Dollhouse

A Little More Dollhouse Progress

I’ve been painting the exterior of the dollhouse off and on, and I’ve finally finished. I asked Eleanor what color she wanted and I’m pretty sure she named every color but orange, so in the end we went with green.

Making it Lovely's Dollhouse

It still isn’t finished though. There’s a front porch that I left off, and now I’m wondering if I should add it. I think there are shutters in the box with the porch too. This is an example of what the house could look like.

Melissa and Doug Walton Dollhouse, Painted Exterior

The window boxes and shingles are extras that didn’t come with the kit, but I’d like to add something like them to ours too. Do you think the front porch is a good addition though? It makes the whole thing a little more breakable (I’m thinking of August here), but maybe it’s more fun to play with a house that has a little overhang.

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  • EM-K
    September 28, 2012 at 2:00 pm

    I vote on a front porch with overhang – the more play area, the better!

  • Amie
    September 28, 2012 at 2:05 pm

    This is adorable. And this is also why I am hoping I have girls. Or boys who don’t mind letting their mom design and decorate a house for their toys.

    I say shingles. The porch would be cool, but I agree about the littlest one potentially hurting it. But then again, you don’t know until you put it on if it will be susceptible to August’s curious fingers.

  • Becca :: Making Room in Sicily
    September 28, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    I love this, Nicole! My mom made me a real wooden dollhouse with wallpaper (fabric) and curtains and stenciling on the walls when I was a girl. I saved up and purchased furniture for it. It’s a real treasure. I can’t wait for my little girl to enjoy it one day!

    • Elizabeth P.
      October 1, 2012 at 5:11 pm

      Becca– I had a similar dollhouse too, and I think it went to Goodwill years ago. It’s so special that you still have yours!

  • Melissa
    September 28, 2012 at 2:17 pm

    I personally prefer the saltbox look. Would be super cool to have a goose neck porch light. :)

    • Making it Lovely
      September 29, 2012 at 12:29 am

      I was thinking the same thing.

  • The Domestic Fringe
    September 28, 2012 at 2:17 pm

    So cute! My grandfather made me a doll house when I was a kid and it was the best.
    ~FringeGirl

  • Gwendolyn
    September 28, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    Very pretty, but a porch would make it perfectly perfect :)

  • Rebecca
    September 28, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    Love Love this! I vote for the front porch!

  • Liz
    September 28, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    I think the porch would be fun – more of an outdoor room – but it also looks great as is! I got those same Christmas-ornament chairs from CB2 for our dollhouse! How perfect are they???

  • YipYip
    September 28, 2012 at 2:37 pm

    Yay for the porch!! :)

  • Sarah D'Imperio
    September 28, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    I have no grounds upon which to vote – I am so not crafty or patient, I don’t bake, I don’t craft. But I LOVE this house. When I was a kid I had a super simple wooden house, but the thing I loved was collecting the little furniture. I have seriously thought of buying myself one now that my son is 12 & too self-absorbed to mind – filling it with miniature warhol prints & funky, modern furniture? But then I think about when I’ve seen an adult with a house (without tiny daughters running around) and I flash back upon a Law & Order episode (psycho) and Lovely Bones (obvious psycho).

    Back to you, Nicole – this is beautiful!! I love it simple, I love the green, I love the entire thing. Inspiring!! Sarah (:

    • Making it Lovely
      September 29, 2012 at 12:31 am

      Ha! I think you should get one anyway. They’re seriously fun to work on; I’ll be a little sad when this one actually is finished.

  • Jenny
    September 28, 2012 at 2:44 pm

    That is so beautiful! I have an unfinished dollhouse that I can’t wait to finish for my daughter one day when she is old enough. I love the front porch on!

  • Preciously Me
    September 28, 2012 at 2:55 pm

    So precious! And I love the tiny white vintage chair ♥

  • Rose
    September 28, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    My vote is out the shutters on. I like the look better and then you can drape little tiny evergreen garland on them at Christmas! I’d leave the porch in the box until August is bigger. It could lead to one of those childhood traumas they’ll be talking about 30 years from now,” and YOU broke my dollhouse porch….” . :)

    • Making it Lovely
      September 29, 2012 at 12:32 am

      True. We can drape garland either way though (I was planning to)!

  • Alyson
    September 28, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    I guess I’m in the minority here, but I wouldn’t do the porch. I feel like it would be difficult for 2 children playing to share the porch, especially if it has the little fence in the front. I would totally do the shutters though, and put them on hinges so they actually open and close. I liked parts that moved when I was little.

  • Christine Drumgoole
    September 28, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    I adore this! I recently acquired a very similar dollhouse from Craigslist for $40! So excited to see the evolution of your dollhouse. I am readying my find for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. I think the way you have the house suits your home’s aesthetic more, but I also like the porch and shutters.

  • nikki
    September 28, 2012 at 3:49 pm

    what colors did you use on the exterior?

    • Making it Lovely
      September 29, 2012 at 3:03 am

      The green siding is “river reed” from Pittsburgh Paints, and the gray was “gray” from Benjamin Moore (very imaginatively named, right?). And the green front door is a Martha Stewart craft paint color.

      • Making it Lovely
        September 30, 2012 at 2:52 pm

        Wait, no! It’s “canary grass.” I was going to use “river reed”, but it was a little too pale.

  • Haley J.
    September 28, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    I vote for adding both the porch and the shutters! It looks a bit stark and unfinished in its current incarnation.

  • TieDye64
    September 28, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    I’m thinking shingles, shutters and no porch. Oh, and window boxes too. I kind of like the saltbox look over the more country farmhouse look of the porch.

  • Helen
    September 28, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    My vote is no to the porch, but yes to the shutters. I feel like the porch would make it too fragile (and harder to store if you ever need to put it away.) You’ve done an amazing job on it so far!

  • Michelle L.
    September 28, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    I love the clean and simplified look of it now … although as a child I would have probably gone head over heels for the porch.

    BTW that green door is fantastic! I just thrifted some shoes that are that same color. Lovely!!

  • Kathryn
    September 28, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    I love a good green door. I vote for the porch, but think you’re probably right about August. Save it for a few years if you’re concerned, do they play with the front of the house much or mostly the rooms?

    • Making it Lovely
      September 29, 2012 at 3:05 am

      They just play with the rooms, but that’s because it’s usually turned around and the exterior faces the wall. I’m planning to move it somewhere else so they can have better access to it.

  • Krissy
    September 28, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    Beautiful!! Well yes the porch is delicate. But here’s the thing about doll houses that actually are used–things are going to break. At least in my childhood there were MANY broken things in the dollhouse, including the front balcony (which come to think of it my brother crashed into with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy), but you just get some superglue and play on. Sooo fun, hope Eleanor enjoys it!

  • Michelle
    September 28, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    I really like the way it looks right now, but I think adding shingles and shutters would finish the exterior nicely. It seems more modern without the porch.

  • Jules
    September 28, 2012 at 8:03 pm

    You have to do the porch. When they play Anne of Green Gables, where else is Gilbert going to sit and court Anne?

    • Kathryn
      September 28, 2012 at 9:34 pm

      By “they” you mean when you come and visit Nicole, right? :)

    • Making it Lovely
      September 29, 2012 at 3:06 am

      Excellent point. And Kathryn’s right — I call dibs on playing Anne!

  • Mercedes
    September 28, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    I say ask the kid! She’ll know.

  • Ali
    September 28, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    Oh man that turned out beautiful! I really love the way you did but, I equally love the the alternate picture with a porch and shingles and shutters!

    Can’t wait to hear what you decide! :)

    You have such great style! I love both pictures of the dollhouse!

    ~ Ali

  • stevie
    September 28, 2012 at 11:39 pm

    Noooooooo It is perfect as-is!! I have a few of those dollhouses that my father made and the tiny pieces are so fragile. They all broke! Less is more! You did a great job!

  • Gretchen
    September 29, 2012 at 9:18 am

    beautiful! One the saddest parts about having all boys for me is no dollhouse (I know: boys can play with dollhouses, too (and not all girls want to), but I tried with a Plan toys one when they were little, and it never got any use, so I don’t have much hope). Okay, wait–I just asked my 6 year old if he wants to decorate a dollhouse with me, and he is very enthusiastic. hmm…..

  • Frances
    October 1, 2012 at 9:08 am

    I love porches, so I would vote for the porch! Also, the deer is precious.

  • Nicki @ Cute & Co.
    October 1, 2012 at 9:37 am

    I love the porch, it’s so cute. You could even do cute little vines around the balusters.

  • Elizabeth P.
    October 1, 2012 at 5:11 pm

    I think the shutters would be lovely, but the porch isn’t necessary. I agree that it will be the first thing that breaks off.

  • Nichole Boglio
    October 1, 2012 at 8:47 pm

    No porch! It looks perfect, simple and modern as-is! I’m going to copy! :)

  • Kate {domestikatedlife}
    October 2, 2012 at 9:51 am

    This is SO cute! I love the green door, and think you should keep it the way it is — it looks more modern without the porch.

  • Crystal
    October 2, 2012 at 10:03 am

    This is something I look forward to doing with my daughter. She’s only one now, but I can’t wait. Your doll house turned out so lovely and nice.

  • Ashlea Walter
    October 2, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    Oh my gosh, this ALMOST looks like our real house. We had it painted this summer and the color is “wasabi.” Looking good!

    Does she use it? Wren is 3.5 and we have one languishing in the basement… is it worth my time to spif it up for a Christmas gift?

    • Ashlea Walter
      October 2, 2012 at 3:25 pm

      p.s. I’m voting for no porch

  • Kate
    October 3, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    I had a dollhouse like this is a child, I still have it at my Aunt’s house and one day I will reclaim it and redo it! It had a porch and shingles, the porch is nice but I don’t think it matters because when it comes to play you are behind it playing in the rooms and don’t move around just to use the porch, you know?

  • CarrieLea
    October 3, 2012 at 4:58 pm

    I vote yes shutters, no porch. For now anyway. And I want to kiss that transom window!

    Is this in your office? I’m loving the paint color!

  • SuzyMcQ
    October 6, 2012 at 8:38 am

    I have a similar house as well and added the porch. It’s a great space to add more furniture and to decorate for holidays and the seasons. Right now I have little pumpkins and a scarecrow, and for the holidays I add lights that really work. They have a small battery pack and my daughter loves turning them on at night. They can be found at stores like Michaels in their section with all the holiday lighted miniature houses and are very inexpensive.

  • Hope
    September 30, 2015 at 6:57 pm

    Lol love your doll house your going to have to make a video tutorial