The Dollhouse.

Last Christmas, while browsing around in Blog Town, I came across this dollhouse. I was immediately captivated and read all of the blog posts about it. I thought it was so neat and I filed it away in the "try to do one day" compartment of my brain. The one where I put things that I think are really awesome, but I probably won't ever get to. Yep, that one.

Fast forward to this holiday season. I was trying to really think about gifts and what Morgan Kate would love and appreciate. So many toys get thrown to the side and never really played with. I wanted to do or give her something that I knew she really wanted and something that she would really enjoy. She's mentioned a dollhouse a few times and whenever we are in stores and there is one on display she always plays with them. She likes the whole "play house" concept, but she also loves to just decorate and rearrange the furniture. When we were at my parents' house for Thanksgiving it hit me. I remembered that my grandaddy had made me a dollhouse when I was about eight or nine years old and I was pretty sure it was still in my parents' attic.

It was.

The front of the dollhouse my Papa made me. 

And it was in great condition. Granted, I wanted to give the front a facelift and the inside needed some updates, but overall the structure was in almost perfect shape and my brain was overflowing with ideas. 

The inside. Notice the country blue molding and windows frames. Also, the 1980s wallpaper. 

After hiding the dollhouse in our garage, I hopped on Google and Pinterest and of course went back and visited the original dollhouse that inspired all of this. Pinterest had some awesome ideas. Like this and this and so many others. I also began searching for dollhouse furniture and nearly tossed the entire idea completely. Dollhouse furniture is crazy expensive! But, I decided to look past that and continue on. After all, this was for my baby girl. And let's be honest, I love planning and decorating and attempting to be crafty, so I was excited to do this. If those aren't your things, then you obviously wouldn't enjoy doing this and that's perfectly okay. 

I decided to start on the outside first. It seemed easier to me. The only hard part was deciding what I wanted the "new" outside to look like. After looking at about three dozen dollhouses online I decided to paint the shutters black and the front door a light turquoise. I also painted the porch grey to look more like cement or concrete. I touched up the white paint in several places, but overall, it was in good shape and I left it alone. I used acrylic paint that I already had. Looking back, it might not have been the best choice. It took several coats to cover up the paint that was already on there. I think a "real" paint would have been easier, but I was trying to use things I had on hand and while this was for my precious baby girl, I didn't want to break the bank. 

The front of the new, updated house.

I really liked how the outside turned out, but I wanted something else. A little outdoor decor. Something festive for the holiday season. I found those little colored lights at Hobby Lobby and used mini clothespin to help hang them. MK can keep them up, trade them out for white lights to use year round or take the lights off completely.  I found the little door decoration (the white frame thing) at Michael's. I think. It might have been Hobby Lobby too. I glued it to the front door and behind that little piece of greenery there is a C. The greenery was something I already had and decided to put it up for the holidays.  I just snagged it off of what I had and stuck it there. It's only temporary. MK can take it off and put it back on any time she chooses. The little door mat I just cut from a piece of carpet that we had left over from when we redid our hallway and extra bedrooms. It's a little hard to see, but I also made a door knob by adding a little jewel to the front door.  

After finishing the front, it was time to move on to the inside. I was so excited to start on the inside, but also a little overwhelmed. I have a hard time making decisions. Which room would be the kitchen? Which room would be the nursery? Would I have a bathroom? What color would I paint the walls? Would I paint the walls? Would I use wallpaper? So. Many. Decisions. Also, keep in mind I started this project a few weeks before bed rest so I was able to grab some things, but the rest I had to grab from around the house and my creative juices just were not flowing. 

The updated inside.

In the end, I was very proud of my work and seeing MK's face on Christmas morning made it even more worthwhile. I love that it's something I did for my girl, but it's also a part of my grandaddy and something he did for me. Such a treasure! I love things like that.

Stay tuned...more details about each room to come.