The Thorne Miniatures: Teeny Tiny Exquisite Period Kitchens

Finally got to see the Thorne rooms in person at The Art Institute of Chicago this past weekend. Amazing period rooms in miniature: "these fascinating models were conceived by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago and constructed between 1932 and 1940 by master craftsmen according to her specifications", per the museum's website. Here are some of the kitchens in particular–my barely-adequate iPhone pix will have to do–lots of reflections creating issues.

These are 1" = 1' Scale!

Massachusetts Living Room & Kitchen 1675-1700

1752 Pennsylvania Kitchen

18th Century Virginia Kitchen

Just Browsing… and coveting…

Rifle Paper Co. Charming as usual

"A La Mere de Famille"– C'est moi!

Sucker for packaging and display details.

Potential gift for the husband

Why not hang rolling pins vertically to create visual art?

Gourmet Food Packaging Exhibit in a Fantasy Kitchen

The esteemed graphic designer Louise Fili's exhibit "Elegantissima", a retrospective of some of her gourmet food packaging work (amongst other retail consumer product and book design work as well) at Farmingdale State College  (part of the State University of New York – "SUNY" – system) showcased her work in faux kitchen and pantry-style settings. I visited it late last fall with a fellow designer, Liz Pop–she's a gifted illustrator too! Retro appliances in monochromatic color schemes perfectly offset her cleverly detailed, obsessively ornate style. http://www.farmingdale.edu/news/news-2013/louisefili.shtml

Liz can cook!!

 

Check out Smeg fridges – a retro revival brand to do this!

Baker's rack

Dinette Set

Cup pulls and woven basket storage.

Soffit Trouble

One way to handle a unique, fixed soffit situation: top the wall cabinets with finished panels for a thin, clean line in a Shaker-style kitchen. The customer wanted this solution so she can easily place decorative items along the tops of the cabinets.

Tidy Tops

Before & After Effect

Last year I worked with a customer to incorporate her purchase of an L-shaped cherry species showroom display into her new home by adding some additional cabinetry pieces to create a new, two-tone kitchen. She kindly furnished me with these "panoramic" before and after images which capture the vast improvement from a homely and outdated existing kitchen to a pretty and practical space.

"The Excruciating Headache" BEFORE

"The Exquisite Pain Relief" AFTER

Cottage Island

A nice add-on to an existing kitchen featuring angular Mission-style corbels to accent the strong lines in this Kitchen Craft raised panel door style.

Dollhouse Kitchen Epehemera

I spotted this set of dollhouse kitchen hutch and sideboard furniture in an antique shop window in Chestnut Hill, PA a couple of weeks ago. Very tempted to buy, but I'll have to settle for the photo until after the holidays. Maybe it will still be there, who knows? (sorry about the heavy reflections in the shot)