Tip Number One:

When building a heavy duty prop, start with something you already have and build onto/around/under/through/over it.
For example, we needed a throne with a very distinct look, and I didn’t want to use only cardboard because of safety problems. Trust me, you don’t want the actor falling through the prop in the middle of the first take! Our solution? A folding chair. I simply surrounded it with cardboard to change its shape, and voila! A safe, nice-looking Cone Throne.

Tip Number Two:

Get rid of pesky outlets and light switches by covering them.
This was a major problem for us, since we were filming a medieval movie. So we created squares of posterboard or paper with a little design on them and stuck the squares onto whatever we couldn’t hide behind props. You could use blank paper the color of the walls, sci-fi-looking wall units, fake plants, or whatever you want. Just be careful about sticking tape on wall paint, and watch out for falling camouflage. Every so often they’d let go and sail off in the middle of a shot.
Also, while this works well for wider shots, it might be obvious in a close-up.

Tip Number Three:

Work around irremovable parts of the room by disguising them.
This is a biggie. We couldn’t remove a modern-looking bannister from a stairway we were filming on, nor could we tear the fireplace out of the living room. Solution? Cardboard, of course! A little cutting, painting, hot glueing, and, hey presto! A medieval-looking fireplace and bannister. Another way to duck those annoying elements is to try not to show them, although this is sometimes impossible.

Windows! Windows can be awful. The wonderful, modern-looking, white bars criss-crossing the glass. Cardboard to the rescue once more. You see how you can work around these things? Of course, the blinds are a whole ‘nother story.
If your window has an air-conditioning unit in it, check the safety precautions before you try to cover it.

Tip Number Four:

Use things around the house to create “atmosphere.”
We had all the things for this set laying around the house. We just made it look nice and neat. Just keep in mind what time period you’re working with. Don’t put an alarm clock beside a medieval bed (unless it’s part of a joke).

If you want to do this on a much grander scale, check this set out. Only the two white walls existed there. We created two more walls out of bookcases, then filled them with things from around the house, along with a few props I made specifically for it. Now, granted, I did throw in a few joke items. But you see how you can create whole rooms with things from around the house?
It might not be time-saving (it took us all morning to get that set ready), but it’s inexpensive and the results are great.

We quickly cut the exterior shot of Lydia’s house. There were no quaint little medieval huts in the neighborhood, and, well, let’s face it: a full-sized hut would take an awful lot of cardboard. We explored a couple of options, then deleted it and moved the essential part of that scene’s dialogue to the indoor set.

With all the dialogue happening in this “Lydia’s Parlor,” I didn’t want to stick a couple of chairs against a white wall and call it good. The artist in me cried out against anything that didn’t at least have the “feel” we were going for. We created Lydia’s character as being hard of hearing and very old, but still sprightly. What would this person’s parlor look like? I would stereotype her as someone with teapots and dried flower arrangements. Knitted afghans and cozy fireplaces. There we have the first architectural element. A fireplace. Instant problem. The fireplace we have is in the middle of a room that is much to big for a medieval hut. The average hut at that time, even in a fantasy, did not have a vaulted ceiling or big glass windows. The solution? I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. Here it is in one of my favorite words. Cardboard. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to have an actual fire in a cardboard fireplace, but the idea is still there. And if worse comes to worst, animated fire is a possibility.

Ruth and I created an entire fireplace unit: hearth, chimney, mantel, even two “brick” ovens built onto each side. Set this next to an existing wall, use the cardboard units for the third wall and we had the beginnings of a great set. Throw in a rocking chair and knitted afghan (made by Sarah) for Lydia, a pretty teapot, oil lamps, (I know, wrong time period, but hey, they worked!) a great wooden bench for Marelac and Emcracy, side table, pillar with a plant on it, and finally, a bookshelf with lots of knick-knacks on it, and you’ve got it. (You don’t see any of the knick-knacks in the film. I positioned it too far back, so it was out of the camera’s range.) But wait, you say, where did Stelen sit? On one of the ovens. We supported it with a stool underneath. As long as he didn’t move, he wouldn’t fall through the fireplace and take the entire wall of the set with him.

Thankfully, everything went well. For a final touch, we added mugs of tea. Slight problem! None of the actors liked tea, so we improvised. Hot chocolate does a great job at dubbing in for tea, believe it or not.

Step One — Structure

A very big box. I cut two sides off the box, then trimmed them to make the sidewalls, cut a few holes for door, window(s), hallway, revolving fireplace and hey presto! A cardboard box with holes in it. So far so good. Tip when you cut the holes: Keep in mind the size of the set’s occupants. Make things as close to scale as possible.

Step Two — Furniture

The couch came first. A thin cardboard base with, if I remember right, some medium thickness of cardboard too. I taped, cut, and hot-glued away until it presented a fairly good imitation of a couch. Thankfully, we had some old home décor fabric samples. We dug around through the box until we found this great blue. No sooner found, then hacked to pieces and glued to the cardboard frame. The cushions are fabric wrapped around stuffing (polyester, not turkey) and are removable. The pillows are also drapery sample fabric, backed with muslin. I followed the same process with Kitty’s chair, using what I had learned from the couch to make it a little easier.

The grandfather clock is, I think, one of the best pieces in the set. It took a substantial amount of work. You try cutting cardboard in 1/8 of an inch wide sections. It can get a little intense. The chains are actually jewelry-type chains, and the weights are aluminum foil. The pendulum is cardboard, hot glue, and silver paint. It took us awhile before we could find some plastic “glass” to use in the door of the clock. We had to wait until somebody got something packaged in smooth, see-through, non-damaged plastic. You can’t see it in the movie, but the clock hands are fully moveable, aluminum foil spikes.

At one point there was a coffee table, but it looked very cardboardy and was in the way, so we removed it.

Step Three — The Fireplace and Stairs

The fireplace is cardboard (naturally) that we coated with sand and then painted over. If I were to make another one, there are a few technical errors I would take care of. One of them being the thickness of the “brick” on both sides of the fire pit. The mantle was interesting as I had to curve some cardboard to get the shape I wanted. The staircase took a long time. That’s a lot of cardboard to glue together. Plus, I had the built-in bookcase to work around. The railing is cardboard strips ¼ of an inch wide and the banister is two straws wrapped in wood-print paper.

Step Four — Getting Rid of Brown

At this point, we have a nice, brown box with furniture. It works, but I don’t think Kitty would go for a cardboard home, especially when he’s babysitting. First stop, floors. We found some scrapbooking paper at JoAnn Etc., so we grabbed a stack of it and hurried home (after paying for it, of course). I laid the papers out on the floor and lo and behold, a really obvious pattern. Three light planks, three dark planks, three light planks, three dark planks. Hmm. Inspiration! I cut the paper apart into individual planks, grabbed a glue bottle and scissors and set to work. Squirt a pile of Kitty’s set floor, smear it around with a little piece of cardboard, and lay the planks. It took a while, and I got pretty tired of sitting on the floor, but it looks great.

Last stop, walls. Ruth did the walls and wainscot. She’ll tell you about that in another article. I’ll just say that the wainscot took a lot of cutting, and the wallpaper is more scrapbooking paper.

Step Five — Bring a Fish Friend

By this time, we have a nice room, but it’s rather bare. Bring on the wonderful dust-collectors affectionately called knick-knacks! For most of the things we raided Barbieland (which is our town of dollhouses on a level of detail few have achieved). But a few items required work on our part. Namely, the moose head, stuffed fish, and picture over the fireplace. Ruth made the moose head and fish. They turned out great. And Jordan did a little creative work with the Mona Lisa for the picture. Oh, the fireplace screen! Strips of cardboard in 1/8 to ¼ inch pieces, a little tape, and a lot of patience.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Kitty set. And even though nobody’s socks have flown off (that I am aware of) I think it’s still pretty impressive.