Well, I think I’m the only one that actually has a dollhouse to show you today from Emily’s original group of participants. I’m amazed though by the creativity and hard work that was put into dollhouses by the people following along with this whole crazy project! (Thank you, everybody.) Here are some of the people I’ve noticed, but please leave a link in the comments if I missed you.
Go Haus Go • With Two Cats • Warm Hot Chocolate • The Creative Salad • Change of Scenery • Silly Eagle Books • Redesign • Whiteowl: Found •Fleurishing • Coccoon Home Blog • My Mod Style • Call of the Small
I’ve been working on a Walton dollhouse, courtesy of Melissa and Doug. It’s been fun to follow along with this challenge, but I’ve really been making it for Eleanor. She loves it already, even though she’s a little young for it at just two years old. I hope she’ll enjoy it for years to come. I’ve tried to source things below but unless otherwise noted, you can assume everything came from eBay. Here’s a closer look inside…
The Kitchen and Dining Room
I bought a kitchen set and only intended to use the stove and fridge from it, but I ran out of time and just used the sink that came with it as well. I have a farmhouse sink that’s really cute, but it needs to be assembled. I’d also like to eventually make some cabinets and counters, sew a little skirt for the sink, and put up a backsplash. The dining wall also needs some large art, and a table! I rested a gift box lid on those little metal chairs. The light is a knob that I’ve had for years from Anthropologie, and the table settings and food all belonged to Brandon’s mom and grandmother. The paint color is Dill Pickle by Benjamin Moore.
The Living Room
The tiny Jonathan Adler vases are from the Adler Barbie couch set we already owned for me Eleanor. The credenza is awesome and handmade, from OneFortyThree. It was my big furniture splurge in the dollhouse. The white wire chair is an ornament from CB2, and I already owned the mini Barcelona chair. The tea cart was a gift from Cassandra (thanks!). The gold folding screen and little accessories belonged to Brandon’s mom and grandmother.
The wallpaper is one of my favorite things in the house. Tiny houses! I also had some amazing wooden flooring to go in the room, but it’s going to be labor intensive, so I left it white with a sheet of woven scrapbook paper as a rug.
The Office
This room was going to be the nursery, but then I switched things around at the last minute. I already had the chair and chaise, but there’s no desk (oops). The accessories were in with the other little things from Brandon’s mom and grandmother. The rug and bookshelf were eBay finds. And eventually I’ll finish the stairs throughout the house. The paint is Ribbon Pink by Benjamin Moore.
The Bathroom
I showed you a lot of the bathroom before. The tile, dresser, and mirror were from eBay, and the slippers and ‘His and Her’ towels were from Brandon’s mom.
The Bedroom
I intended to sew bedding, spray paint the bed, and make some art for the room, but I ran out of time before the deadline. I made the rug out of leftover furry fabric from Eleanor’s Halloween costume. Again, I already had the chair, but added a kitty to sleep in it. I painted the dresser pink and hung a toy camera from the knobs.
The Kids’ Bedroom
This was going to be an unfinished attic, and the kids’ bedroom was going to be what is now the nursery, but then I realized that the two beds wouldn’t fit in the other space because of the stair opening. I made the mattresses out of two pieces of foam core, sandwiched together with fabric on top. I intended to make bedding, crafty pendant banners, cute artwork, and so on and so on. This room is the least finished of all. There’s a wee dollhouse though! And an Eames rocker that I had. The paint is Benjamin Moore’s Pink Peony.
The Nursery
The bird pattern is wrapping paper, and Eleanor chose the crib fabric. I had that white chair already, and the dresser was an eBay find. The rug is the same as in the kids’ bedroom and the living room: woven scrapbook paper.
The (Almost) Finished Dollhouse
I will eventually finish the things I wasn’t able to get to, without the pressure of a deadline. Eleanor (and August, if he’s interested) is still young, so there’s plenty of time. I didn’t do the stairs, which I had put so much thought into, and I didn’t even touch the exterior! I’m really happy with the end result (so far) though, and Eleanor is over the moon about it.
155 comments
m1shka1995
Fantastic! My daughters don t have such beautiful kitchen accessories but the dollhouse also welcomes mixed families involving Little People, Playmbil characters, Petshops or others. I love it!
susankallalmd
Wonderful doll house make a day of kids. here you show wonderful pics of dollhouse which make a smile on my kids face. I bought this all 4 kids. Thanks for giving idea to those who want a smile on the kids face.
Katharine of Kat's Almost Purrfect World
What scale is this doll house? I’m looking at 1:6 or play scale that is good for Barbies.
kayla
are you selling any doll house
Kris
Omgoodness! i love this house so cute.
Where did you find that adorable doll’s house. the tiny one. I have paper ones I have printed and pasted together > disaster :< so i'm trying to find more tiny doll houses for my BJD's room.
Emily
I saw this when you first posted it, but now my bff wants one for her daughter. As godmother, I’m in charge. Thanks for the great photos, I’m hoping to find some of the same wallpapers and furniture. I especially love the office furniture (I might just have to buy some of it for my real office until I can afford the grown up size! Thanks!
liz o
Can you please tell me where you found the dollhouse for your dollhouse? Thanks!
janine.hummel
could you tell us where you found your beautiful kitchen applicance set? i cannot find a thing suitable for a victorian dollhouse. thanks so much.
Kim @ design + life + kids
this might be the MOST amazing thing I’ve seen. ever. I’m completely obsessed with everything teeny and tiny and dollhouses…. and have been filing ideas to do for my own… for my kids of course. the fact that you have one done is quite an inspiration. thank you for that.
g shi
it is wonderful, as are you. did i fail to see where the kitchen set is from, and flooring in the kitchen?
Carole
All I can say possibly say is ‘wow’.
Sarah
This is still one of my most favorite blog posts EVER. I’m looking at doll houses for my 2.5 yr old for xmas, and I just had to look at Elanor’s again. It’s simply awesome. I’m curious what the doll house family looks like. After all this hard work, some special little dolls must live there…
Sara Russell Interiors
This has made it very tempting to dig out my doll house from my parent’s basement!
xo Sara
Linda Leyble
Hi! Wow – I cannt believe how wonderful this is. I love all the iconic things (vases, wallpaper etc) that I recognize throughout the dollhouse. What a wonderful project. I found this post (from your “list” post – which I definitely have to do, even though I have started it on various pieces of paper) – and your blog, in general, from the NYW class which I am participating in.
Very glad to meet you! I have done a few things on your list (when I was in Chicago!).
Linda
Anu
Just fabulous! :))
Elena Koidis
This is the cutest thing I have ever seen! makes me wish I was 3″ tall so I could live there!!
Holly
I just LOVE this!! You should make another one!
(the wallpaper is BEYOND)
Valerie
I love miniatures, and I absolutely LOVE this dollhouse that you’ve put together! I could stare at this thing all day long! (And I too, have always loved the attic recreation of the town in Beetlejuice!)
Meagan
This is so beautiful, it hurts :) Great work!
Miss B.
I don’t know how I missed this! I love all the photographs did you use a macro lens? Such a chic dollhouse;)
Elizabeth Leach
What a joy! This is so fabulous. Well done!
rosey
this is my favorite dollhouse ever ever ever. so beautiful, great colors, just amazing! you are talented!!!!!
Lauren
Yup. This dollhouse is a million times nicer than my actual house.
Katie Hollis
This is the absolute cutest thing I have ever seen….So Amazing. GREAT job, its a dream :)
Kat Skull
Can I move in?!?!
Tara Jane
Love the “wee doll house” up stairs! Great job.
tula
You are a genius. A brilliant, inspiring genius.
Andrea Howe
Wow Nicole. Absolutely incredible. I love it. My favorite is the office and the living room. That bar cart is amazing!
ernø
Oh it’s very nice. I like it because I’m making a miniature house to with design furnitures. See you Soon!
Ursula (room to bloom)
It’s perfect in every way! My personal favourite room is the nursery with the wrapping wall paper of course… I love dollhouses so much I based my website on a dollhouse design : )
Elizabeth
OMG a friend just sent me this, knowing my love of all things tiny–especially tiny houses!! I LOVE IT!
gluten free gift
I particularly like the dollhouse “within” a dollhouse! Your work is gorgeous!! Claudine
Nina
Wow! That dollhouse is unbelievable. I love every little detail <3
beth lemon
I finished mine but haven’t written a post yet.
I just love what you did. Very pretty but not too girly. I wouldn’t mind living there!
Emreen
This is the prettiest doll house I have ever seen !!
Laura
Oh my goodness, I am so completely in love with this. Fabulous work, Nicole! I would love to live in that house, and short of that, would love to spend hours upon hours playing with it! Eleanor is so lucky to have such a talented, thoughtful mommy.
Jill
When I was a kid, my dad bought a basic dollhouse kit that he put together for me (I think it was made out of balsa wood – very basic). It was sort of the test run to see if I was even interested in having a dollhouse. He used rug remnants from my grandparents house. Since shag carpet was all the rage at that time, that’s what I got in my little doll house. So when I added little people to the house all the carpets came up to the knees. I LOVED that house so a few years later he built me a much larger dollhouse (this time with plywood). We spent hours together adding clapboard siding and stone work to the outside. Making Christmas cookies and a turkey out of Fimo clay. Picking out furniture, carpeting and wallpaper. I have so many fond memories of that house. Thanks for reminding me of the magic of a dollhouse. Yours turned out beautifully.
ileana
this is fantastic. you must have had so much fun making this.
Karin
I am speechless. Doesn’t happen very often. AMAZING.
christina
It looks gorgeous! Congratulations on getting so much done by the original deadline. My house has very far to go yet :) You could stop now and your house would still be lovely! Thank you so much for the mention too! <3
Allison
Amazing!!!! From the wallpaper to the adorable tea cart – it oozes style, creativity and love.
Rachel @ I'm Loving Today
Absolutely ADORABLE! Wow… I am completely jealous of the lucky dolls who inhabit this house. I’m just floored by your creativity and sense of style in the tiniest of places. So fun, so cute – I love it!!
Elizabeth
Hi, found you via Poppytalk.
That kitchen set! From ebay? I have a dollhouse needing finishing myself (waiting until after the holidays) and I love that kitchen set. I probably have more things than will actually fit in but I’m sure I need a fridge and stove!
Crystal
It’s lovely! You did an amazing job. When can I move into the house?! :)
machenblog
So awesome. Really.
brooke
I kind of want to live there.
Erica
Amazing. For realsies. Amazing.
coucoumadame
amazing and fantastic! what a special, special thing for your daughter!
Molly the Waffler
So fabulous! I especially love that bird wrapping paper — wish it really was a wallpaper pattern!
Amy
This makes me want to dive into a dollhouse-design project. Who needs children to have an affair with a dollhouse?
Beth C
This is so beautiful, Nicole! You did a great job. I’m sure Eleanor is going to love it for many years to come.
The wallpapers in the bathroom and nursery are stunning. And a bar cart! *Swoon*
Ellen
Too amazing for words.
silly eagle books
Wow, Nicole! This is just stunning! I especially love your wallpaper choices and that tiny dollhouse in the dollhouse! What a fun detail. I can’t wait to show my daughter–she will go nuts for this. :)
Thanks for linking to our project, too! I appreciate it!
vanessa
jbhat
I am freaking out about how freaking amazing this is. Seriously. It’s the best dollhouse I have ever seen, hands down and VERY inspiring…for my REAL life house.
jbhat
Elaine
oh my goodness, I love it! so sweet and charming. Great job!
barbara
So nice! Lucky Eleanor!
Jill Browning
Absolutely adorable. What a wonderful thing you have done for your children!
Andrea
you are amazing! my dad built a dollhouse for me when i was younger, but never finished everything. the roof still needs shingles and my mom and i only finished decorating two rooms…but this is definitely inspiring for when i have a little girl. i’ll revisit my own dollhouse and make it her own! kudos on a job very well done! =)
heather at wordplayhouse®
B E A U T I F U L .
Ours you may share…made with an old ironing board pad, a lining of a pocket in a pair of pant…but we don’t think you would know if I hadn’t said so:
http://www.wordplayhouse.com/2011/12/dollhouse.html
Jessie
Well its looks awesome of course!! You are lucky to have such cool chairs already, I am so glad you got to use them in the house! (I know you have had those for awhile.) Thanks for linking to my blog and sharing the other links. :) I love the little dollhouse, that has to be one of my favorite things. Also the doorknob as a light fixture! I probably should have started with the interior inside of the exterior. lol Oh well! This was still fun and now we don’t have a deadline.
Daria
This is simply amazing! I have no better words for it, but amazing it is!
Jaime from Design Milk
This is amazing Nicole! And so perfectly you.
Kate
I absolutely love this! Especially the kitchen! So CUTE! I also love how so many of the things in this house are exactly like their larger counterparts in your house! (Jenny Lind crib!!!) Great job!
Melissa
That is crazy cool. Even “unfinished” as you call it it looks so neat. How lucky for Eleanor!
amy j.
Absolutely adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marlena
I am so impressed! Wow!
Sara | stinkerpants
Your house looks FANTASTIC! I have that wallpaper in the bathroom too. Gorgeous gold! And good job finishing on time! I for one am glad the deadline has been extended. Stripping dollhouse wallpaper = no joke!
My friend Reichel (http://www.copycatchic.com) and I (http://www.stinkerpants.com/weblog) are also participating. :)
Ashley B
I’m drooling all over my cubicle! I’ve been silently observing as you pulled everything together. You’ve got a very lucky little girl!
Laura
i love your dollhouse! especially love all the wallpaper you used!
amyks
Love, love, love it!!! It is so sweet. Eleanor is one lucky girl.
Beth Connolly of Chinoiserie Chic
My very Chinoiserie Chic dollhouse is done and I have been showing one room a day on my blog Chinoiserie Chic.
http://chinoiseriechic.blogspot.com/
Stop by and see it. Yours is great.
Steph
Best. Dollhouse. Ever.
Diana @ Boy + Girl
I’m in L.O.V.E. It’s all fantastic! I’m sure your kids will spend many hours playing with this little house!
-Diana
Susan
Wow, amazing! I love the living room wallpaper! Thank you so much for mentioning me…I’m flattered! :)
Adventures In Babywearing
It’s fabulous. I do love the attic bedroom and the living room wallpaper! Wonderful job.
Steph
Call of the Small
Really excellent, gorgeous work! I see we both like the Paper Source…I always find something there! I like how you combined modern furnishings with more traditional ones. Congrats on completing it all on time (even though the challenge has been extended until Feb.!) Thanks for the mention about my blog, too!
Tory
So, so sweet! I love all the wallpapers!
Chedva
It’s so beautiful!! I’m having a hard time picking a favorite home – it’s all incredible!
belinda
goodness that is INCREDIBLE! Go you – If I could shrink myself I’d happily move in. I so desperately wanted to join in the challenge and took before pics. And that’s about it. One day I will get around to starting – and finishing – Layla’s dollhouse. Hopefully while she’s still young enough to enjoy it! Eleanor will have so much fun playing with this – lucky girl! x
Sarah M.
This is so incredibly, awesomely amazing! I’ve had a dollhouse for 25 years not nearly in such a finished state, and this definitely inspires me to start making one for my little girl. This is INCREDIBLE! Well done! You’ve been so clever with your materials, decorations and sourcing the furniture and stuff. The house actually looks LIVABLE! I’m so jealous and impressed. Hooray for dollhouses!
PS. What are you going to do about a family to live there? I thought the one thing that really brought down my own dollhouse was the quality of the people figures (at that time; the early 90’s were not a golden age for dollhouse people), and I didn’t want such ugly dolls messing up my beautiful house. I’m curious to see what you come up with!
Modern Mini Houses
Congrats!! I LOVE the bird wallpaper. The house is absolutely lovely. Your kids will definitely get years of use out of it.
I didn’t get mine 100% done in time for the deadline, but close enough.
I’m so glad one of the original crew posted photos. I can’t wait to see what everyone else came up with.
http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com/2011/12/im-giant-crazy-person.html
mini smiles,
megan
sophie
This really is so amazing! It’s inspirational and so fun – I LOVE the tiny houses wallpaper! Kudos for sticking through and giving us a big reveal. (I have to admit, I was following several other bloggers and was super bummed no one got around to it.)
Ija
Cute to the max!!! I studied interior design in college.. And have to do soooo much model for an interior space.. If only i could just do this one like yours it will be so much fun!! But when i was in college, making a model was the one that stressed me out the most! hahahaha!
Rachael Olson
So cute! The decor totally looks like it blends with your home. I LOVE IT!
Dulce@lavitapetite
I had not seen any of this before today. it has come out so lovely! I ordered the bentwood chairs from ebay 2 weeks ago and the seller said that someone bought a bunch and now they are back-ordered. i wonder if yuo beat me to it :)
Oh and you did miss me. here is my progress, since I am not finished:
http://lavitapetite.wordpress.com/category/im-a-giant/
Jules
Adorable. My boys have shown no interest in dolls or dollhouses, so this isn’t anything I will be able to do. Hmmm. I do have a 2 year old niece. Maybe in the next year or so I can start working on one for her!
Oh, and please do update everyone when you make progress! :)
Emily
Wow! The dollhouse looks amazing! Nice work!
Julia@a-living-space
WOW it looks amazing!! I love all your wallpaper choices, and how it feels cohesive as a whole, but each individual room has its own unique flavor. All the little details are awesome. I’m so impressed that you pulled this together so quickly!
And don’t forget me! I’m just about to post a few of my final pics. I don’t have time to edit all my photos tonight since it is way past my bedtime, but I’m proud of myself for actually finishing on time, yay! Lots more pictures of my little dollhouse will be up tomorrow!
http://a-living-space.blogspot.com/search/label/Dollhouse
kristin
It’s gorgeous! I’d live there.
Melissa
Really fantastic job – the unfinished bits don’t even look unfinished! I’m 21 and I’d be over the moon to be given something like this, so I just know it will be appreciated by your kids.
RebeccaNYC
ADORABLE!!!
Chrystal
OMG! I love this so much. I always wanted a dollhouse when I was little, but the best I had was the barbie house I made out of a fridge box. LOL What a wonderful thing to be able to pass to your children!
Jen @ Rambling Renovators
Oh, I love this so much! Every room and detail is so perfectly thought out. I love how you’ve accessorized the place. But I think the my favourite part is how many of these items belonged to you or Brandon’s mom or grandmother. It’ll be such a treasure for Eleanor to have these mementoes of the women in her life.
LeeAnn
You did an incredible job! It’s hard to pick a favorite part, but the wrapping paper wall paper in the nursery really is amazing. The woven scrapbook paper as carpets is really deceiving as a photo. I would have really thought it was fiber of some sort. A family treasure for sure!
Ann
Oh just thought of another question – kind of strange: So how many sheets of paper does each room take? Just wondering if I ever decided to take this on as a niece/nephew gift. Kind of like wallpapering in the real world!
Holly
So beautiful! I wish I had one like that as a little girl :) Is some of the wallpaper from Paper Source? I think I recognize it from work
Carrie
I love it! My favorite bit is the beautiful toy dollhouse in the kids bedroom. Oh, what a find! I also really like the pops of pink amongst the bold patterns and those awesome chairs throughout the house! (So nice to have at least one really nice chair in each room. I like that idea for my real house!). Thanks for the link to my site too. :)
Mommy G
Absolutely breathtaking. You did wonderful Nicole!
Ann
Oh fantastic! Your daughter is such a lucky little lass. You should also check Chinoiserie Chic, I think you would dig it. Between the two of you, I so want to run to the hobby shop. How hard was the pure construction aspect? Did the finishing and remodeling take long?
Christina
This is so incredible. I can’t believe you did that in such a short amount of time. Mine is as finished as it’s going to get for now. It still has a long way to go and I’ll keep working on it, but I put a few pictures up tonight.
Comments are closed.