Interior design and architecture go tiny as students transform donated boxes into detailed miniature rooms.

Sara Ingraffia

As a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I can’t help being inspired by the permanent pieces I walked past daily. The Art Institute houses the Thorne Miniature Rooms, which were built by artisans employed by Narcissa Nilback Thorne in the 1930s. The rooms show different styles of interior design and architecture and allow the viewerʼs imagination to take over. The details in each room become the star of the show. By having an absence of human figures, the viewer can speculate about what may or may not have happened in the room using clues shown in the decor.

This project gives you the opportunity to incorporate many of the principles of design. I always try to discuss interior design, but it can be a difficult concept for students to explore without being out in the field. After talking about some basic concepts of interior design, students began sketching ideas showing how they would like their miniature rooms to look. They needed to build and construct everything from scratch using their choice of materials I had available.

I encouraged students to think about a variety of inspirations of interior spaces for this project—a favorite movie scene they could adapt, a residential space they could design, a place from their past, a place from their dreams—the possibilities are endless. Students used their newfound knowledge of design elements along with their prior knowledge of color theory when choosing materials and wall colors. Texture and composition also came into play, and I encouraged students to think about how the viewers’ eye will move through the space.

Students began with the walls of their rooms, covering them with paint or decorative paper. Once the walls, ceiling, and floors began to take shape, students constructed furniture and objects that would tell the story and set the mood of the room. Magical miniature worlds emerged and opened students up to exploring new dimensions, even if they are just the size of a shoebox.

Magical Miniatures makes a great college portfolio submission because people havenʼt seen it before. Itʼs a great project to get students to think differently about their own space and design choices and to see the potential in such a simple concept—that a tiny space can tell an entire story based on the design elements put into it.

Sara Ingraffia is a lower and upper school art teacher at Currey Ingram Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee, a school serving students with learning differences. sara.ingraffia@curreyingram.org

Magical Miniatures with a Big Impact