Cameron Williams
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Bryant Smith wanted to do something special to commemorate his mother, Rose.
With a background in electrical work, Smith thought building something elaborate would be fun. Two years and countless hours of work later, a doll house built in her memory is fully functional, operated by Amazon’s Alexa software.
“I’ve been an electrician for 29 years,” Smith said. “I lived in Chicago for 38 years and have been here in Charlotte for 10. I’ve done some major electrical work. I did the new scoreboard inside the Spectrum Center; I wired the Copperhead Strike roller coaster [at Carowinds] as well.”
Smith’s inspiration originally came from his goddaughter and her love for Barbie. After Rose died from cancer in 2020, he knew building the house was something he wanted to do.
“I had to find another way to channel my grief,” Smith said. “[Rose’s] passing messed me up. It shut me down. I was in a deep grieving process. So, I just had to get myself together. Building the doll house kept my mind busy and prevented me from being consumed with her passing.”
Smith named the house RAS Estate using his mother’s initials [Rose Arleen Smith].
“Everything about the house is designed around her,” Smith said. “There are so many hidden things and clues. It is like a big puzzle if I’m being honest.”
Elaborate is a term that sells the house short. Standing at 5 feet tall and 8-by-8 around the perimeter, everything inside can be controlled with an phone app.
“The home is fully operated by Alexa,” Smith said. “You can control it verbally or through your phone. Certain features and functions of the home you can control with your smartphone. I don’t even really know where to begin. It is really extraordinary.”
Smith said he took almost two years off work to build the house, living strictly off his savings.
Not building the house wasn’t an option.
“Building something like this was the best way I could memorialize my mom,” Smith said. “So, stopping was not an option. It cost me close to $19,000 to do everything. I did everything myself. I did the blueprint, the design and the construction. Eighty percent of the items in the house are man-made.”
This is where Smith got his TikTok name – Trunuity24. That’s where you can find videos of the house in action.
“Trunuity is a compound word,” Smith said. “It is a cross between true and ingenuity. So, that is how that came about. Everyone who comes across my page is always like, ‘wow, it is so detailed and amazing.’”
Smith’s goal is to set world records from RAS Estate. The first step is to invite Guinness World Records to see the house.
“I’ve never been a big social media person,” he said. “I’m 47 years old and just created the TikTok account at the beginning of 2023 to promote RAS Estate. I’ve been working a lot lately. I do contract work, so it prevents me from doing a full-time promotion like I should be.”
Smith, who spent most of his life in Chicago, is also trying to help break stigma against the city’s southside, where stereotypes put a negative light on people from that area.
“Chicago has such a bum rep for violence and stuff,” Smith said. “So, this can go to show that there is good that comes out of Chicago. We don’t have to be known for the gunfights and everything that goes on because there are a lot of prominent individuals that come from there.”
