Dollhouse Therapy: A Mini Renovation Challenge!

Remember a couple of weeks ago I shared the “before” post for our fixer upper dollhouse? Today, I am excited to tell you about a challenge started by one of my blogging friends, Cassie of Primitive and Proper. She invited me and two other bloggers to share our dollhouse renovations together over the course of the next few months. We are calling it….”Dollhouse Therapy”…how great is that? Working on this little house literally is therapy for me.

I am so excited to be teaming up with these girls for this challenge because I know it is exactly the motivation I need to follow through with this makeover. (I am the queen of getting something started and leaving it for the next shiny, new project enticing me.) This challenge is basically holding me accountable so my children know their mom can get stuff done…

Over the course of the next few months, the bloggers participating in the Dollhouse Therapy challenge will each be choosing one or two rooms to work on every month. The plans for the rooms will be shared on the first Tuesday and their reveals the last Tuesday from April through June.

And here is the really cool part: we will have a link party at the end of each month so you can show us your own mini renovation projects! There will be giveaway prizes at the end in June too including $100 to Miniatures.com! So, if you have a dollhouse sitting around waiting to get made over…now is the time to dust it off and get to work. We can’t wait to be inspired by fellow dollhouse obsessives like ourselves 🙂

Today, I am going to show you the first room I plan on finishing to get a bit of head start before the challenge actually begins (I don’t want to lag behind and not be finished by June!). The reveal will will come later in March.

So…which room did I pick?

Drumroll…

The living room!

I already have a lot of the accessories for the space, so it seemed the easiest to get done first. Much of the interior of our house has been painted but some walls will be getting wallpaper and flooring.

Here are some of the miniatures we already have, many of which I have saved since I was a little girl. A few from my grandparents, some from flea markets, yard sales and lots of pieces that came with the purchase of our dollhouse. It is definitely a vintage, eclectic mix.

I purchased the plaster mantel for $4 at a charity sale, but likely won’t be securing it to the house since my kids want to play with it a lot. Hazel has this Fisher-Price Loving Family mantel(*affiliate link) with a crackling fire that also plays music, so we will trade them out when we take turns having fun decorating the house!

I have A LOT of diy plans for this house. Lots of plants in the works…

As you might be able to tell, it will have an “eclectic bohemian” vibe to it…at least when I am decorating it.

Most of my dollhouse interior inspiration has come from Pinterest (other bloggers who have shared their renovations), real life interiors and some of my favorite retailers like Anthropologie. I am a hoarder of their catalogs and pretty much never throw them away. I have been pulling inspiration from them and will even use clippings for decor in the house!

I’m loving that pattern for the mantel insert (and can you picture it with similar stockings come Christmas time?). The ideas for miniatures never seem to end in my mind. This renovation is going to take over my life!

I want to make a MCM sofa in gray fabric and then add some “Kilim” inspired throw pillows maybe with some fabric I purchased on Etsy. And also possibly a pouf ottoman (resembling the one I made for my own living room). Those ideas remain to be seen if they will actually work out.

A coffee table made from a small coaster and some wooden beads perhaps…

Then we will probably purchase a mirror for above the mantel and figure out some of kind of light fixture…either a diy or LED battery operated one.

Here are some progress shots of the exterior. We painted it with Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint(*affiliate link) in “Seaside Villa”. I actually painted it this color before I looked at any inspiration pics and have since realized it is quite the trend in dollhouses these days. Go figure. 

I hope you will enjoy following along with me for this mini renovation project and visit the other bloggers joining in! Be sure to share your own miniature inspiration (if you have some) along the way at our link parties April – June!

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*This post may contain some affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for any sales made through them. Full disclosure.

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Dollhouse Makeover Before

Beach House Rug for Hazel’s Room

DIY Sweater Pouf Ottoman