First of all, you need to be prepared to accept, as have I, that your own home may never be as perfect or “Pinterest-Ready” as this dollhouse built for miniature people. Then you need to be okay with the fact, as am I, that you may be tempted to steal decorating ideas from said dollhouse built for miniature people. Once you’ve come to terms with these certitudes, you may proceed to discover the world of Lavender Belle Miniatures….
“My miniature obsession started at the beginning of 2017 when I renovated an old dollhouse originally for my own use and not intending to sell it. I started an instragram account just for my miniatures and it was a hit right from the start. A lady then asked if she could buy it and I thought ‘why not!'”. That’s Vonelle of Bunbury Australia and the woman behind Lavender Belle miniatures. “For me I just love the interior design aspect of this hobby and I decorate them as if it was my own big house.”
She’s inspired by the Parisian, London and Hamptons style of decorating and the challenge of creating such elegant interiors on a tiny 1/12th scale. Vonelle does everything from cutting and laying floorboards to the miniature paintings and her impossibly exquisite settees with velvet and rattan upholstery. She’s currently restoring her fourth dollhouse while keeping up with the demand for her miniatures on an Etsy Shop she opened in 2017, but her miniature ambitions keep growing…
“Not long after I started on this journey I dreamt of this flower shop which I would always have with me in between renovating and decorating dollhouses. The flower shop and surrounding courtyard is a work in progress and it is already expanding to become a village. I have recently added a cake shop and the flower shop also has a miniature caravan as a popup shop. I also paint little paintings for my dollhouses and I am now adding these to my store and would love to have a miniature art studio and gallery in the future. Maybe a fabric shop too, oh and imagine a beautiful little ice cream shop or hat shop…. see how my mind works!”
