Designed in Chicago — Inspired by Europe
Architect-designed architectural elements, decorative fragments, and room components at 1:12 scale — inspired by four centuries of European interior architecture. Made to order. Ships worldwide.
Miniature interiors are not merely assembled.
They are designed.
The Studio
A Chicago design studio producing fine-scale architectural miniatures. Each piece is digitally modeled with an architect's attention to proportion, profile, and historic precedent — then produced in ABS-like resin and made to order.
The Position
Between mass-produced miniature components and fully bespoke commissions — refined, historically informed architectural detail made attainable for serious collectors. Four collections spanning four centuries.
The Difference
The finest miniature rooms begin with architecture: the rhythm of a wall, the depth of a mantel, the profile of a cornice, the proportion of a door. This is where Northside Modelworks begins.
Collection I — French & Continental Rococo
Inspired by the great French and Continental interiors of the high Rococo period — the salons of Versailles, the boiserie of the Hôtel de Soubise, the carved and gilded furniture of the Louis XV atelier. The world of sinuous boiserie, shell cartouches, acanthus scrollwork, and candlelight multiplied in gilded mirrors. French, German, and Austrian Baroque and Rococo prototypes of 1720–1780.
New
Chantilly Collection
France, c. 1690 — Louis XIV
Heavily carved Baroque mirror with scrolling cartouche crest and matching console table with acanthus frieze. Supplied as two separate pieces.
Modeled from documented examples in the Louis XIV style; mirror type common in French apartments of the 1680s–1700s.
Bestseller
Chantilly Collection
France, c. 1680 — Louis XIV
Full architectural overdoor with arched mirror aperture, flanking pilasters, ornamental frieze, and shell pediment. One of the defining elements of any French period interior.
Based on the overdoor mirror type developed under the direction of Charles Le Brun for Louis XIV interiors; widely reproduced in engravings by Marot and Bérain.
Chantilly Collection
Flanders / France, c. 1650–1700
Two-frame set: a richly carved Flemish Baroque frame with figural corners, and a smaller carved frame. Shown finished (dark) and as supplied (unprimed). Sold individually or as a pair.
Flemish and French carved frame types of the later 17th century; prototypes in the collections of the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre.
Photo coming soon
Chantilly Collection
France, c. 1740 — Louis XV
Carved beechwood fauteuil with cabriole legs, serpentine seat rail, and flat upholstered back. The standard seating form of the Louis XV salon. Ships in components for CA glue assembly.
Based on documented examples by the menuisier Nicolas Heurtaut; type illustrated in Roubo's L'Art du Menuisier (1769).
Photo coming soon
Chantilly Collection
France, c. 1735 — Louis XV
Full chimneypiece with bolection surround, carved frieze with central cartouche, flanking console brackets, and overmantel panel. The defining architectural element of any period room.
Inspired by chimneypiece types illustrated in Jacques-François Blondel's De la Distribution des Maisons de Plaisance (1737–1738).
Photo coming soon
Chantilly Collection
France, c. 1745 — Louis XV
Scrolling eight-arm Rococo chandelier with central baluster, acanthus branches, and bobeches. Designed to accept micro LED wiring. The centrepiece of any French interior room.
Based on gilt-bronze chandelier types common in French domestic interiors of the 1740s; prototypes in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
Collection II — Northern & Italian Renaissance
Inspired by the great interiors of the Northern and Italian Renaissance — the carved state rooms of Elizabethan England, the painted palaces of 16th-century France and Italy, the rich cabinet interiors of the German and Flemish workshop tradition. Prototypes drawn from 1480–1620.
Photo coming soon
Chambord Collection
England / France, c. 1580–1620
Massive carved four-poster state bed with turned and carved columns, canopied tester, and paneled headboard. The dominant architectural element of any Renaissance interior. Multiple components.
Based on surviving state bed types from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean period; reference examples at Hardwick Hall and the V&A.
Photo coming soon
Chambord Collection
Germany / Flanders, c. 1560–1600
Two-stage cabinet with architectural pilaster façade, carved grotesque panels, and drawer arrangement. Based on the Augsburg and Antwerp cabinet tradition. Opens for display.
Inspired by documented examples from the Augsburg workshop tradition; comparable pieces in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum and the Rijksmuseum.
Photo coming soon
Chambord Collection
Italy / France, c. 1540–1580
Rectangular marriage chest with carved or painted panel façade, bracket feet, and iron hardware. A foundational piece of any Italian or Franco-Italian Renaissance interior.
Based on Italian cassone types of the mid-16th century; reference examples in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Collection III — Louis XVI & Directoire
Inspired by the refined Neoclassical interiors of the Louis XVI and Directoire periods — the disciplined ornament of the late 18th century, the fluted columns and laurel garlands of the transitional moment between Rococo exuberance and Revolutionary restraint. Prototypes drawn from 1760–1800.
Photo coming soon
Marly Collection
France, c. 1780 — Louis XVI
The defining seating form of the Louis XVI period — oval medallion back, turned and fluted legs, upholstered seat and back panels. Ships unassembled, CA glue assembly.
Based on documented examples by Georges Jacob, the preeminent menuisier of the Louis XVI period; type illustrated in period sales catalogues.
Photo coming soon
Marly Collection
France, c. 1775 — Louis XVI
Demi-lune console with fluted tapering legs, laurel-wreath frieze, and marble slab top. The essential hall and salon piece of the Louis XVI interior.
Based on console types produced by the ébénistes of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine; comparable examples at Versailles and in private collections.
Photo coming soon
Marly Collection
France, c. 1785 — Louis XVI
Standing three-branch girandole on tripod base with urn shaft. The standard candlestand form of the Louis XVI interior — elegant, architectural, and formally correct.
Based on gilt-bronze girandole types produced in the Parisian workshops of the 1780s; prototypes in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
The Studio
"Miniature interiors are not merely assembled. They are designed."
The studio was founded after recognizing a gap: collectors could find mass-produced trim, isolated accessories, or fully bespoke miniature rooms, but there were few accessible sources for high-style architectural components with serious proportion, detail, and design intelligence. Northside Modelworks was created to fill that space — with an architect's eye for scale, precedent, and atmosphere.
About the Studio →How Each Piece is Made
Every piece begins in the archive — period engravings, pattern books, museum documentation, and surviving examples. Proportion, profile, and ornament are studied before a single line is drawn. Each piece carries a provenance note.
Drawn to scale using professional CAD tools — applying the same dimensional discipline used in full-scale architectural practice. Proportion is not approximated. A miniature room should read like a real room at scale.
Produced in high-detail ABS-like resin — durable, sandable, and fully receptive to standard primers, paints, and finishes. Each piece is made to order, cleaned, and inspected before shipping. Approx. 2-week turnaround.
Shipped internationally, fully insured and tracked. Furniture arrives unassembled with straightforward CA glue assembly. Each order ships with a provenance card documenting the historical source of the design.
The Custom Division
For collectors building specific historic interiors in scale. The Atelier is the bespoke division of Northside Modelworks — offering made-to-measure architectural suites, custom boiserie, mantels, doors, overdoors, and complete room envelopes. Lead times are determined by project scope and discussed at the proposal stage. Finishing services for standard collection pieces are also available through The Atelier.
Enter The Atelier →Bespoke Services
Collector Voices
The moulding depth and architectural intelligence of these pieces is unlike anything else available. I have bought from every major supplier and this is simply in a different category.
Finally — pieces that feel like they came from a real building. The proportions are correct. The profiles read. They behave like architecture, not decoration.
At this price point, at this level of detail — it is a genuine discovery. This is the source the miniature world has been missing for a long time.
What Northside Modelworks Makes
Northside Modelworks produces architect-designed, historically researched miniature architecture and dollhouse furniture at 1:12 scale — from French Rococo boiserie and Louis XVI consoles to Northern Renaissance state beds and Victorian Neo-Gothic architectural details. Each piece is digitally modeled, produced in ABS-like resin, supplied unprimed and made to order. Custom dollhouse interiors, bespoke room boxes, and miniature architectural commissions are available through The Atelier.
Architectural
Boiserie & wall panelling · Cornices & cornicing · Mantels & chimneypieces · Doors & overdoors · Architectural surrounds · Ceiling details
Furniture
Chairs & fauteuils · Sofas & canapés · Consoles & tables · Cabinets & casework · State beds · Stools & benches
Decorative
Picture frames · Mirrors · Chandeliers & lighting · Clocks · Candelabra · Busts & sculpture · Vases & vessels
Collections
Chantilly · French & Continental Rococo · Chambord · Northern & Italian Renaissance · Marly · Louis XVI & Directoire · Lyndhurst · Victorian Neo-Gothic
