Virtual Tour: Modern Mountain Cabin in 1:48 "Quarter" Scale

FYI: This page is a work in progress as I continue to build this house in 2019. Check the blog regularly for updates (as well as my social media) and then check this page for the final tour of the finished house. More pictures coming!

Welcome to My Mountain Retreat!

After I modernized my first quarter scale dollhouse, I set out to find a kit that was already modern, and I found it! The house was a massive modern beach house by John Jensen of JManLaserCrafts on Etsy, but the second I saw it, I saw a Colorado mountain cabin. Literally love at first sight. Instead of a sunny beach abode, this was going to be a lake house retreat complete with paddle boards instead of surfboards.

And there's the paddle boards. <3

Kit Bashing

If you don't already know, kit bashing is the act of buying a kit and modifying it beyond it's original look. It's controversial to those who love the purity of a given kit, but it offers people like me the opportunity to get a look from something that doesn't exist or is hard to find (cough, cough, modern 1:48 scale, cough, cough).

In the case of this house, my bashes included a "metal" roof, a large garage, window "glass" that actually inserted into the windows, vertical cladding, an upstairs bathroom with custom wooden doors, a fireplace, sliding barn doors, and a wall that swung out for easy access into the great room. Sheesh, that's a lot of bashing! It was worth it though, to convert this house from beach house to cabin, and I love the results.

Swinging wall for great room access.

Interior Bashes

This kit didn't come with door fixtures, but I love that, because it inspired me to try the hipster sliding barn doors. With the aid of a laser cutter and Adobe Illustrator, I designed two unique doors and tracks, cut on 1/16th basswood. John Jenson was kind enough to send me an extra interior wall for the upstairs, for which I also cut wooden doors, creating a bathroom between two bedrooms.

That left side wall actually swings out for easier access to this room.

The Rest of the Interiors

Online, this house didn't look very large, but let me tell you, it's deceptive! This house is massive. Both bedrooms are master-bed sized. There was plenty room downstairs to fit an open plan kitchen, dinning area and living room in just one of the rooms. The other two became a large office and a huge great room with outstanding views.