The Modernist dolls' house

I've just come across this brilliantly bizarre blog, Call of the Small, to - how great is this? - modernist dolls' houses.

It's the brainchild of Christine Ferrara, an American public affairs director from Princeton, who is part of a burgeoning mini modernist scene - the list of links on her blog is long, and there's a whole Flickr community devoted to the same passion.

The idea is bonkers but utterly brilliant. Just look at the place (top right): it's the perfect solution to having the house of one's dreams at a fraction of the cost, surely? (Apart from the slight catch of having to live next to it rather than in it).

Ferrara's husband bought her the house as a present, secondhand (it was made in 1966) and, like a real house, she lovingly restored it - repairing the staircase, gluing the wallpaper back on... Furniture-wise, there's a lovely miniature lucite chair, a chrome Bozart table and a vintage German sofa. It's a total labour of love - and lovely for it.

I can hardly tear myself away from the photos, which are so perfect they look like a normal-sized house, shot tilt-shift style (that freaky camera setting that makes everything look tiny). It's strangely addictive. Check it all out for yourself on Call of the Small's Flickr page.

You can also read an interview with its inventor in this New York Times feature.