The House Of Miniatures – Vintage Miniature Furniture Dollhouse Kits That Are Still Around!

In the world of DIY miniature kits, there is not a lot of choice in just DIY miniature furniture kits, so getting a vintage set like the ones from The House Of Miniatures can surely help you decorate your vintage dollhouse, so let’s dive right into things.

What Is The House Of Miniatures collector series – Some History and Insights.

The House of Miniatures, aka THOM, was founded by a company named X-Acto. I honestly have no idea if the latter is the same business as the one known worldwide for the making of X-Acto knives.

This company produced miniature vintage furniture kits as collector series from 1976 to 1998, but these kits are no longer being produced now.

It is a big part of the American heritage regarding crafting and enjoyment.

They placed ads in Miniature magazines that invited people to join the community and receive one kit per month from these beautifully designed furniture pieces.

Apparently, they did pretty well regarding sales, but at the end of the 20th century, the interest became less, so they needed to stop :-(.

All the kits were also sold through miniature stores, home-mail orders, and the catalog of Craftmark.

These days, you can still buy the kits. They can be sealed still, thus original and not used, but they also sell already opened packages.

I would really advise looking at the Youtube video below and see how this person is super enthusiastic about these dollhouse kits, love it! She has so many things to go and craft, I can imagine the thrills haha!

What exactly did The House Of Miniatures make and is the House Of Miniatures still in business?

The craft kits are all made from good quality wood and were (and are) used by miniaturists worldwide, amateurs and professionals, but mostly in the USA (so it seems to me).

All of the furniture would be made on a scale of 1:12 and were actually historically correct! And drawers, etc., can be opened and closed.

A catalog of all the furniture kits made is seen on Youtube:

Also over the years, other things were produced, like room boxes (kits), finished furniture kits, collectible miniatures, hardware, display shelves, glass globe display stands, and even a line of silver serving dishes from Colonial Williamsburg.

Here’s a list of all the types of furniture made by this brand:

• (Chippendale) style chest(s)
• cupboards
• tables
• desks
• mirrors
• clocks
• fire screens
• sofa
• and much more..

The House Of Miniatures is now no longer in business (and I think that’s sad haha)

How To Assemble These Kits?

On researching more information about these miniature dollhouse kits, it seems that the original instruction sheets are very well-made and reliable. So I would advise buying these vintage kits only with the manual included.

As with any miniature kit though, you can adapt the miniature piece to your own liking.

I have ‘crashed’ a miniature kit from Robotime before, but I would think that this is rather limited to these kits, as they have a classic, antique, and vintage-style look.

But, it is furthermore a matter of taste, so you can paint them in a totally different way than Victorian/Chippendale, etc.

Would you like to finish them in a CountryLife-style, Japanese-style, or Shabby Chic? Why the heck not, do as you please I always say, it is your piece of miniature and the furniture must suit the needs of your dollhouse!

So anyway, where to begin?

There are a few very easy kits, like a firescreen or a candle stand, but if you really want to challenge yourself from the start, I would try out a somewhat more complicated kit, but not too hard.

Like for example, this one: The House of Miniatures; Chippendale 3 Drawer Chest No. 40011.

If you start with one of these, you will notice that you will require the skills needed to go further and craft a more complicated one, like this one: the CHIPPENDALE Chest On Chest, Number #40009.

Or why not this one, there’s your challenge if you want one! The Chippendale Straight-Top Highboy Kit no. 40022.

Would you like to build one with your child? Then I would recommend for example the Chippendale Night Stand #40012.

In the next video below, you can see in a complete tutorial how she makes her first kit from the House Of Miniatures and she is going for one of the most difficult ones from the start. (I am assuming that).

She talks about the good quality of the wood and that she hardly needed to sand the pieces. Also, she talks you through all the instructions, what is written in them, and all the advice that is given.

I don’t think that I could explain it any better than she does! 😉

Which Crafting Materials Do You Need To Craft These Miniature Furniture Kits?

To make miniatures you need these materials, at the least. I have written before on most of these:

1. A Dremel.

A Dremel isn’t absolutely necessary in the case of these kits, but it can be handy to use for sanding or when pieces don’t fit and a piece has to get cut off, for example.

2. A magnifying lamp.

Now, this one, you definitely need to craft miniatures with and I have written several blog posts on them. Have a look here for more information and here to choose the best magnifying lamp.

3. Tweezers.

Tweezers are a very basic material that you need to craft miniatures. No need to buy the most expensive ones though!

4. Glues.

If you wonder which glue to use in which case, I could refer you again to 2 blog posts of mine, here and here.

Although just regular wood glue seems fine enough to use for these kits!

5. A crafting knife.

Of course, we couldn’t forget about a crafting knife, now could we?

6. Small (bar) clamps for miniatures.

Side clamps and regular small clamps can be extremely handy!

Where To Get These House Of Miniature Dollhouse Furniture Kits?

Well, I have seen people selling these on eBay, but also on Etsy.

There is one particular store though that caught my attention because it specializes in these kits, so let’s take a look!

Be Aware: These are vintage items, which means that the choice in these kits is rather limited and it is hard to find stores that have a lot of them.

The House Of Miniatures.

This Etsy shop makes or sells.

The House of Miniatures items only

Some more info about this shop.

So it seems that this store is only about our brand that I have been talking about here, The House Of Miniatures.

Also sells some cups and sweatshirts with the logo on them.

Overall Rank

Where to get this item.

On Etsy

The good and the bad :

The Good.

• This store has gotten a lot of 5-star reviews in the last 7 days
• items in good shape
• fast shipping, American store

The Bad.

• not so many furniture kits available in this store and not so much choice, hence the 4 and a half stars and not 5 from me.

Final Conclusion.

I honestly don’t know if I would buy from this Etsy store, because there is not a lot of choice in bigger things like a closet or a chest or a highboy.

Check out more details and prices on this store here.

My Final Conclusion.

I have been seeing the miniature furniture kits from The House Of Miniatures for some time now, on my Facebook group and others, so it was about time that I wrote about these 😉

Let’s hope you are informed enough now about these kits and if not, then please leave a comment below or join me on my Facebook group.

I wish you happy crafting!

Best regards,

Lizzy

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