Renovating an Ikea Dollhouse

Welcome to my IKEA dollhouse renovation. I'm so happy because I just launched my new dollhouse course and I wanted to celebrate by sharing this renovation. Ever since I saw that IKEA has a really simple flat pack dollhouse, I've really wanted to give it a complete overhaul. This dollhouse is so affordable and I think it's just a really great way to dip your toe in and have a go at dollhousing. So let's get started. The first thing I did was put it all together. I also decided to cut some windows into the side. You can do that before you actually put the dollhouse together. Then I used our printable project planner that comes with the course to design what I wanted in all the different rooms. The best thing about doing a dollhouse is you can literally do whatever you want based on the desires and the interests of whoever you're giving it to. So this is always such a fun part and you can find this printable in the course. The first thing I tackled was the exterior of the dollhouse. So I did some timber siding using balsa wood and also created some stained shingles for the roof. It is so fun to do this and once you put on the timber siding, it's always a really good idea to add some trim around the windows because it just makes it look so elegant and really well finished. Next up, I always start with wallpaper in the rooms. I feel like wallpaper is kind of like a little outfit for each room and I sort of base the design on every room based on whatever the wallpaper is going to be. It's actually so hard to find really beautiful wallpaper for dollhouses so I've included a bunch of my favorites and links to them in my course. Next up, it was all about the floors and I experimented with a bunch of new techniques for this dollhouse including herringbone timber which turned out to be so so cute and now I just really want it in my real life home. It was so easy and it took forever. To finish off, I made all the furniture and the decor. I made the bed, this seriously cute gingham sofa and even a stone fireplace. Honestly, I thought I might be able to do this dollhouse which went into the course and not lose my mind but yeah, I kind of did but it was totally worth it. I made all the decor including photo frames and little books and little vases and so much more. Are you ready for the reveal? On the outside, there's painted pink timber siding, a gorgeous stained shingle roof, window trim and I added climbing floral vines. In the bedroom, there's mustard floral wallpaper, timber herringbone floors and yellow board and batten. Over to the bathroom, I think this room came together so beautifully. There's green checkered tiles on the floor, green floral wallpaper, board and batten and a ceramic bathroom set. Upstairs in the living room, there's the cutest gingham sofa and I went digging in the recycling bin for materials to make the fireplace. There's also a seriously cute freestanding bookshelf. Finally, my favorite room in the house, the kitchen. Modeled on my favorite kitchen in the world, there's a big red workbench, a blue kitchen with a tiled red and white backsplash and all of the cutest little kitchen implements. I also made the cutest braided jute rug for the floor and there we have it, the basic IKEA dollhouse proved to be no match for my ability to overthink and obsess about tiny things. Honestly, I have lived and breathed dollhouses since January and I'm not mad about it at all. If you want to join my course, I highly recommend it. It's 41 lessons. I take you through four different dollhouses. There's a shopping list, there's a printable design planner and also printable furniture plans. It's also so affordable and because so many people have joined up, I'm able to regularly add new content which is super fun. Honestly, making a dollhouse has just filled me with so much joy so if you're looking to activate your creativity, do something with your hands and just have a really beautiful nice creative experience, then a dollhouse is definitely for you. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments or you can also reach out to me on any social media platform because I love talking dollhouses. Make sure you head to Geneva's DIY School because there's also so many new creative courses coming and I can't wait to share them with you.