Japanese Modern House 1/24 Scale Miniature Diorama
When I visited Japan I was struck how the interiors I saw immediately gave me a sense of peace and tranquility. In this modern Japanese house the aim is to recreate this timeless tranquility using a few very simple, natural elements. Japanese Architecture situates these elements firmly within the natural environment and in this diorama, I will try to recreate these zen invoking decorative features for a modern Japanese house diorama at 1/24 scale.
I found some inspiration for this diorama in a book called Japanese Architecture: An Exploration of Elements & Forms and will be sharing my process through a series of videos so that you can follow along.
Let's start with the flooring. In traditional Japanese homes, tightly woven tatami mats give even an empty room a sense of nature having crept indoors. I love the look of Tatami mats and after watching this great video on Amazon that shows how Tatami Mattresses are made had to get the same look for my interior. Just click the white square and the video will play.
For my miniature I did not have access to a piece of Tatami Mattress so I used the next best thing I had in my supply stash, which was a Bamboo brush holder. These were left overs from days of me trying out Japanese Calligraphy, which was a total disaster.
You will need to remove the cotton lining, but hold on to it, since we will use it later in the project. The bamboo floor will be for the lower level sitting room and dining room and perhaps even for the bedroom upstairs.
For the kitchen I used tiny tiles that I found at Daiso. I found similar craft tiles on Amazon (see link above) and the good thing is that these tiles come in various colors. I am going with a black modern kitchen design, so I used black and white tiles.
Now here is the first part of how to assemble the flooring. All you need are the following items:
- Wood Glue
- Miter Shears to cut the bamboo with ( cut small pieces, it goes much easier that way)
- Scissors and a Pencil
- Glass Tiles (black and white) use the smallest ones you can find
- Bamboo Brush Holder
