Interview with Chinoiserie Chic on the I'm a Giant Challenge

The I'm a Giant Challenge was created by Emily Henderson.  She challenged interior designers to create a mini-house, or dollhouse, that reflected their aesthetic.  Fortunately for us, Beth, of Chinoiserie Chic, participated.  Her dollhouse was absolutely gorgeous and so creatively done.  Each room was fascinating in its detail and execution.  I was intrigued with the process and asked her to answer a few questions for this post.  She very graciously consented, and her interesting answers are below.  

Living Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Entrance Hall

Kitchen

Dressing Room

Office

The level of detail in your I'm a Giant Challenge was incredible.  It was obvious that this was a very time consuming project.  How long did it take to complete your house?

I didn't keep track of my hours and I don't think I want to know! I started on it the first part of October and finished before Thanksgiving, well before the reveal deadline of December 15th. I of course spent lots of time looking on eBay and Etsy, as well as around my house for things to repurpose. Everywhere I went for about a month, I had the dollhouse on my mind. I even found six pieces at the Container Store that you would never guess. I must say though that it was such a creative process and outlet that I enjoyed every minute. I'm sorry it's finished in a way. It was a challenge, because I had no experience with dollhouses or miniatures or scale. I was able to take risks and have fun with it, much more than I would in my own house. I was also able to do things that would be so expensive for real like a Barcelona bench, de Gournay wallpaper, and a ten burner range. My daughter adores it and I have promised to save it for her for when she has a little girl. Until then it's mine!

I noticed you occasionally repurposed your own items for your I'm a Giant Challenge house.  The most amusingly creative repurposing I noticed was the Halcyon Days enameled box.  Could you tell us about a few other interesting items you repurposed?

I repurposed half the items in the dollhouse, if the truth be told. It looks very expensively decorated, but many were items I had, or made, or upcycled. Some of my favorites I repurposed include -

The pink marble bathtub was the bottom half of a box that Charlotte Moss votive candles came in.

The wallpaper in the dressing room is Caspari wrapping paper.

The chandelier in the bathroom is a sea urchin shell.

The cabana is the box from a Seda France candle.

The foo dogs on the roof are salt and pepper shakers from Horchow.

The commercial range in the kitchen is a flower brick.

The toilet is an enameled box with an Estee Lauder compact sitting on top for the toilet seat.

The wallpaper in the master bedroom was a cardboard box from a de Gournay diffuser.

The window treatments were so well done.  Working on something that small can be easier in some ways, and much more difficult in others.  Could you tell us about this?

I don't sew at all. The window treatments didn't cost me a penny nor did I sew a stitch. The gorgeous silk window treatments in the dressing room are from antique embroidered silk remnants I had in my stash. I cut one piece for a lambrequin and wound another piece around a bamboo skewer I gilded for a curtain rod. The wonderful silks in the dining room and bathroom were designer samples from Suzanne Tucker I cut to size and hemmed with iron on seam binding. They really just took minutes to do.

Aren't you amazed by this project?  I love what Beth did with every room and can't seem to choose a favorite.  Do you have a room you like best?