Hmmm. I wanted them to look like candy, but um, they don’t. They look like badly glazed dollhouse furniture.
Do you think I should try to repaint the fixtures, or leave them as-is? I do like how luminous the glaze is, even if it is terribly uneven. The bathroom will be the small room on the second floor of my dollhouse. I think I’m going to use that gold patterned paper as wallpaper, and I’ll probably make a different mirror to go above the sink. The ceiling will either be wallpapered along with the walls, or it will go shiny gold.
I’ve been thinking about this whole dollhouse challenge. I think there are two ways for me to go about decorating mine…
- Tastefully decorate the house so that the only way you could tell it’s a miniature is with a coin in there for scale. Design each room like I’d design a real room, just scaled down.
- Go crazy and kooky. This is not a real house, dang it! Why not have gold ceilings and pink fixtures and hot pink stairs with striped runners (not that I’ve decided yet)?
I’ll tell you, I think the second option sounds like a lot more fun. It’s a fantasy! Why not fully embrace that?
How many of you are working on dollhouses along with us? How are you approaching yours?
61 comments
Jenni
I have been searching high and low for this bathroom set…I’ve used the search phrase you recommended in the comments on this post and still nothing. Any more info such as a manufacturer or anything that could help me lay my hands on this set? I’m obsessed with the glaze!
Thanks in advance.
Also, I’m drooooooling over your choice of decor in your dollhouse! It is beautiful!
Anna A.
Maybe I missed this, but where are you finding your dollhouse furniture at? We used to have a great store here, but I am pretty certain they closed down. :(
christine
These are soooo cute!
Jessie
I decided to start a dollhouse also. I couldn’t sit back and let the challenge happen without decorating a house of my own. lol I have always wanted to decorate a dollhouse, so this was a reason to finally do it. I am having a hard time picking out things I like for the house. All the bathroom stuff is the same. I do like your set though, I hadn’t seen pink yet. I think it may be cute to keep it pink. I agree with you about the “There is only 2 ways to go with the decorating”! I decided to just do go crazy with mine. The houses that are “perfect” and look like real rooms out of a magazine are beyond me and I don’t have the money or talent to pull that off. I am just keeping it fun! :) It is a dollhouse after all! I can’t wait to see your house finished!
http://mymodstyle.blogspot.com/search/label/dollhouse
M
Def agree option 2; also because it just might seep into your own house. Like those fabulous “off” bust vases. Everyone could use a little more cooky in their interior!
Julia@a-living-space
I agree with everyone that you should have fun and go a little crazy with the dollhouse! Why not? As long as it’s done in a relatively tasteful way you can do wacky things that you would never do in real life and I bet it will look awesome in miniature.
I’m not putting a bathroom or a kitchen in my dollhouse, because it’s just too small. I’m trying to keep it as cheap as possible, but still fabulous! Just posted about it here: http://a-living-space.blogspot.com/2011/10/im-giant-commence.html
Ann
I agree with some of the posters. They look sweet and pretty in the photos. But I’m also a less is more kind of girl and sometimes more is just more… And no, not strange that you thought your dolls needed a place for a bubble bath and a glass of wine!
Cherie
I am glad to see the odd wooden seat addressed. Perhaps it could be glittered or covered in the wallpaper pattern. The gold faucets fit in perfectly. A bath with these fixtures seems to cry for a velvet gold settee with fringe. And I mean that in a good way. If you abandon the bathroom, you
could include an exotic vanity instead.
Yay! Dollhouse!
Lizzie
Sadly my bathtub is that exact same color. At least yours is an awesome claw foot tub. I want to strangle whoever owned my house in the 1980s, WHY??!!
http://lovesrobots.blogspot.com/2011/03/today-is-your-birthday.html
holly | bijou lovely
I’d leave them as is, except maybe paint the toilet seat another fun, bright color, or even a brighter shade of lavender.
I’d go with #2…it’s a dollhouse! Have fun with it :)
Karen J
I think if you paint the facuets, etc. silver instead of gold it might not look so unreal. Also the brown toilet seat needs a change. And I’m with option 2 as well – go out of your comfort zone.
LisaInIllinois
The mirror is my favorite part of this set!!!!
Danielle
I actually don’t mind the color of them, but you did say the photograph better than in person. If I were you, I would first get the wallpaper and ceiling done. Then add the fixtures and play with other ideas, like a mini rug or towels to see how the big picture looks.
PS, for my childhood doll house, I would cut up rag towels and made a towel rod out of wire to hang them on. Sigh…I miss that thing!
Erika
Go crazy and kooky!
Christina W.
The toilet is pretty janky looking, but I think the rest is cute as is!
lea
Whatever you do, just make sure you have fun :)
Lauren @ with two cats
I’m working on a dollhouse and am leaning more toward option 2 (although not totally crazy over-the-top). I may not even have a bathroom in my dollhouse since I honestly haven’t found any inexpensive fixtures that I remotely like. I figure that I didn’t often sit my dolls on the toilet when I was playing house as a kid anyway, so I don’t think Violet will notice. Love the patterned paper and can’t wait to see your finished house!
Making it Lovely
Is it weird that I felt like my house needed a bathroom? (Maybe a little!)
Making it Lovely
A walk-in closet… I love that idea!
Julee
I asked myself that same question after installing a wall into my prefab dollhouse to make room for a bathroom. And I don’t even have bathroom furniture yet. Maybe I’ll turn it into a giant walk-in closet instead. It is a *dream* house, afterall.
Max
I agree, go crazy! Mine is kind of tame, but the mixed proportions of all the bits of furniture and other guff I’ve picked up will give it an edge I think!
It’s the gold hardware on the bathroom set I don’t like-maybe just colour that? but I like the idea of stencilling a cool pattern on them too x
Emma
you really can’t tell its uneven in the photos, but if you really want to candy-it up and repaint I think you have to go the spraying route to get a smoother finish …
Caitlin Wallace
So cute! I can’t wait to see how your dollhouse turns out! I’m sure it will look fabulous!
urbanblonde
I see someone thought the same as me to paint the mirror!
Paint the mirror and use it elsewhere in the house! Or as a tray! Or an outside small birdbath!
Go crazy! xxx
Emily @ Go Haus Go
I’m doing the dollhouse challenge too. It’s tough, much tougher than I thought! Both #1 and #2 options have challenges. I say, do it over the top in pink and have fun with it. I love the bathroom furniture.
Making it Lovely
I’m glad you’re doing one too! I liked your photo of how nerdy you feel when working on it, ha.
Emily @ Go Haus Go
Ha. So true though! Thanks for looking.
Sarah
These are totally in my childhood dollhouse in white!
Margaret
Oh, leave ’em as is!
And, definately, option 2! Definately.
Leave “good taste” to the 1:1 world.
Making it Lovely
“The 1:1 world!” That’s cute.
Jules
You bought lavender fixtures. Either you’re already making it a fantasy house or you and I have vastly different definitions of the word tasteful. ;) (I can say this since of the three bathrooms in my home, one has a yellow toilet and the other has a pink toilet.)
Go bold. Rather, go bolder than you are already known for.
Making it Lovely
Yes, well, we do have a blue tub and toilet upstairs…
Mercedes
Number 2!! we know you are totally capable of tastefully decorating the doll house!! so… try something new! go crazy! have fun!
Laura_NEAPOLITAN
I wouldn’t re-paint them, I think they’re adorable as-is. Maybe paint just the toilet seat a “candy” color (neon pink? Bright coral?) for that fun/fantasy direction (and definitely go fun/fantasy! That’s the best part of the dollhouse!).
Making it Lovely
The wood looks out of place, right? I like the neon pink idea. Or more gold! That could be funny… a little Liberace for the toilet seat.
Tammy
every dollhouse should have a golden throne! ha ha
Making it Lovely
Ooh, a monogrammed toilet seat! Fancy! :)
Mackenzi
I love this idea… though in my head I saw an Ivory colored seat to maybe town it down a bit. Maybe a monogram for extra class! Ha!
Molly
I would be waffling between those choices as well, but I think I’d go for #2. Kooky sounds fun!
Maggie
Oh, that wallpaper will be gorgeous!
Anna
I would go with #2. First of all, because it’s much more fun. Second of all, because I think you’d drive yourself nuts trying to get the dollhouse to look authentically real enough. Like the trouble with not quite real enough looking dollhouse bathroom stuff.
I’m not doing a house because it’s just not possible for me right now but I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Kim
I second this.
Martha
I say option number two!!! Imprint your own fabulous style and make it fun, fun, fun!!!!
heidikins
If you are going to use a different mirror anyway, why not experiment on that piece with different kinds of painting? Just to see if you like how it turns out.
xox
Erin
heidikins has an excellent point! :D
Abigail
I think experimenting with repainting that little mirror would be a good idea too. And maybe some gold or ivory stenciling would dress up the tub/toilet seat?
Making it Lovely
Smart!
melissa monroe
I think I actually have plaster molds to cast the sink and tub. Hummm…Were did I put those.
Your set looks great and I think you should go absolutely bonkers with your little world.
Cara
I think they’re hilarious and fun. Where did you find them?
Making it Lovely
Just search eBay for “pink dollhouse bathroom” and they’ll pop up. They aren’t vintage, and more than one seller had them. I paid $20 for the set.
nicole @ deliajude
leave ’em…part of the fun of a dollhouse!
Ashley
I agree with both the comments above!
And to answer your question: I’d go with option #2! A dollhouse is a fantasy world – not a real world. Do things that you would love to do in your real house, but would never dare! Go crazy! Live a little – feel like a kid – throw in some whimsy, isn’t that what it’s all about?
Jessica
I completely agree with Ashley!
Rebecca
I agree with Ashley.
Lydia
Agreed with above comment.
myhonestanswer
The glaze honestly looks just fine in photos, if that makes any difference to your decision. I think repainting might be kinda hard, since they’re so smooth.
Making it Lovely
It looks better in photos than in real life, but yes, repainting may be difficult.
Comments are closed.