Dezeen Magazine

Dream Houses from Small Stories exhibition at the V&A Museum of Childhood

London designers create tiny dream rooms for Museum of Childhood exhibition

Nineteen London-based designers including Dominic Wilcox and Paul Priestman have created miniature fantasy rooms for an exhibition of Dolls' Houses at the city's Museum of Childhood.

Offline Hideaway by Dominic Wilcox
Offline Hideaway by Dominic Wilcox

The V&A Museum of Childhood in east London commissioned designers to create their "dream room" inside a 30-centimetre wooden box. Combined in one installation, these form the finale for the exhibition Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls' House, which showcases dolls' houses dating from 1712 to 2001.

The Longest Party Table in the World by Paul Priestman of PriestmanGoode
The Longest Party Table in the World by Paul Priestman of PriestmanGoode

"The brief was very open – basically, I asked people to create their dream room in miniature, to reflect on the idea of 'ideal' or 'fantasy' rooms," curator Alice Sage told Dezeen.

Wellbeing Bathroom by Roger Arquer
Wellbeing Bathroom by Roger Arquer

"It could be fantastical, whimsical, aspirational or technological, it just had to be small!"

If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, Any Road Will Get You There by PearsonLloyd
If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, Any Road Will Get You There by Pearson Lloyd

Sage said the designers were selected because "they all have really different points of view, are based in London, and do interesting innovative work that I though would be fun to see in miniature."

Bermondsey Studio by East London Furniture, Reuben Le Prevost and Jessica Sutton
Bermondsey Studio by East London Furniture, Reuben Le Prevost and Jessica Sutton

"I wanted a selection of designers from different backgrounds, a few well established designers as well as people just starting out who are doing great work," said Sage. The contributors range from furniture and homeware designers – such as Peter Marigold and Bethan Laura Wood – to textile designers including Donna Wilson.

Into the Trees Playroom by Pantxika Ospital of Jentil
Into the Trees Playroom by Pantxika Ospital of Jentil

Dominic Wilcox's Offline Hideaway, Sage's personal favourite, shows a girl on a sofa reading, at the top of a precarious-looking stack of furniture. A tiny laptop is used to prop the leg of a wobbly chair. "In Dominic's little room, there is space and time away from the demands of the digital," said Sage.

Llama Dreams by Donna Wilson
Llama Dreams by Donna Wilson

Paul Priestman of Priestmangoode, the design studio behind the new driverless London tube trains, has used two-way mirrors to create a never-ending party table covered in seemingly unlimited liquorice and cakes.

If a Budgie Dreamed of Being a Magpie by Bethan Wood
If a Budgie Dreamed of Being a Magpie by Bethan Laura Wood

"Paul looked back to his childhood, and the memory of making pin-hole viewers out of shoe boxes. The experience of peering into a darkened space, and seeing something unexpected and magical, stayed with him," said Sage.

Monsters in the Pantry by Peter Marigold
Monsters in the Pantry by Peter Marigold

Product designer Roger Arquer has created a minimal bathroom with a wall of green moss and marble pebbles. Two curved brass faucets emerge from the floor while a glass bulb hangs from the ceiling.

Wilderness Dreams by Orly Orbach
Wilderness Dreams by Orly Orbach

Furniture design studio PearsonLloyd's dream room is titled with a quote from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Three different-coloured plastic tubes and a white ladder fill the mirror-lined box.

A Night in the Studio by Ina Hyun K Shin
A Night in the Studio by Ina Hyun K Shin

"The room is both a playground and an in-between space where you are just as likely to simply pass through as hang around," said PearsonLloyd. "What lies beyond is simply a matter of dream and the imagination."

Room with a View by Nancy Edwards
Room with a View by Nancy Edwards

East London Furniture has mocked up a miniature version of their current studio space, complete with lead windows and brick walls. "As East London Furniture move on to new studios, this little room will act as a memorial and reminder of the Bermondsey building," said Sage.

My Dream Space, My Toy Box by Design K
My Dream Space, My Toy Box by Design K

Both Bethan Laura Wood and Donna Wilson have filled their dream rooms with miniature versions of their own designs in colourful patterns.

Library (A Recent Plan) by Liberty Art Fabrics Interiors
Library (A Recent Plan) by Liberty Art Fabrics Interiors

Peter Marigold's Monsters in the Pantry features three feasting creatures while illustrator Orly Orbach's room shows a sleeping figure surrounded by cave drawings of wild beasts.

I Always Dreamed of an Underwater Aquarium Bathroom by Katy Christianson
I Always Dreamed of an Underwater Aquarium Bathroom by Katy Christianson

Other rooms were designed by Nancy Edwards, Dionne Sylvester, Design K, Jessica Hayman of Rosa and Clara Designs, Molly Meg, Liberty Art Fabric Interiors, Pantxika Ospital of Jentil, Katy Christianson, Mister Peebles and Ina Hyun K Shin.

Home Is Bear The Heart Is by Mister Peebles
Home Is Bear The Heart Is by Mister Peebles

In the exhibition the boxes are stacked on top of each other to create a complete Dream House, which sits underneath the words "In miniature, impossible dreams can come true".

Not a Magnolia Room by Dionne Sylvester
Not a Magnolia Room by Dionne Sylvester

Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls' House is on show at the V&A Musuem of Childhood in Bethnal Green until 6 September 2015 and entrance is free.

More Is More by Rosa and Clara Designs
More Is More by Rosa and Clara Designs

Dezeen has also featured dolls' houses by architects including Zaha Hadid and David Adjaye, each integrating a feature that would make life easier for a disabled child.

Molly's Favourite Things by Molly Meg
Molly's Favourite Things by Molly Meg