Dream Miniature Kitchen

Hi! My name is Natalie Lo, and I’m a 3D Animation and Visual Effects student who loves creating whimsical and fun projects. When I heard about the Make it Small contest, I immediately thought of creating a miniature kitchen—a space that’s cozy, welcoming, and uniquely mine. While most contestants might use Autodesk CAD, I wanted to approach this project using Autodesk Maya, a software I’m more experienced with, to bring my kitchen to life. Let me take you through the step-by-step process of how I made a miniature kitchen!

For this project, I used Autodesk Maya and Adobe Substance Painter.

I started by browsing Pinterest for references and stumbled upon miniature clay kitchens that exuded a cozy, handcrafted charm. The cozy designs sparked my imagination, and I knew I wanted my kitchen to feel just as welcoming. I also drew inspiration from my style—I love the colors purple, pink, and blue—so I made sure to incorporate them into the design and color scheme.

Using Autodesk Maya, I began by blocking out the basic shapes of the kitchen. In this step, I focused on experimenting with different layouts to make the space feel compact yet functional. I envisioned how much space I would need to walk around in this layout. The flexibility of Maya allowed me to tweak the proportions of different shapes until I found a layout that felt comfortable. I made sure to establish a solid foundation for the layout before moving on to adding details.

Once the structure was complete, I dove into my favorite part—set dressing! I modeled plates, cups, pots, and silverware, making sure every detail added to the cozy aesthetic. Plants are a huge part of my dream kitchen, so I included plenty of them, from monstera to small flowerpots. I would love to have a monster plant in my current kitchen if I had space for one. This step was where the kitchen started to feel truly mine, as I could mix it with my personality. I imagined myself in this miniature space and designed it to reflect me.

Color is a significant part of my style, so I first used Lambert materials in Maya to test out different color combinations for the kitchen. I played with shades of purple, pink, and blue—my favorite colors—until the design felt cohesive. This step was very fun for me and I loved the vibrant the kitchen looks now.

To add the final touches, I imported my model into Adobe Substance Painter to bring in painted details. I loved adding hand-drawn elements to the walls and the tablecloth, which made the space feel playful. The textures gave the kitchen the handcrafted look I wanted.

This project was so fun to create, and I loved how Autodesk Maya enabled me to bring my dream miniature kitchen to life. From modeling to set dressing and texturing, Maya allowed me to craft a miniature kitchen that felt authentic to my style.

One of my favorite parts was set dressing the kitchen. In the future, I would love to take this project even further by 3D printing my miniature kitchen!