Back in the late 1970’s my Father and I decided we would like to build a french chateau. Actually, we wanted to own a french chateau... but, realistically a small replica was as close as we’d get. Thirty years later we have begun again to plug away at it, one day a month.

We chose the Chateau d’Azay-le-Rideau, “one of the string of prestigious châteaux of the Loire” river valley, as our model and have more recently renamed our scale model “Le Projet Nevar Dun”( Don’t speak french? Say it over and over a couple times and you’ll catch our meaning).

From the beginning we decided we didn’t have in mind creating a replica. So our first step was to make detailed construction drawings to adapt Azay-le-Rideau’s distinctive exterior to the scale and practical needs of a usable dollhouse. Dad made the drawings and proceeded with basic construction (first photo above), including a few interior features such as the grand staircase with its domed ceiling. No attempt was made to reflect the actual interior layout or scale. The exterior design of the original was liberally interpreted though our intent was to capture the general look of a real chateau.

Our structure is divided into three hinged, side-by-side modules that can be swung open to gain access to all of the interior rooms and spaces on the four top-to-bottom interior levels. The “east end” module has a rectangular face matching the architecture of the original chateau, but the “west end” module was given a rounded face and pillared pergola that we adapted from other old world structures. Variety, aesthetic appeal, and whim all played a part in our choices. For all our liberties in design, we think anyone familiar with the principal chateaus of the Loire Valley will have no trouble identifying our dollhouse as the chateau Azay-le-Rideau.