Childhood Dollhouse Before and After

You know those Dads you knew growing up who were always tinkering with model cars or trains, and you thought…how lame is that? Well, I think I am the female version of that now. LOL

8 months ago I began working on making over my childhood dollhouse, and ta-da! It is complete. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. It’s been SO much fun working on this with my daughter, however, this little dollhouse has surprisingly taken up so much of out actual house and my mind, with supplies and materials spilling out everywhere. I’m happy to put it up somewhere for awhile. Maybe my daughter will do this all again in 30 years…

My dad made this for me when I was a kid from one of those dollhouse kits you assemble yourself. Although I love all the work he and my Mom put into it, it was in need of repair.

Before

After

I used Benjamin Moores Alaskan Husky on the facing and white primer on the trim. The door and stairs are custom paint blends.

For the house numbers, I used plastic clock numbers I found at Hobby Lobby. I used my daughters birth date as the numbers. Que the: AWWWW.

Kitchen Before

My mom used wallpaper and fabric from our actual house growing up so looking at this makes me have all the feels. I really hated to remove that for preservation’s sake, but again, they were peeling up and stained.

Kitchen After

I really wanted to do something special with the window seat. And the plastic windows had that dotted line (I guess that’s where you would cut them when making the house?), so I used wood trim to really deck this room out. Lot’s of it! To save some money, I actually got a sheet of miniature real-wood, beadboard from Hobby lobby and cut the individual planks of wood out. I used an Irwin fine detail dovetail pull saw 7 5/8”(purchased at Lowes) to make the cuts. I stained all the wood with a paint pen.

I wanted to DIY some things in this house, like the trim, but I was so happy to be able to purchase the furnishings from hand-made sellers. This oven was one of those pieces. It’s so detailed and mostly made from paper and cardboard!

I used plexi-glass shelves and gold brackets for shelving.

I used Grandmother Stover’s Stikflat glue to apply all the wallpaper in the house with a sponge brush.

I used washi tape to make a frame for the art.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

I painted the stairs black and now they really pop! More trim work in here but this time with white paint. I used a battery operated tea-lite to make a ceiling light in here. I used cardstock and fabric to make a drum shade around it. It is attached with velcro tape so my daughter can pull it down and turn it off and on.

The coffee tables are lucite candlestick holders turned inward and glued together. I made the cowhide rug with some leather scrap I had on hand.

I made the drapes using fabric stiffener so they would hold their pleats and stay in place. I placed some hiking sticks by the door because our girl is always ready to go on an adventure!

Isn’t it funny that I even know how my dollhouse dog would act? LOL (he’s waiting for his owner to come home already and take him on a walk)

Bathroom Before

Bathroom After

This room didn’t have enough space to include a tub/toilet/sink, so I am imagining my dolls have an outhouse somewhere outside…😜

This room is so rock and roll and I love it. It breaks all the design rules with the scale being so similar of the wall and floor tile. I think it works though!

Because space was tight, I decided to build the shower into that slanted wall and tuck the tub all the way to the back. The curtain ended up hanging perfectly into the tub where I have the rod attached.

I made the shower curtain with scrap vinyl packaging. I painted the little alcove in the corner to make it stand out more as an architectural detail.

The vanity light is made from an upside down candelabra and two bowls glued into place.

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

I wanted this room to function as the dolls bedroom/office. Yes, I can’t help but think of how someone would use a room I design, even if that person is a doll 🤣😑 (sounding more and more like that weird dad here)

Can you even believe the detail on this desk set??

I enjoyed pattern mixing in this room. The craftsmanship on this lounger is superb!

The rug is made from cardstock.

This is the room where my doll let’s it all hang out. She has hobbies and she can’t hide it - they are spilling out everywhere.

I imagine she is a writer by day. One who get’s so caught up in her writing, she has to pop a gum-ball occasionally just to loosen the jaw she’s been clenching for hours (she is writing a thriller, obviously) 🤣

The pendant light is made from wire and a bead cap.

And there you have it! Doll-housing is so much fun, but expensive, so I’m glad this house was small! I can’t believe what people spend on their dollhouse!!

Back to that Dad…Is it a form of escapism? Yes. But I think it can be very healthy in moderation. And just what we need at times. I thought this would just be a design project for my daughter, but I quickly realized this was some type of fantasy land because I couldn’t help but think about the occupants and how they would live in the house. Apparently a lot of adults out there need this type of hobby as some kind of alter-ego fulfillment or reliving childhood? And now I know why the dollhouse industry is booming! You guys…I had no idea. I cut myself off with this house though, not getting another. And I refuse to keep fidgeting with it, moving things around constantly. Oh and I draw the line at placing dolls in here that I move around throughout the day…can you imagine?? LOL. But again, I could see how this could be a form of comfort in some circumstances for people who are isolated or something…

I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on this if you want to share in the comments! Are you or someone you know inflicted with the dollhouse bug? No judgement.

P.S. Some of you might be wondering… I am going to wait to give this to my daughter when she is a bit older. I have let her play with it a bit (supervised) and it about gave me a heart attack because a $45 chair broke instantaneously. OMG I am that dad who has all his cars lined up that no one can touch. SOS! 😆

You can see more of the process in my instagram story highlights!