We were incredibly lucky to have been given (yes, given!) a beautiful dolls house from a wonderful friend.
I was astonished not only due to the generousity but also to find the amount of furniture and accessories also included.
We started in earnest with an external paint job. Then all the work stopped. Since then it has sat in the house with the girls occasionally playing with it but they seemed to find it hard to play with it without more structure and purpose inside. Tilly and I painted the bare MDF walls, stairs, ceilings and floors plain white.
Thanks to Poundland, I've been able to fit out the dolls house easily and for next to nothing. Poundland were selling vinyl floor tiles, which although I wouldn't necessarily use in the house, they were perfect for the dolls house. I went back to get some carpet tiles and ended up getting a few more bits and pieces.
I got some dowelling from our local DIY store and that made the coving and skirting boards.
A long time ago I'd bought a room border, not for a border but for craft. It was perfect for a modern, bold feature wallpaper.
As the rooms got more structure, the girls started to play more as the rooms had purpose. They had recognisable features. Tilly and Mima had some small dolls, like mini Barbies, they were the perfect size for the bed, counters, table etc. Suddenly the house was great fun.
As I visited Poundland to get one more pack of vinyl floor tiles, I spotted some tiny (slightly freaky) babies. As soon as I got them home and gave them to the girls, they fitted perfectly and the girls started to make them sleep, go to the toilet, watch TV etc.
There is still some way to go. But I feel I've done enough to take it off my kitchen table for now.
So now, I've had my fun, I have to hand it over to my girls and let them play.
Huge thank you to Vicki and Freya for your amazing generousity. X
