I have been known to say, "If I could do it over again, I would have gone to school for Interior Design." I just LOVE design and decorating. My "go to" channel on the TV is none other than HGTV. I will watch ANYTHING on that channel. But, alas, we cannot turn back time and truth be told, I am very happy to be where I am and to decorate my house more than the average person and to bug the hubby to paint more often than he'd like. :-)
Imagine my utter elation when I stumbled upon this inspiration for a homemade dollhouse on Pinterest from Honest to Nod. I happened to have a bookshelf shaped like a dollhouse that my MIL bought my second born when she was a toddler. As of late, it has just been a "catch all" for odds and ends, not really serving its intended purpose. SO, Mommy got a decorating project...and boy, did she have fun! Who knew decorating in miniature could be so rewarding?
Like the inspiration, the wallpaper (aka scrapbook paper) is the show-stopper, I think. These were all hand-picked by my client, my favorite and fabulous four year old, Emma. Just hung with double-sided tape...such a great idea, because if she's anything like her mom, she'll want to change out the wallpaper often. :-)
First up, the kitchen/dining room on the top. This is actually the only area that I needed to purchase furniture for, so I found a Melissa and Doug set on Amazon for a reasonable price.
Oh, and I went crazy with my new Silhouette...crazy I tell you! But, that was a huge part of the fun! The utensils, the chandeliers, the furniture on the wall...all vinyl cut with the Silhouette. It doesn't end there, trust me. Those clocks you see on the wall, they are from Oriental Trading. I bought them for a past project, and I am so glad I remembered that I had them. There is a clock in every room, set to 6:15 pm...time picked by the client. :-)
The floor in the kitchen was just done with acrylic black paint and painters tape. Don't look too close, it is anything but precise. Hehe
Heading down a floor, we come to the bedrooms. The girls room on the left, the Master on the right.
The rest of the furniture in the house is from a little dollhouse Emma got when she was two. You should see how small this house is...but, I think the furniture works in a house this size, too. And, it's in great shape, and I won't be too worried if Avery (7 months) gets a hold of it. More vinyl dressers and what's a girly room without a Girls Rule sign?
And, this could be my most favorite part of the entire house...I printed tiny, tiny little pictures of the kids on the printer and then used the Silhouette to cut frames for them. How cute are they??
The bottom floor houses the Living Room and Office/whatever room the client wants it to be.
I even knit a throw blanket for the family...I am telling you, I was getting a little out of control! :-)
And, I couldn't leave the exterior bare...that would just be so wrong, seeing all of the hard work we did on the interior. Curb appeal is important, am I right?
I may add some bushes or flowers, but for now, this will do quite nicely.
Now, you may notice there is no bathroom in the house...I thought long and hard about this, but I just could not fit the commode into the plans. So, my answer to Emma's question, "but, where can they pee, Mommy?" The outhouse of course!
It's easy to see this was a fun project...it was awesome working with my little girl and making her happy. Her eyes got big every time I would add something new. I hope that she keeps this and that she and her sister have many years of blissful imaginative play with this. I don't think I will ever be able to part with it.
She likes it...she really, really likes it.
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