A Dining Set for Eve

I’m not a fan of most of the mass-produced furniture intended for playscale dolls like Barbie, Blythe, and Fashion Royalty.  It’s not because they’re plastic, either, in fact there are some beautifully re-imagined and repainted plastic dining sets that are very nice.  My issue is that most of the pieces aren’t scaled properly, they’re just not quite large enough once you get the dolls onto the furniture. Yes, I know, I’m picky.

I made myself a black leather couch, shown here, but tidying up after Christmas I managed to drop it, and now it’s wobbly.  Clumsy!  I’ve still got materials, but I’m new at this, and not particularly skilled.

The combination of clumsy, picky, and unskilled means I don’t have much furniture just yet, which in turn means I can’t really make diorama scenes.  Steps are being taken; now I just have to wait for the post-person, and finish up my side projects.

The first package got here yesterday, but it was just too dark for pictures.  While overcast today, at least it’s bright enough for a few shots, and I am so excited to share.

I found this set on Ebay.  According to the shop, it’s made of “high quality plywood”.  Admittedly, I don’t know much about wood, but I always assumed plywood was low-grade, ugly, and generally terrible.  This set is challenging that assumption.  It’s got a lovely dark, reddish color and it’s beautifully varnished.  It’s deceptively light and I suspect, and dread, that it may also be fairly delicate.  Because I don’t have much space for diorama rooms, I actually need to pack things away when they’re not in use—probably a good thing, considering my butterfingers.

The table holds more than enough weight for my needs.  Not only did I put Eve on the table, but I also piled on enough dishes for four full place settings, my heaviest doll-food prop, and a centerpiece.  The table held, and I didn’t feel any need to push my luck.

The height of the table, relative to Eve, is the same size as our actual dining table compared to yours truly.  Assuming Eve is my height, this is just right, so I have no complaints about the scaling.  The tabletop is large enough that I could have a small centerpiece and up to four place settings, which is perfect, because I’ve got four chairs.

While the table is nice, it’s the chairs that really shine here.  I picked them because of the design on the chair back.  My hubby and I have very different tastes, and he’d never go for a design like this, so it’s nice to live out my furniture fantasies through Eve. And yes, the chairs are properly scaled as well.

I’m very pleased with the set.  Now I just need to get some wall art printed, a tablecloth, and set out my foodstuffs.

Thanks for reading, and if you’ve got tips on where to shop for properly-scaled doll furniture, let me know in the comments below.