I have a couple different dollhouses and I'm going to start building one of them soon. I have an Orchid house by Greenleaf and also a Dura-Craft Heritage house. I'm not sure which one I'll make first. Right now I don't have the time or space to start on the house itself, however, since I have a ton of furniture sitting around, I've started on that. It's nice to get the smaller, easier tasks out of the way and checked off the list isn't it?
The house is going to be the home of Cosette, the woman who runs the CocoaTea By The Sea Shop. Her business is doing well, so now this Boss is ready to buy a home. I plan to make it the same sort of style as the shop. I want it to be shabby, chicy, farmhousey, warm and cozy. The colors are going to be in the pastel range with creamy whites and have shades of gray and tan as well.
I had a bunch of furniture and decorating pieces floating around for awhile. I started on some of them a few months ago so there aren't "before pics" for those. I started to take pictures of my newest works so you'll be able to see the transformation on them. Here's some of the pieces I've worked on so far.
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Originally this was a red shopping basket like the one below. I took off the handles and painted and distressed it. Then I glued some lace around the interior to act as a shade. The chain was made using some leftover metal jewelry chain that I came across. I added the lace and the metal ball underneath for a little added interest.
I'm going to try to drop a light in there and see if I can get it to light up. I'm thinking it would make a great chandelier or maybe even, just for aesthetics, hanging down over the staircase. If it's attached to the ceiling above the head of a bed and has some mosquito netting added it would make for a dreamier sort of look.
Also, I'm thinking that I might take out the little caged pearl pendant. I'll have to see what it actually looks like in the space cause although I like it that way, it might be too much, or not really fit the height of the room. I wish I had better pictures to show you of this, these look a bit yellowed because of the lac of natural light. I try to do a lot of my work after the kids go to bed so I end up taking pics at night and the lighting isn't great. The colors are a off and it has a very different feel in real life. I'll try to add clearer pics once I get some.
These little houses were scored on a recent trip to Philadelphia. I found them at a thrift store and knew I could make great use of them. The house will be scattered with tiny homes and little dollhouses to give it a little personalization. You see, Cosette collects dollhouses too cause, well, .... of course she does.
The edges of these little homes had sharp angles which gave the end result a boxy look. As I sanded the paint and stain off I also sanded the sides and the roof line, to give it a softer, rounded look. On some of the houses I sanded the roof down so that it was much shorter, on another I sanded down the middle and now it looks like two houses next to each other. I didn't want them all to obviously look like a set, each has a, (mostly), unique shape, size or finish. I actually haven't completed all of them yet, but once I do, I'll update the pics so you can see.
These two are finished. I know they don't have the best paint job, and the white/gray one is very beat up, but I think they will look better when they are actually in the house.
In the background of the pic below, there is another small house peeking out. I actually have two, they're probably in the background of some of the other pics. They're old plaster salt and pepper shakers. They were souvenirs and used to say "Alamo" on the base lol. I scratched that off, and with a little paint hopefully they won't be so noticeable as the Alamo.
When I sand something I feel like it's easier if I have have it lifted a little bit. I stacked the door on a few pieces of scrap cardboard, that keeps me from sanding the table when I'm doing the edges or whatever. I like using gloves when I sand too. I discovered the hard way that if you use sandpaper you end up sanding your fingertips, too. I have the thick, rubber ones for dish washing and it keeps my fingers from feeling like a cat tongue.
The pieces below were supposed to be shutters for my Primrose but I didn't use them there. I am planning to put some tiny chicken wire behind one so that it's something like a french memo board. The others might come a picture frame, art frame, salvage home decor, etc. One of the longer ones is backed with a strip of lace and, as I said earlier, it's going to be great behind the sofa or hanging on any wall.
Also, I'm thinking that I might take out the little caged pearl pendant. I'll have to see what it actually looks like in the space cause although I like it that way, it might be too much, or not really fit the height of the room. I wish I had better pictures to show you of this, these look a bit yellowed because of the lac of natural light. I try to do a lot of my work after the kids go to bed so I end up taking pics at night and the lighting isn't great. The colors are a off and it has a very different feel in real life. I'll try to add clearer pics once I get some.
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The edges of these little homes had sharp angles which gave the end result a boxy look. As I sanded the paint and stain off I also sanded the sides and the roof line, to give it a softer, rounded look. On some of the houses I sanded the roof down so that it was much shorter, on another I sanded down the middle and now it looks like two houses next to each other. I didn't want them all to obviously look like a set, each has a, (mostly), unique shape, size or finish. I actually haven't completed all of them yet, but once I do, I'll update the pics so you can see.
In the background of the pic below, there is another small house peeking out. I actually have two, they're probably in the background of some of the other pics. They're old plaster salt and pepper shakers. They were souvenirs and used to say "Alamo" on the base lol. I scratched that off, and with a little paint hopefully they won't be so noticeable as the Alamo.
Here's the one that I made two houses out of. I'm pretty pleased with it, and I think it'll look great up on a shelf somewhere. Again the picture is too yellowed but it's the middle of the night, so, whatever.
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This little round table got a fresh look with a bit of baby pink paint and some lace. I attached the lace before I painted it to trick the eye and make the pairing look sort of original. As if the lace apron and the table are one piece. I'm very pleased with the outcome and I love the subtle detail that the lace brings to it.
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I have a bunch of salvage pieces that were scavenged from other houses. I buy most of my goodies used, and often I'll have a spare dresser drawer, or parts from broken furniture. I always save them cause I know there will be a way to reuse them. I have a few of them finished and I'm going to scatter them around the house. The dresser drawer is going to hang on a wall as a display shelf. The framed lace would be perfect over a window, or on the wall behind a sofa.
When I sand something I feel like it's easier if I have have it lifted a little bit. I stacked the door on a few pieces of scrap cardboard, that keeps me from sanding the table when I'm doing the edges or whatever. I like using gloves when I sand too. I discovered the hard way that if you use sandpaper you end up sanding your fingertips, too. I have the thick, rubber ones for dish washing and it keeps my fingers from feeling like a cat tongue.
The pieces below were supposed to be shutters for my Primrose but I didn't use them there. I am planning to put some tiny chicken wire behind one so that it's something like a french memo board. The others might come a picture frame, art frame, salvage home decor, etc. One of the longer ones is backed with a strip of lace and, as I said earlier, it's going to be great behind the sofa or hanging on any wall.
That's all for now. I'll do another post with some furniture makeovers.
See you next time!
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