I am working on renovating a wooden dollhouse as a gift for our little love's first birthday...which is still far off, thank goodness! I wanted this to be a project I could work on during the entire length of my maternity leave. I love making - anything really - and I start and pause projects all the time. This project, however, is special. Even though my darling girl won't be playing with it until she's 4ish years old, there's something special about a first birthday - and giving her this dollhouse will be my way of honouring our precious first year together... now where are my tissues?! (Has anyone else turned into a complete pile of mush since becoming a mama, or is it just me?) Let me also say that this dollhouse reno project is probably bringing me equal, if not more, joy than it will bring her in the future. My husband often asks if I'll actually ever let her play with it, haha. (The answer is yes. I think.)
I've always enjoyed the creative process, figuring out how to make things myself, and being resourceful. Making things makes me happy and calms me. I also find it's incredibly mindful: my brain gets a break when I'm making, because I have to focus solely on what I'm doing (and not on the million other things my mama brain thinks about 24/7).
About the project: in short, woodworking is an area I haven't ever really explored yet I've always wanted to give it a proper go. So here we are! At first, the plan was to build a dollhouse from scratch. Then I thought that might be a bit tricky without any real experience using heavy duty tools. I began to do some research and ended up finding a community of dollhouse hobbyists who renovate existing dollhouses - neat! Thus began a search for a used dollhouse that was in good condition, and not too expensive. After about a month of persistent searching, Kijiji came through for me: I scored a Melissa & Doug three-level wooden dollhouse for $60, and it was in great shape! The original house was a pastel dream: a completely pink and purple exterior with a natural wooden interior... not exactly the look I was envisioning. The dollhouse also came with its original furniture (also mostly pink and purple), but I'll get to that in another post.
As I've already mentioned, there is an online presence of dollhouse renovators and so I had gathered some ideas here and there, for the overall look I wanted to achieve. Our (real) house is also fairly monochromatic in its colour scheme - lots of white, grey and black - and so that is also what my vision for the dollhouse is modelled after.
I started with painting the exterior, using this craft chalk paint. The bottle seems small but it goes a long way! I decided to use chalk paint because I didn't want to bother with sanding and priming the house. The pink walls needed 3 coats of white, and the purple trim (and roof), needed two coats of black chalk paint. I decided I really liked the wooden trim work and left it for the time being. Just like in a real painting job, the taping was the most painstaking part - and the part I enjoy the least - who's with me? Once the exterior paint job was complete, I decided to stain the wooden trim and balconies; I wanted something with a slightly darker, warmer tone. The walnut stain I chose did the trick!
Up next: I'm still trying to decide what to do with the steps (not pictured here) - whether I should use the same stain colour or do something more exciting. I'm also planning on adding some flower boxes to the second floor windows but for now I've moved onto the interior for a change of scenery!
Part two to come!
PS. Can't wait to see more of the dollhouse improvements? Follow along on my Instagram :)
 |
| The (nearly) finished exterior! |
Part two to come!
PS. Can't wait to see more of the dollhouse improvements? Follow along on my Instagram :)
How did you paint the doors and door frames? We’re you able to take them apart?
ReplyDelete