I finished making the pieces for the Princess and the Pea miniature “The Gift of Sensitivity” on the last day of 2025, just meeting my deadline. I haven’t had a chance to photograph the completed scene yet and I want to talk about my experiences making the rest of the pieces before the final reveal. First up is the most time-consuming thing I had to do: make a chair.
From the beginning, I’ve imagined some piece of furniture with a nightgown draped over it next to the bed. I originally planned on a bedside table, but realized it wouldn’t make much sense in this situation — you wouldn’t be able to reach the table from forty mattresses away. However, a chair could be used while dressing, so I made that instead.
My scene has no specific period to it, but I wanted a chair that looked old, so I snooped around on the Victoria and Albert Museum website until I found a French armchair from the 16th century. The key measurements for this chair were listed, so I could use the photo to work out all the proportions.
Of course, my chair is only an interpretation of the original. Much as I loved the cupboard in its base, I knew better than to include the hinged door or to try to make the chair the way a real chair would be made. The construction was going to be hard enough without insisting on that level of accuracy.
I’ve been trying to use materials I already have for this project, so I started out using mat board scraps. The results were flimsy, so I switched to wood. I didn’t have enough basswood leftover from making the bed, so I bought a couple more pieces.
Using a scale drawing I made on graph paper as a pattern, I cut my wood. I started with a box for a base and then added the trim to form the panels. It was difficult to get the pieces exactly right size and I had change the shape of the arms, but it all came together in the end.
Unfortunately, my messy gluing meant I couldn’t stain this piece, so I was unable to take advantage of the real wood grain. I started with a base of black acrylic, then added a couple of dark brown layers. The gold detail was another layer. I aged the whole thing with a coat of watered down black and sealed it with a final clear matte-finish coat.
The final chair looks old, which was my intent. I wanted a chair that had been drug out of storage for this temporary guest set-up. And it holds the accessories it’s supposed to with style (as you will see in a later post.)
Coming next: the bed linens.
You are really amazing, Kit.
What a kind thing to say!
Well done!
Thanks. It’s my first time making a miniature chair, so it was definitely a learning experience.