Gingerbread Dollhouse Renovation Part 5 | Reveal & Tour
This renovation has been 12 months in the making and I can’t believe I’ve finally reached the finish line!
Welcome back to my Gingerbread Dollhouse Renovation with RYOBI where I’ve spent the last 12 months planning and making all the teeny tiny things. I cannot believe I have finally reached the finish line! When I look back to where I started at the end of last year, I can’t believe how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned. And I am so proud I was able to make almost all the furniture and decor myself, while reusing materials I already had at home, such as toilet rolls, coasters and cereal boxes
After I had finished, surprisingly, it took at least 30 minutes to move everything in. It’s not a quick process but it was very enjoyable seeing all the rooms come to life and I love how well they go together. It feels colourful, cosy and lived in. This has been the most satisfying (not to mention the longest and tiniest) project I’ve ever undertaken. My kids are obsessed and that makes me so happy!
I have shared a series of videos here on my channel documenting every stage and step along the way, so feel free to go back and watch them. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know. Thank you so much for following along and I hope it’s brought you lots of joy, and you feel inspired to renovate your own dollhouse.
The Exterior
I always knew the exterior would be covered in icing and I had planned to be very meticulous about the patterns. However, time was running out, so I let loose and drew all the little patterns onto the delicious-looking gingerbread exterior freehand. And while it looks like something my kids did, I think that's why I like it so much. Real gingerbread houses are iced by hand and they're charming for it.
So, let's talk about the exterior. There is a popsicle stick shingle roof, cork-painted walls for a delicious gingerbread effect and a brick chimney. I also made a bespoke gingerbread paint colour, which I think makes it look really yummy. There’s also lots of icing, festive greenery using pine garland ties and bows. I also built a new facade, using a panel of pine wood, and cut out little arched windows, heart windows and a door. I was going to make a door, but I loved that you can see inside the gingerbread dollhouse, so decided not to. And I am obsessed with the facade because it’s easily removable to reveal the gorgeous gingerbread dollhouse inside.
Kitchen
Say hello to the cutest kitchen ever! When planning the interior design for my Gingerbread Dollhouse, the kitchen was the first space I started. I used the "Secret Room Rule", which brought me so much joy! There's a thrifted placemat floor which I painted a beautiful butter yellow. I made the cabinetry from scratch, including the teeny tiny curtain using thrifted fabric, gold beads for knobs, a stovetop using a cereal box, and a rangehood which I made by reusing by reusing and painting a cardboard tube.
I made my dream dining table from scratch using an old coaster and a toilet roll, which I painted in the cutest dusty blue. It was looking a little plain so I decided to add little wooden dowels around the base to give it a fluted look and it instantly went from meh to wow! I used the same dusty blue to paint miniature dining chairs and my Ryobi Glue Gun to attach ribbons to the backs. There are little jars filled with quinoa, sugar and flour, a coffee maker, a kettle, pots and pans, stained popsicle stick floating shelves, recipe books, wall art, gingerbread men and candy canes I made with polymer clay, and lots of festive touches including a teeny tiny Christmas Trees and garland.
Living Room
Introducing my teeny tiny Living Room! This is one of the key spaces in any home and I wanted to make it cosy and lived in. There is floral wallpaper, popsicle stick timber-stained herringbone floors, skirting boards and a burgundy-painted ceiling. I knew I wanted to bring elements of our own home into this space so I made a teeny tiny replica of my Upcycled Stone Plinth and Upcycled Wooden Accent Chair, as well as our Castlery sofa. I designed my dream Wooden Coffee Table and made a floor lamp using craft wood and thrifted fabric. There are lots of little bits and pieces too, including wall art, candlesticks, a mini hessian rug, as well as a Christmas tree decorated with a jewellery chain, gifts, a wreath, handmade gingerbread men and candy canes, as well as teeny tiny stockings using thrifted fabric.
Ps. The armrest on the sofa fell over when I took these photos, oops! It should be upright on the armrest. Damn it haha.
Powder Room
Between the kitchen and the living, there’s a teeny tiny powder room. It’s got green and pink floral wallpaper, a tiled floor which I made using a pasta box and craft paper, framed wall art which I made using popsicle sticks, and a framed mirror. I purchase a ceramic bathroom set which included a bath, sink, toilet, mirror and a toilet cleaner holder. For this powder room, I decided to use the sink and toilet. And of course, I just had to add a teeny tiny roll of toilet paper!
Main Bedroom
Upstairs is our bedroom and I wanted to keep this cosy and fairly minimal. A lot is going on in all the other rooms, so I intentionally wanted this space to feel calm and relaxing. There is popsicle stick-stained flooring and popsicle stick painted ceiling, floral wallpaper and board-and-batten walls (which we have in our own home) in the same dusty blue as the dining table set. Of course, I had to make some tiny replicas of my projects, so I included my Upcycled Ball Foot Side Tables and my Upcycled Abstract Painted Room Divider. Aren’t they CUTE! I also made the cosy bed from scratch, including the bedding and cushions. I made the rug using fabric and a pen, which I modelled on our own Castlery rug. There is also a floor light (which works!), wall art and more festive touches including gifts, a mini tree and a wreath on the fireplace.
Bathroom
I still had a couple of pieces left in the ceramic bath set and it felt kind of strange to renovate a dollhouse, but not to have a shower or a bath. I spoke to Jase about this a few times and the main question I had was “How literal can you be when renovating a dollhouse?” We both agreed it needed a tiny space for the bath, at the very least so that’s what I ended up doing. The Studio space is bigger than the bedroom, so I cut a small piece of pine which I covered in craft paper to make a teeny tiny bathroom, which is in between the main bedroom and my Studio. In this little space, I was able to include a bath, a towel rack, wall art and a framed mirror. And I am so glad I added it in. I think it completes the interior beautifully.
My Studio
Of course, I had to include my Studio in this Gingerbread Dollhouse! I love this creative space and it's all about the detail, so let's take a look. There's floral wallpaper from Spotlight popsicle stick-stained flooring, and a popsicle stick ceiling, which I painted to match my DIY Arched Shelves. There is a tiny bathroom with a ceramic bath (I spent a long time trying to find something cute, and I got this from Alibaba - not my usual place to shop!), a towel rack, wall art and a framed mirror.
Then you step into my very own studio featuring my DIY Arched Shelves, which I built in my own studio a few years ago. I decorated them with garland and bows to match the rest of the Christmas vibe in the dollhouse and it's filled with craft supplies, fabric, a toolbox I painted dusty blue (it was dark brown and not very nice) and mini books including a few I already have at home, such as Kelly Wearstler Evocative Style and Arent & Pykes. I also had to make a mini version of Martina Calvi’s The Art of Memory Collecting!
I made a racetrack desk (similar to the vintage table I have in my own studio) using toilet rolls for the legs and a pasta box for the top. I made a teeny tiny version of my Upcycled Pin Board, which I made a couple of years ago using decking timber I found at the tip shop, and cork tiles. I had so much fun pinning inspiration, including ribbons, jewellery chains, lace, fabric, wood, photos and other bits and bobs.
I also made my DIY Wavy Shelves, which I’m obsessed with! I made this using cork stoppers and a pasta box. It's stacked with my favourite interior design and crafting books I made using hobby wood, and I painted the pages white for a more authentic look. It took me ages to print the covers and even though they're not perfect, they're still cute! I also made floating shelves, painted two stools for the desk, framed art and added more festive touches including gifts, bells, mini trees, mushrooms, a garland window and an archway with bows, and wrapping paper - I got the idea from Choice Discount of all places when I saw the same thing using plain coloured paper!
Celeste’s Bedroom
Upstairs are the kid’s bedrooms and they were my mini interior design clients, so I took their briefs very seriously. In Celeste’s bedroom, there’s floral wallpaper and popsicle stick flooring, a cosy bed with cushions and a fabric arched bedhead, a mini gingerbread house which I painted, a desk made with a toilet roll and coaster, a little fabric stool I made using thrifted fabric and a cardboard tube, tiny Christmas books, gifts, bells, mushrooms, wall art, mini Christmas tree and a crochet coaster for a rug.
Dusty’s Bedroom
In Dusty’s bedroom there’s contrasting floral wallpaper and popsicle stick flooring, a cosy bed with cushions and a wooden bedhead (which I LOVE), a teeny tiny pinboard, card games, a painted desk and bench seat, a fabric stool I made using a cardboard tube, guitar, wall art, Christmas books, a thrifted shoulder pad for the rug, a side table I made using craft wood and timber stain with a teeny tiny clock on top and lots of festive touches.
My Gingerbread Dollhouse Renovation Series is in collaboration with RYOBI Australia
Head over to my YouTube Channel to watch my Gingerbread Dollhouse Renovation series. I hope it leaves you feeling inspired to renovate your own dollhouse, you won’t regret it! Feel free to get in touch with me on Instagram if you have any questions or comments. I love hearing from you!
