Doll house renovation part I: before

This Christmas, for various reasons, we are trying to spend as little as possible. And what we do get for the kids, I want to be high quality stuff that they will actually play with, as opposed to most toys which get played with once or twice and then tossed on the pile. We have, frankly, way too many toys already. I also want to do as much handmade as possible (hence all the trades I've been doing with people on Etsy!).

So when I stumbled on this dollhouse listed for sale on Kijiji, I couldn't snap it up fast enough! Not only does my older daughter LOVE dolls, with two daughters I suspect a doll house will get years of use. And when it's no longer useful as a dollhouse, it can be used as a bookcase. $20 (and a helpful trip from my inlaws with their van) later, and it's now sitting in my basement. Smuggling it in without my older daughter seeing it was a bit of a trick, but we got it done.

It's all wood, very simple design, with the hinged doors on the front that open to reveal the interior:



It's essentially a completely blank canvas, and I cannot wait to get started on 'renovating' it! I've removed the stickers and the wallpaper, and given the whole thing a wash with TSP. I need to hit it with a magic eraser to remove the remaining drawings so that painting over them won't be too difficult. Tonight I'm going to prime it white with some porch and floor white paint I have lying around (apparently I got rid of the bucket of primer that I'm sure I had at one point, dang). I'd like to spend as little as possible on this renovation, so will be trying to use mostly things I already have. After priming, I've got some semi-gloss white trim paint that will be the final white coat.

Then I have all kinds of thoughts on how to finish it off! I'm thinking each room will have a different colour theme, and I'll probably make curtains for the windows and figure out something interesting for flooring (I wonder if popsicle sticks could be hardwood floors?). For the exterior I'll probably paint frames around the windows and maybe shutters and flowers/vines/bushes around the bottom. And I need to get some sort of latch for the front to keep it closed when not it use; maybe just a hook and eye set.

I will post updates as I work on it, and a running tally of costs to help keep me motivated to keep expenses minimal.