Meet Mai (and Mochi)!

That bed is a nice find!

Do you know whether the children's kitchens that are available at Ikea are small enough for 1/3-1/4 scale dolls, or are they oversized?

11 hours ago, Kemonomimicry said:

That bed is a nice find!

Do you know whether the children's kitchens that are available at Ikea are small enough for 1/3-1/4 scale dolls, or are they oversized?

I was looking at them, but they're unfortunately about 2/3 scale. It's a shame because they otherwise look great and are sturdy. The other doll toys they sell are 1/6 - 1/12 scale.

Pet furniture comes to mind as an alternative for non-DIY furniture, but the proportions are a little off. It's the right scale, but the legs on chairs and sofas tend to run short, which might be OK for MDD but would be a little odd for DD/DDS.

On 4/23/2025 at 5:32 AM, Kemonomimicry said:

Do you know whether the children's kitchens that are available at Ikea are small enough for 1/3-1/4 scale dolls, or are they oversized?

I've been looking around for 1/3 scale kitchens and furniture in general for the past few weeks. This is what I've found as someone looking for furniture you'd see in a reasonably modern home. 

For MDD, American Girl / Our Generation furniture fits really well and would be suitable for Obitsu 45/48. There's a kitchen set as well as many other sets. The issue is that the aesthetic is... generally pretty juvenile for lack of a better word. Older AG sets look somewhat classy but resell at sky-high prices for a mint condition copy.

For DD/DDS/SMD, these are a no-go and would look like adults trying to cook in a kids pretend kitchen. 

If you use purely off-the-shelf options and strictly keep it to MDD, you can get this kind of result.

 

You can find sellers on Etsy making AG-compatible furniture for 18" dolls, but as far as I can tell, nobody's selling ready-made parts for kitchens. The quality and aesthetic ranges vastly from laser-cut DIY kits to 3D-printed stuff to solid wood.

There's nobody on Etsy doing true 1/3 scale furniture except this one store selling 3D-printed stuff for SMD that's not very good esp for the price they're asking (sorry if they read this!). The largest you can find is 18". There are a lot more doing 1/6 (Barbie) and even more for 1/12 (popular for YouTube miniatures content). Because there's monetization potential, the quality and design are just worlds apart.

There are sellers in Asia that used to and probably still make 1/3 furniture, but with the tariff situation, this gets really dicey, and from what I've seen, it's largely focused on sofas, beds, chairs, tables, dressers, wardrobes and lamps. Nobody does kitchens. This Japanese maker on Booth does good work, but the furniture is Japanese-centric.

That brings me back to square one, and the answer is that there isn't anyone doing this unless you go the custom order route or are very handy.

I've been jazzing up Mai and Mochi's space for a few weeks now. The bedroom's starting to come together now that the floor and walls both have some color to them.

The bed now has a mattress... using a (baby) crib pillow that fits it perfectly. Also added doll-sized pillows.

My next and main project now is to come up with a kitchen for them since that's where this all started. Mai and Mochi are the main characters in my cooking comic, and part of why I got into dolls was to have them role play and act as drawing references in a kitchen.

I'm calculating dimensions out with someone I'll be working with and picked up a tiny 3.5" (9cm) cast iron pan that's used for camping. It seems to be about the right size!

I dreamed up a new look for Mochi!

Mochi is now a DDP!

Ever since Mai moved up to DDS, I've wanted to make Mochi a DDP since that's how I portray her in my comic - as a 12 year old. While she looked realllly cute as an MDD, that wasn't my vision for her as a character.

I was reluctant to make the move since I was concerned about clothing compatibility. She also looked too mature when I experimented with an Obitsu 48.

In the end, she's exactly how I imagined, and I love it.

Mochi: "When did this skirt become so short?"

 

Mochi: "Whyyyyy do I have to get up so early for school?"

 

Thankfully, most outfits work fine except that Petit Marie sailor uniform I really liked. And shorts are a lost cause. I'm on the lookout for replacements for both. 

Mochi on her free dress day at school. What is she thinking about?

Extra long sleeves are her favorite. ☺️

 

Time to talk about chairs!

For a few years now, Mai's been sitting on toilet paper rolls, which functionally aren't bad. Two stacked together are of the right height, they don't stain, they're soft & grippy, and she wouldn't tip over if there were an earthquake.

But.... toilet paper rolls. She's not picky, but she deserves better.

I was shopping at the mall, and some locations of Anthropologie have a garden store attached to them. And in that store, I found these miniature plant stools.

https://www.shopterrain.com/shop/teak-plant-stand-tall?color=111

The small model is just about right for Mai and Mochi (DDS and DDP). The medium one would be good for DD or if you don't mind DDS legs hanging a little like you were sitting at a bar/hightop.

 

Edited March 16 by chef_mai

Mai's feeling lazy today.

It's a bit of copy of what Polkadot's been making for years for MDD, but Volks really got the loungewear set done right. I paired it with a tee from Little Wonder and pulled it off shoulder for a cuter look.