Pictured: The immaculate modern-day dolls house tipped to take collectors by storm
Typified by Victorian homes and miniature china people, dolls houses may have fallen out of fashion.
But designer Elaine Shaw believes her immaculate modern-day model will bring collectors back to the fold.
The mother-of-four, who has spent thousands of hours packing the miniature home with modern decor and working accessories, expects her creation to revolutionize the market.
Immaculate: The bedroom of Elaine Shaw's modern-day doll house has a retro capsule chair, angular dressing table, Art Deco picture and mahogany futon
Just a tenth of the size of a real home, the intricate three-story model is packed with a miniature iMac, X-BOX, flat screen TV and Art Deco paintings.
Many features of the designer accommodation, which took thousands of hours to complete, are fully operational including working lights and a fridge with a working door.
An owner could even change the time on the bedside clock by turning a knob on its side.
Doll's delight: The chic bathroom has a modern shower, stylish bidet and large circular mirror that Elaine made by hand
Designer Elaine Shaw, 44, from Brockley, South-East London, made the stunning home by hand.
With her modern decor she aims to revolutionize the doll's house market which typically centres on the Victorian era.
This home - called 'Clearview' - is the first of several contemporary homes planned by Elaine, who sells her models through her startup company Miaim.
Open plan: The living room has a towering standing lamp, swivel chairs, ultra-low slab coffee table and comfy corner sofa
She said: ‘Dolls houses are out of fashion because they are out of fashion.
‘The usual Victorian era designs only appeal to a very limited number of people. More often than not it's collectors who share a passion for that period of history.
‘I want to bring it back into modern times and I think having modern day gadgets and appliances will make it appeal to more people.
‘We have celebrated the Victorian era for so long and I think it's time we started celebrating modern design.’
Elaine was inspired to create a doll’s house with Clearview's attractive architecture after a family trip to Miami, Florida.
Decked out: The study of Elaine Shaw's modern doll house with a functioning miniature iMac, transparent coffee table, solid beach desks with drawers and a modern art picture
‘Many homes around Florida have this Art Deco look and I thought it would look great as a doll's house,’ she said.
Clearview – which stands 31in (79cm) tall over a 31.5in (80cm) x 18in (46cm) base – has seven living areas including a roof terrace.
Modern features include a ground-floor, open plan living room complete with a flat-screen TV and a basement study with desktop Apple computer.
Elaine said: ‘Being a designer I have all the tools to scale down real-life objects.
‘The iMac is a recreation of the real thing using materials that match as closely as possible the real components.
‘This is the approach I use for everything I make.’
Keeping cool: The dining room and sliding doors to the balcony of Elaine Shaw's modern doll house. The balcony has mahogany drink rests and curved, fabric-covered seats
On the first floor, a chic kitchen is decorated with a tiny kettle, miniature utensils and everything expected in a real home.
A minimalistic reception room leads to a dining room through a glass sliding door.
Dolls can reach the stylish bedroom with futon, 60’s capsule chair and angular dressing table up a neat wooden staircase.
It's the kind of decor buyers in real size might pay thousands for from second hand designer furniture shops.
The building also has a roof terrace with outdoor seating and a table. It’s front opens on hinges to reveal the secrets inside.
Taking a look: Elaine peers through the front of her modern dolls house, which opens to reveal all of the rooms and hand-made furniture inside
Dolls house enthusiasts can buy a Clearview outer shell on order. Elaine’s hand made fixtures and fittings will be available through Miaim.
Elaine orders some of the interior features from American designer Paris Renfroe.
‘I soon hope to provide collectors with all of the modern intricacies seen in Clearview,’ she said.
‘The problem at the moment is the cost and time it takes to make everything.
‘On Monday I made some Colgate toothpaste, a toothbrush and a Lynx deodorant can. It took me several hours put together to scale down just those small everyday items.
‘Other features, like the fridge, cost me several hundred pounds because it is perfectly to scale and opens and closes.
High hopes: Elaine Shaw, 44, poses next to her modern doll house, which she hopes will appeal to today's collectors and families
‘My dream is to make this more accessible and affordable to all but I will need help.
‘I want to bring the modern doll's house to life.
‘We all have iPods, Youtube and digital TV in our homes and I want to be able to bring that into the doll's house.
‘I get incredible satisfaction from tending to the home and moving in a new piece of furniture.
‘I think having it so realistic tricks the mind into thinking you are decorating the home you live in. It feels like the real thing and it's a lot of fun.’
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