Bengaluru-based artist Ruchika Nambiar in collaboration with the design firm, Studio Slip has designed a 1:12 true-to-life miniature house for her alter-ego, Little R.

“The Dollhouse Project” is an interactive storytelling experiment in which Little R is the protagonist. It explores the line between reality and alternate reality – part of her story overlaps with Nambiar’s while some of it is created for and by a growing community of online followers.

As a natural progression of the storyline, it had become necessary for Little R to have a home. Nambiar enlisted Studio Slip to design the architecture and interiors. They approached it just as they would a life-size project, with plans, elevations, electrical drawings and mood boards, despite their client being a 5-inch doll. Upon deciding on a contemporary industrial aesthetic, the house took eight months to construct and is made out of laser-cut MDF, primed and painted with real emulsion paints. Meticulously crafted with Jaisalmer and wooden flooring, rammed concrete walls, furniture inspired by brands like West Elm and Restoration Hardware, custom made Jaipur rugs, it also features miniature artwork by 15 artists such as Noel Fielding, Reneé French and Howie Wonder.

“While the interior design process was conventional, the architecture had to be designed keeping assembly and photography in mind. We had to make sure all spaces would be able to come apart and also for a hand to pass through to take a picture,” says Kamini Rao, founder and creative director of Studio Slip. “The biggest challenge was making sure there were no errors on our CAD files. In life-sized construction, you need to do a site visit to point a mistake out, but in this project, all our files were going straight to the laser cutters! We also struggled a little with figuring out the electrical and wiring. Turns out it is not so easy when all the walls need to come apart!”

“While the interior design process was conventional, the architecture had to be designed keeping assembly and photography in mind. We had to make sure all spaces would be able to come apart and also for a hand to pass through to take a picture,” says Kamini Rao, founder and creative director of Studio Slip. “The biggest challenge was making sure there were no errors on our CAD files. In life-sized construction, you need to do a site visit to point a mistake out, but in this project, all our files were going straight to the laser cutters! We also struggled a little with figuring out the electrical and wiring. Turns out it is not so easy when all the walls need to come apart!”