape Cod Living Room, 1750-1850, c. 1940)

(Pennsylvania Drawing Room, 1834-36, c. 1940)

(New England Bedroom, 1750-1850, c. 1940)

(Virginia Entrance Hall, 1751-55, c. 1940)

(Virginia Drawing Room, 1754, c. 1940)

(California Living Room, c. 1935-1940, c. 1940)

(California Hallway, c. 1940, c. 1940)
(all via The Art Institute of Chicago)

If you're in the Chicago area, check out these rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago's exhibition of the Thorne Rooms beginning on November 1.

Maybe decorating would be easier if I made a practice run on a dollhouse...nah.