(Michelle Mohácsi – German Weekend Haus)

Practice Makes Perfect and Wins Contests

by Pam North

Kansas resident Michelle Mohácsi has had a dream of renovating the large colonial dollhouse that was built for her by her dad in her childhood in the late 1970s. In preparation for that endeavor, and as a means of developing her skills, she undertook the construction of a Three Gables House kit for the HBS 25th Annual Creatin’ Contest in 2018, a project that also culminated in her winning the contest’s First Time Entrant Winner award. Her only formal training in the miniature field had been a few classes to help build a small repertoire of skills complementary to miniature projects, such as oil painting, drawing, sewing, and a shop class for learning to use power tools. 
She decided to make an old German cottage reminiscent of a weekend getaway place in the Alps. As her husband is from Munich, she thought it would be fun to indulge their dream of having a German home. “Now we do, only in dollhouse scale!” she commented.
The basic kit was MDF (medium-density fibreboard). The herringbone floors’ installation took an entire month, and was comprised of coffee stir-sticks, cut into 2000 one-inch pieces. Basswood was used to build the furniture, kitchen cabinets, ceiling beams, shower pan, and bathroom sink, and the cushions and bedding were cut from thrift-shop clothing with tiny prints. She used other supplies from HBS, the contest sponsor, including the exterior’s textured brick paper and the tiles in the bathroom. The planked walls were created from cereal box cardboard. She made the beds, nightstands, the removable bathroom box, sink and shower, kitchen cabinets, appliances, pillows, bedding, and towels, citrus fruit and cutting board, art on the walls, awning, and planters. The counter stools were fashioned from wooden game pieces that her teenage daughter thought looked like the seats for stools, for which Michelle built basswood bases. German houses often have very modern appliances and fixtures, so the kitchen appliances were made from kits, and the bathroom sink bowl, wall-hung toilet, and plumbing fixtures were 3D printed, then sanded and spray-painted. The sofa and chairs, chest of drawers, the white lamp, and many of the small accessories throughout the house were purchased, and the potted amaryllis came from a kit from The Miniature Garden on Etsy.
The bathroom presented a problem, as the four walls of the house are permanently fixed, and only half the roof came off for access into the house. The solution was a removable bathroom box, with battery-powered sconces, so that it could be lifted out to access the kitchen and living area, providing a good layout for a typical German house that usually has an entrance hall.
She had to put aside many ideas due to the time constraints of the contest entry deadline. Originally wanting the house to be the stone and timber style of an old German Fachwerkhaus, she soon realized there wasn’t enough the time to hand-cut all the stone, so instead she substituted an HBS embossed brick paper.
Her favorite and slightly sentimental part about the piece is the back of the house, where she cut out the opening and added French doors, a faux retractable awning, and planter boxes. “This part of the house reminds me of many wonderful afternoons spent at the home of my husband’s parents, having coffee and cake on the patio.” Her enjoyment in making the clay citrus also inspired her to want to learn to make more foods in the future.
The German Weekend Haus has found its place as a keeper in their guest room atop an old chest of drawers. 
Ideas come to Michelle from everywhere around her. “I’ve always been an extremely visual person, noticing colors, textures, how things are arranged in stores, homes, museums, or in nature. I love looking at photos of home interiors for dollhouse ideas, especially those which show imperfection, patina, and everyday clutter, preferring to see stacks of books or mismatched china, cooking or baking scenes, and the accompanying mess. I’m also very fortunate to live near the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City, which has a huge collection of fine artisan miniatures, as well as numerous toys and dollhouses to inspire creativity. It’s absolute heaven for a miniaturist! It’s very easy to for me to get absorbed into my mini world, a very meditative state for me when I’m working on a room or a miniature, imagining how to make it as realistic as possible with aging techniques, lighting, and other details.” 
Michelle loves being involved in the present and future of miniatures. “Technology keeps opening up so many new possibilities for creating even finer detail than ever before. It’s incredible what can be made in miniature with 3D printing and laser cutting. What I love most about miniatures is that you can take something you normally would discard and craft it into something truly beautiful and one-of-a-kind. It’s intriguing that you can create what you never would have the chance to experience in real life. You literally can build your dream house on your table top!”

Contact information:
Name:Michelle Mohácsi 
Email: michellemokc@gmail.com
Phone: (913) 940-2622
Address: 11008 W. 125th Street - Overland Park, KS  66213