I bought a brick house off of Craigslist the other day. A brick doll house, that is. I've been looking for a doll house for my daughter (and I) to play with for awhile, so when this old, handmade, slightly beat up house came up, I jumped on it. Here is the behemoth that takes up a 448 sq. inch footprint in my living room (the cat did not come with the house).
It was (supposedly) built in the 70's. Not so sure about that, but it is old and weathered. It has the four rooms you see in the photo above. There are 2 more rooms in the front of the house that are accessed by an opening on each side of the house (one side has a hinged wall). There's also an entryway with a staircase. The kids each picked one of the top bedrooms to redecorate. I'm working on the bathroom (center behind the stairs) and kitchen (unseen). I also just had a brilliant idea this morning. I think the large room (below the top rooms) will become a yarn shoppe! Excited about that. Will need to figure out the shelving units. Mini baskets of yarn. I'll need a cash register. Chandeliers, because all yarn shoppes should have chandeliers.
Here is what we've done so far. Thad's room (blue) still needs more base board trim and a neater touch up on the windows. Ally's pink room is still a work in progress. The vaulted ceiling portion will be white.
I've learned so many tips and tricks about redecorating a doll house. Like using scrap booking paper covered in laminate contact paper for flooring. Crystal beads on earring findings can be turned into a crystal chandelier. And you can take apart the old furniture by heating it up in the oven, or with a hair dryer, to make the glue melt a little. I'm taking apart an old hutch that came with the house to make more contemporary shelving units. Ally is recovering a depression era couch in red, sparkly vinyl fabric.
Stay tuned. I can't allow this to take over my life, but it's just too much fun.
