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Miss G has talked about one day having her own dollhouse for a long while now. I did do some poking around back when we were still in Vancouver and found several that I absolutely adored {like this doll chalet, this all season home, this high-rise, this eco house, and my very, VERY favourite, this ‘green’ dollhouse by plan toys}, but knowing that we were moving overseas, it just didn’t make sense buy something only to have to leave it behind.
The thing is, now that we’re here in Kuwait, I’ve been having a hard time committing to purchasing one here. First off, the ones I really love are not readily available in Kuwait, and secondly, decent wooden versions that are available are really pricey. The fact that we don’t know how long we’ll be here for doesn’t help either as I don’t want to purchase a gorgeous {expensive} dollhouse and have to leave it behind in a year or two.
SO… It was time to come up with a different idea. Something simple and inexpensive, but something fun, functional, and inviting too. And then I remembered the image I’d seen {on Pinterest} from this post… A dollhouse from an EXPEDIT shelf? Brilliant! Especially since EXPEDIT shelves are a hot commodity when you live in a building with absolutely no closets or storage space – meaning that selling it would be a breeze when the time came.
I was completely set on the plan, but after a chat with a friend and a visit to our local Ikea, I realized how huge the 4 cube EXPEDIT really was – too big for the space I was hoping to dedicate to housing a bookshelf dollhouse. I was in need of a different, smaller shelf. While I seriously considered this 3 cube BILLY wall shelf {as it would be perfect under Miss G’s window or at the foot of her bed}, I ended up selecting this small, shallow BESTÅ shelf unit instead. I liked its shape and size and I knew it would fit where I wanted it to perfectly.
Grae and I wasted no time getting started on our project. We’re without a vehicle again for a few weeks, so having fun projects is a very good thing for a pair who love to be out and about as much as we do.
The first order of business was putting together our shelf. Let me tell you, if putting together Ikea furniture is not your thing, this BESTÅ shelf is the one to buy. It was an absolutely breeze to throw together, and I’m talking so easy that given the instruction booklet and the pieces, Miss G probably could have done it herself. ☺
Once our shelf was put together, I surprised Grae by pulling out the little HUSET doll furniture set I’d also picked up during my Ikea visit and she got to deciding which room would be which.
After a little bit of shuffling, she decided that the kitchen {and potential bathroom} would be on the bottom floor, the living room would be on the second floor, and the bedroom would be at the top. While she placed the furniture where she wanted it, I cut the carpet that came with the furniture set into three pieces and punched out the included cardboard cutouts. While I added a little bit of colour to them using colourful Sharpies, Miss G drew original pieces of art in the frames. Then we stuck them up with some double-sided poster tape.
While Miss G had her afternoon rest, I created a couple of miniature buntings for the bedroom using the same technique as we did for last year’s Father’s Day gift. Then, my real mission began… Creating beds of some sort. And not just any beds – ones that were ‘soft and cozy’ as requested by Grae. I managed to find a small gift box (the kind where the bottom fits into the top) that was a good fit, so I went with that.
To transform the two box pieces into beds, I simply wrapped them with white felt as you would a present and glued everything in place {no sewing here – hot glue all the way, baby!} To make the pillow, I cut out a white square of felt, folded it in half, glued down two of the sides, and stuffed it with three cotton balls before sealing it up with more hot glue. The blanket is just a square piece of felt with the top edge glued down, and to add to the ‘soft and cozy’ factor, I created a quick toss cushion using… you guessed it – more felt, cotton balls, and hot glue!
Gracen’s Hello Kitty miniatures seem to think it’s pretty cozy. ☺
That’s pretty much as far as we’ve gotten so far. In the coming weeks I think we’ll attempt to add some flooring and wallpaper, plus some kitchen and bathroom furniture, but I have to collect some ideas and materials before that happens. I’m looking forward to slowly adding to it with my girl.
In the meantime, I’d say Miss G is pretty thrilled with her new dollhouse, wouldn’t you? ☺
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Love this Jen!
Thanks so much, Carolyn!!
What a beautiful doll house. So clever!
Thank you, Jodie! :)
Just so you know, at the bottom of the page where it says “You may also like” it shows an image of “Princess Grae” and when you click on it it is unable to find the files.
Aside from that that looks awesome!! I wish I had a little girl so that I could make a doll house.
That’s such a good idea for a mini house. The furniture set is sweet too. An idea to tuck away for the future!
My sister and I remodeled our girlhood dollhouse when our daughters were old enough to enjoy it. We made hardwood floors from leftover butcherblock laminate, cut photos of clocks and pictures from magazines, wallpapered the rooms with wrapping paper and the floors with textured wallpaper scraps. We had as much fun in our thirties as we had as children! It’s obvious you’re enjoying the process, too! Have fun!
This is brilliant!!!! I love it! Boys love playing with doll houses as well!
Brilliant idea !
looks good, I am making a dollhouse for my granddaughters, so far I have made beds, fridge and stove, washroom sink, tub and toilet, fireplace and television. You may like this like http://www.jennifersprintables.com/ she has printable dollhouse wallpaper and little boxes of groceries. I did the groceries and glued them on the kitchen shelves. The first thing the 2 year old did was remove 3 boxes so she could ask me what one I wanted for breakfast. Have fun, I will take a picture and put it on my page soon.
For the record, be thankful you didn’t get the Hape all-season house; it’s shoddily made. :(
I’ll be replacing that with something similar to this, if I can find a cheap bookcase in the area. Thanks for the idea!
I have just come across your gorgeous idea! So love it! I am an Early years teacher and you are so right about expensive doll’s houses. I love the way you could leave children to create a world of their own! How inspired!
Sue
This is a lovely project!
great project. i like it!!