I still remember the Christmas when I was around 5 years old. My Dad had built a dollhouse. It is still one of the most precious memories I have of my childhood.
I’ve been wanting to make one for my girls, and since my youngest is 5 I figured it’s about time. I can’t believe I got it finished before Christmas!
There were a few glitches along the way, because of course I couldn’t follow a pattern any better than a recipe 🙂 For some reason I had to change it.
I used the dollhouse bookcase plan from Ana White and made these changes:
-Used a 15 degree angle for the roof, instead of 30 degrees
(This was a bit of a pain, trying to figure out the roof line, but I’m glad I did it this was so the top floor has more room.)
-Used a laminated pine for the roof
I’m not sure how necessary this was, but I really wanted the roof to overhang on both the front and back side.
-Added corner trim to hide plywood edge
I just have a thing about exposed plywood edges. And I hate using that edge banding. It just never looks how I want, or chips later on.
-Placed windows and door on backside instead of the sides.
I really wanted the backside to be more like the front of the house.
Besides the paint I bought for the house and roof, I just used odds and ends I had to paint the rooms different colors. I used a Rust Oleum spray primer, then a Rust Oleum white spray paint for all floors, ceilings, and trim.
Then I brush painted the colors, then finished with a spray clear coat.
I plan on adding a few things later on, like window boxes under the windows, some shutters, etc. But this beyond ecstatic face on Christmas morning?
Worth every minute of work.
She wasted no time setting up one of top rooms as an “animal shelter” 🙂
I did buy some wooden furniture to paint, but I’m going to do that with her sometime. The furniture I found at a second hand children’s store. It was the Fisher Price Loving Family Grand Dollhouse with a bunch of furniture.
I had a coupon for 20% off in the store as well, so I spent around $40, then sold the dollhouse on Craigslist without the furniture for about the same amount!
It worked out well, and luckily someone was looking for the dollhouse without furniture. Otherwise, it still would have been a good deal for just the furniture alone anyways.
