✴︎ The Ideal Doll Room Project ✴︎

Hello, I'm DALI.

I've put together a summary of the major room makeover I recently completed.
It's quite long, so I hope you'll take breaks while reading.

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Since moving in this March, I've added a dedicated doll room separate from my own bedroom.

In my previous home, I didn't have a dedicated shooting space, so every time I wanted to take photos, I had to set up small items... put up background boards...
and so on. The process was so long that I didn't really feel like doing it often.

But since moving to the new house, I have a room where I can keep my shooting set permanently, and I've enjoyed trying out various makeovers through trial and error!

Freshly moved in, I bought a 180cm wide desk to serve as the base for my shooting booth!

I didn't know what was in which cardboard box, so I just picked whatever I saw at random 🛋
It turned into a completely chaotic room, like when you first start playing Animal Crossing.

The cardboard boxes were mostly cleared away, and I set up the furniture I'd been collecting bit by bit.

It was still far from my ideal doll room, but this setup was the one I used for the longest time.
I guess I must have liked it, or maybe I was just too lazy to change it (probably the latter).

I wanted to add depth to the shooting booth, so I built some theater-style furniture.
Along the way, the shelf on the far left of the image, a glass display case, was added.
Although not shown in the photo, a 2-meter-tall shelf was also added.

The theater is quite eye-catching, but I felt I needed more practice because I couldn't get the light to hit the dolls' eyes properly when shooting inside it.

After continuing with some rather large DIY furniture projects, a balcony was added.
It looks nice on its own, but it feels cramped when placed on the shooting booth.

I deeply realized that there is a limit to everything.

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The feeling of being cramped in the second half of October was so intense that I thought, 'If Cain were to come here, I wouldn't be able to capture his charm to the fullest, would I?'

Or, 'It would be so narrow and sad for Opal-sama if I took photos in this state...' and so on.

Also, when I visited Tenshi no Mado on November 3rd, I used their shooting booth, and it was so wonderful that it left a deep impression on me...
There were so many parts that served as great references, like 'How is this put together?', and I found myself staring at it intently.

And after returning to Hokkaido, I looked at my own doll booth...
'What is this shooting booth of mine that's all over the place?❓❓❓'
'I have a doll room, yet it's in this state.'
...and I felt angry at myself for wasting such a treasure...

Suddenly, I got sick of everything and took it all down. (As usual)

Since I have various things set up on and around my 180cm-wide desk, I only rearrange when I have a lot of energy, but I feel like if I rearrange, Cain will come... (hallucination)

The more I suffer, the more I'll be like “My, you really are a helpless person, aren't you?”—that's the kind of Cain-ojou-sama who will become my child, right? (???)

I'm a fickle person who was constantly looking elsewhere even when I had Oparu-sama, but since this is a child who came to me after I made a resolution that would surprise even Hikaru Genji—that I wouldn't stray at all until my fated Keilin arrived—I decided to suffer accordingly this time as well (by putting effort into the photo booth). (Extreme)

First, I'll lightly solidify the image so it doesn't become my usual nonsensical booth.

Since I'm going to suffer anyway, I'll go for the elaborate design I've given up on until now!! So, I'll list the elements I want to include.

① Herringbone floor
I love herringbone floors and have wanted to use them for a photo booth several times.

However, no matter where I look, there are only cushion tile-style ones, and ones using real wood are very expensive, so I gave up...

② Large window
This is another element I've always wanted to use.
I love scenery where a lot of light pours in, like the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, but there are no windows of the right size, and it would cost a lot of money to make one, so I gave up...

③ Stairs
An element I've been debating making for a long time because I wanted to add depth and a three-dimensional feel to the photo booth.
I basically make things myself because I don't have the wealth to buy perfect ready-made products, but I gave up on making stairs because it seemed very difficult.

④ A sunroom-like space
An element I was worried about, partly to prevent the photo booth from becoming stagnant, and partly because I wanted it to look like there are two rooms instead of one when viewed as a whole.

If I split it into two, there's a possibility that the worldview and scenery will be ruined when taking a full shot, so I wanted to make a small room like a sunroom.

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I've thought about what I want to make, so on to production...

I'm the type of person who eats what I dislike first and savors what I like later, so I decided to start with the herringbone, which seems like it will be the most trouble.

However, making a herringbone floor out of wood requires a lot of money... I don't have money, so I want to make it as cheaply as possible.
I basically live a life without using my head, so after worrying a lot, I got a fever from thinking and decided to eat ice cream.

Gatsun to Mikan is delicious~✊😁✊
But I have to think again after I finish eating the ice cream...

Huh❓❓❓
Hey, couldn't I make a herringbone floor with these ice cream sticks...❓

A current runs through DALI------------------------‼️

A great person once said:
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
This is it🍨

After a quick calculation, it turns out I need about 700 ice cream sticks...
But eating 700 Gatsun to Mikan bars is tough both economically and for my stomach.
Besides, it's unsanitary... (bugs might gather in the summer, etc.)

So, I heard that DAISO, a modern-day ally, sells just the ice cream sticks, so I went to buy various things.

And so, I start lining them up.
Ahhh! The satisfaction of using real wood is just different!

Saying "This is it, this is the one!" I used tape glue and liquid glue to stick them all down.

Super good! Perfect! The best!
It might be inferior to the real thing, but for something I made myself, isn't it pretty good!?

The herringbone pattern changes its expression depending on how the light hits it...!

However, after a while, some of the sticks started lifting and peeling off, and I entered a living hell where I had to re-glue almost all 700 pieces with Aron Alpha.

I was seriously making a face like Usami in the image while sticking them down.

This time, I placed heavy objects on top to fix them in place so they definitely wouldn't peel off.

The "you know what will happen if you peel off again" vibe coming from the objects I placed on top is intense.

I checked to make sure they were properly fixed and moved on to painting.
I painted it over and over again, adjusting it until I got the color I liked...

While I was at it, I also made stairs using three pieces of Hinoki wood from DAISO.
Wallet-friendly, DAISO is my only ally.

I probably painted it about 11 times until I thought, "This color is cute!" Is this purgatory?
Well, it's fine. If Cain is coming, I'm prepared to give up a leg for it...

Next, for the finishing touches, I tried to cut the excess edges cleanly using that ¥700 electric saw from DAISO, but...

VROOOOM‼️‼️‼️
The blade suddenly disintegrated in mid-air and disappeared again.

Ugh, no, where did it go...
I'd hate for it to be stuck in the floor or wall of the room... I should look for it... As I stood up, the floor felt slimy, and when I looked at my feet thinking, "Huh? Did I spill the paint too?"...

The blade is stuck in my calf~~~~~~
The slimy stuff was my blood.

I was shocked at how insensitive I am to only notice the pain after seeing the blade stuck in me, but even in the dream novels I used to read, if a guy approached me like this, I'd notice, yet I was like "Huh? (blank stare)" as the dream protagonist, so it can't be helped. (It really can't be helped)

The wound area was quite large, but it didn't seem to be stuck in very deep, so I was saved.

I'm literally about to give up a leg, lol.
Why do I always get injured enough to bleed when I do DIY for Cain? I'm doing fine.
I decided to live my life hoping that my Cain is a yandere.

The biggest hurdle is over, so the rest is a victory lap.
There's no way anything will be more difficult than this damn, damn, damn, damn herringbone.

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And then onto making the window...
There were window ornaments of the corresponding size on Amazon, but the price was 30,000 yen... It wasn't a friendly price for poor me, so I decided to make a window out of 4 sheets of styrene board (¥400).

Also, since the booth only has a depth of 60cm, I wanted the thinnest material possible, so I chose styrene board!
When you don't have money, your brain works in these ways, how sad.

I painstakingly cut it out with a cutter and a design knife.
Not bad for an amateur! (The style of praising myself)

I had some leftover styrene board that I bought as a spare, so I also made some William Morris-patterned wallpaper.
Actually, I'm really good at putting up wallpaper, and since it's a light material, even if it falls, the floor will be unscathed!

I wanted the background visible through the window to be the ocean! (For Cain)
I tried to print a photo of the ocean I took during a cruise at a convenience store, but they only support postcard size for color prints, which meant I would have to print a lot of them + it would cost quite a bit...

My home printer is about to run out of ink, and the ink is expensive too...
After worrying about it, I found some landscape-patterned origami at DAISO, so I bought that and combined it with a translucent PP sheet to make it look decent.

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Next, I'll remake the sofa...
I bought this sofa very cheaply on a flea market site a while ago.

However, since it's not for SD dolls, it ends up being like a floor chair for G-sama, who has such long legs.
It looks so cramped and pitiful, so I decided to buy leg parts on Amazon, paint them, and attach them.

The original legs were only 3cm high, so I started by removing them...

It seems they were nailed on, so it took a while to remove them with my bare hands!
Don't underestimate my grip strength of 47.

After the remake
These new legs are 15cm high, so they're just right.

The design of the legs also matches the sofa, which is nice.
It's a perfect match.

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I laid down a herringbone pattern and tried arranging the things I made and existing items.
I also made a sunroom-like space using marble-patterned sheets!! (The part where the merry-go-round is sitting)

By placing the stairs I made earlier, the unnatural feeling of the background suddenly changing is gone, and it feels like separate rooms, which is nice!
It has depth!

The rod attached to the wall is for hanging curtains or fabric.

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Finally, I arranged the furniture and curtains to finish it.
I also placed Opal-sama and Chris.

I'll use them for redecorating when I feel like it, so I put the balcony and theater I made previously into the closet.

Oh my goodness...

The shooting space, which had been getting more and more cramped every day due to my obsession with DIYing giant objects...!

It's much easier to see and feels much cleaner.
I'm hiding the jagged parts of the window with curtains.

I love using organza or similar fabrics because just draping them around makes it look good.

I also bought a new camera, so click📸
A good result for me!

Compared to the disastrous photos I took about a year ago, I've grown so much.

Took some photos in my newly rearranged shooting space📸
It doesn't feel cramped like before, it's looking good!
The window looks the part, too.

I'm also putting on the fairy ears I received as support.
The blue flower crown suits them well, too.

Since they are the youngest prince of the fairy kingdom in their backstory, it really gives off that elven royal vibe, which is great.
This is probably what Oparu-sama looked like back in their hometown.

I also bought some new lighting for photography, so my motivation is through the roof.
I hope to learn more about posing as well.

I've worked so hard to get here, so Cain will probably come eventually too. (Placebo effect)
It's my dream to one day line up the trio of grumpy faces: Kailin, No. 113, and Cain.
I want to do a full choice for No. 113 in the near future.

I've always admired large dollhouses, so next, I'm going to do a major renovation of the space below that I've turned into a storage area during this rearrangement.
(The part that's always hidden by the pink curtain)

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Thank you so much for watching until the end!

It would encourage me if you could press the ♡ button!
(You can press it even if you aren't a registered member😂)

Well then, see you next time!

　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　 DALI