Funkis kitchen

It took me a very long time to start working on the funkis house because I needed to do some research on functionalism. As I said before, I don't know much about this style, which is the challenge of the project. For instance, I had no idea what kind of floors or wallpaper would go with it. I googled funkis + wallpaper and found zillions of wonderful images, but when I started searching for dollhouse printies, I could not find anything even remotedly suitable. I then downloaded images of 1:1 wallpaper, resized and printed out, but it didn't work because the ceilings in this house are quite high, and it was impossible to get the patterns right. In short, it looked untidy. I knew I wouldn't be happy with it. So, reluctantly, I turned to dollhouse shops to see whether I could buy anything there. The two largest online dollhouse shops offer a selection of 300 wallpapers, none close to funkis. I am sure that if I were better at photoshop I would be able to design my own funkis wallpaper, but as it is, I am not.

Then I had an idea. Surely there must be wrapping paper with a funkis-like design. I even found some great stuff on amazon, but you could only buy it as a bonus if you made other purchases, and at the moment I have no urgent needs that amazon can satisfy. I checked Staples, and I checked ebay. Then I gave up and went to a hobby shop. A real-life one. A dangerous place where I tend to spend too much money on items I may possibly need sometimes for something. But I was good and only bought a pad of wonderful craft paper (wrapping paper was no good) and some small stuff.

So I finally started redecorating the rooms. I now had three sheets each of sixteen different patterns, and guess how long it took me to decide? I put the sheets into the rooms only to state that it didn't work, that the pattern was too large or too shiny or wrong nuance to match the furniture. Actually, I didn't have any furniture except some loose pieces, and I wasn't even sure which room would be which. So I moved the sheets around and got more and more frustrated. By itself, each pattern was gorgeous. Inside the rooms, I wasn't sure.

I have this bad habit of browsing ebay for job lots, and I bought one recently without any particular project in mind, just because it was good value for money (most of it is actually Louis Marx from the '60s).

And suddenly I saw that this mint green set would fit perfectly in my non-existent kitchen. And it decided the choice of wallpaper. Just to give you an idea of the condition of the room prior to renovation:

It is a deep and narrow room, not easy to wallpaper. Fortunately, the three sheets were just enough. Here is the result:

I need to explain the window. This house only has windows on the front so I decided to add a fake window to create a sense of space. I took the same shape and size as the front windows, printed out an image of a funkis house and made a frame from two layers of white card:

I made a narrow window sill, just to add depth. 

The next day I made a lamp out of an empty tape roll. 

I am very pleased with this room. I would never ever want to live in it, but that's not the point. It has bright period-correct colours, and I have managed to put it some details that make this room unique. I could even use the old iron cooker that I bought some years ago at Portobello Road in London. 

I will add some shelves and utensils, but this ebay bargain really made it work.