The Finley Dollhouse

TO PURCHASE ONE OF MY DOLLHOUSES, CLICK HERE.

This is officially my favorite dollhouse I've made. Okay, so I've only done 4 dollhouses now, but it's going to be pretty hard to beat this gorgeous pink and copper modern dollhouse. This dollhouse is for my friend Catherine's daughter Finley, who is a few weeks older than Lucy. Catherine's husband and my husband have known each other since they were babies so this dollhouse is extra special to me.

Catherine is The Most Talented Woman on the Planet. This is not an exaggeration. She's a musician, artist, photographer, designer, woodworker, and fashionista. She literally does it all. Her style tends to lean modern so I knew I wanted that look for the dollhouse. Her sweet daughter Finley loves pink (big surprise for an almost 4yo girl) so I knew I needed to add girly touches of pink. With all of that in mind, I decided on a copper, pink, and gray color scheme. The dollhouse itself is the Flisat doll house/wall shelf from IKEA. Without further ado, let's begin the tour. We'll start in the kitchen.

I made white "cabinets" from poplar boards and created marble countertops with a poplar board and marble contact paper. I wish it was that easy to have marble countertops in real life.

Catherine has a hammered copper sink just like this one that I just knew I had to include. I want to steal this sink and this is as close as I'll get to it. This sink is just made from wood with spackling to fill in the seams and round it out a bit. I added extra spackling to the front and pressed it to a pillow to give it a textured, hammered look. The faucet is just copper tubing that you can find in the model car section of Hobby Lobby. How cute is that pink stand mixer I got from La Belle Cuisine.

I'm rather in love with the industrial copper pipe open shelving. The brackets were created with copper tubing and copper eyelets (front he sewing section of Hobby Lobby). I attached the brackets to the dollhouse with hot glue. One of the easiest things about a dollhouse versus real construction is that I don't have to worry too much about how much weight something can support. I stained the basswood shelves gray to go with other wood accents in the house. I added pink bowls and a plant to tie in with the rest of the pink, some canisters and plates, and this cutie pie cutting board made from square dowels.

I love the copper hexagon backsplash that I also used in the bathroom. It's the perfect modern wallpaper/backsplash. That's just scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby.

On this side, I added some copper pots above the oven, and the glass vials are filled with real salt and pepper because it's all about the details in a dollhouse.

The geometric black and white rug is just a piece of felt cut to size. I made the trestle table with a poplar board for the tops and basswood for the base. Thank goodness for my new mini table saw. It makes it a million times easier to make miniature stuff.

I love the clean modern lines of the trestle table. Now let's head over to the living room.

The bear rug is made from a faux fur sheet. I just traced the bear shape on to the sheet and cut it out.

The coffee table is made from a metal sheet at Hobby Lobby that I cut and spray painted with copper. The top is a piece of foam board covered in marble contact paper. Since my friend Catherine loves design, I included a design coffee table book and this cute succulent in a pink bowl.

The modern chairs are made from a plastic Christmas ornament and bases from plastic champagne flutes you can get at Party City. I had plain white pillows that I painted pink and copper using a fabric medium so they don't get stiff. The feather artwork is made from popsicle sticks, and I traced the feather and then wood burned it.

I was a little nervous to do the stone fireplace because I've never worked with clay before. To make it, I started with a foam board frame that I covered in a thin layer of air-dry clay. I used an exacto knife to draw the lines to make it look like stone. After letting it dry overnight, I dry brushed it with a light gray paint and glued on the gray woof mantle. I painted the inside black and added black paper to the back and base.

I made a grate from copper tubing and added firewood that I made from a stick I foraged in the yard.

I added some candlesticks I bought from miniatures.com and a framed piece of pink and copper abstract artwork that I totally stole from Google images. Let's take this party upstairs.

When working on dollhouses, you have to keep in mind that you can see the whole house at one time so you have to incorporate the same finishes throughout. You can find copper, marble, gray, and natural wood in all the rooms. That's what gives it a cohesive feel.

In this aerial shot of the bedroom, you can see my KitchenAid stand mixer that I spray painted copper a few months ago (It's holding up so well, and you can find the tutorial here). I love how this dollhouse works so well in my kitchen. Would it be weird to make another one to keep on display in the kitchen because I sort of want to?

It's hard to choose, but the bedroom is my favorite room in the house. The platform bed frame was made from scrap pieces of a 1x4 pine board I had lying around with a couple pieces of a poplar board as the nightstand.

The light fixture is just a plastic cup from the party favor section at Hobby Lobby that I spray painted copper and attached with white yarn and a craft wood circle painted white.

The pink bedding is just a placemat from Home Goods that I cut to size and used fabric glue to seal the seams (I can't sew to save my life). The white pillows were made by Christina at Prim and Poppies Minis. The fur throw is cut from the same sheet I used for the bear skin rug. The white and gray rug is just another placemat from Home Goods that I cut to size.

I adore this artwork, and it's perfect for this house: pink and girly but with a strong message: She believed she could so she did. Definite subliminal message for Finley.

I made a lamp from copper tubing and craft wood pieces and attached it all with hot glue (you can see the giant dollop on the joint). I have lots of plants throughout the house because Catherine has quite the green thumb. I always make my greenery from leftovers I have from projects in my real house.

I always like to include books with meaning in my dollhouses. On this nightstand, I've included a couple children's books with strong female characters: Alice in Wonderland and Little Women. And, now it's on to the bathroom for our final stop.

I changed this one up from previous dollhouses where I've always included a bathtub. This dollhouse got a cool modern shower. The glass partition is made from plexiglass that I cut to size and added a frame with square wood dowels painted black. The tile is the same copper hexagon scrapbook paper I used in the kitchen. The tile floor is a piece of foam board covered in marble contact paper.

The shower hardware is made from a metal cuff bracelet I found in the jewelry section of Hobby Lobby. I added a few pieces of craft wood as the control and head and then spray painted the whole thing copper. The hexagon shelves were made from a poplar board and popsicle sticks. The glass vials are filled with real pink Himalayan bath salts.

I try to incorporate greenery in every room of the house to help tie things together, and this pot has the added bonus of going with the color scheme of the house.

The floating vanity was made from a poplar board that I stained gray. The white towels are just baby wash cloths that I cut into strips. The sink is a suction cup, and the faucet is another bracelet cuff (the thinner one this time) that I spray painted copper. I added the copper hexagon scrapbook paper here, too. The mirror can be found at the craft section of Hobby Lobby.

I added a giant F as art in here since the dollhouse is for Finley. I love the personal touches like that. The stool is made from a wood circle that I covered in faux fur and attached copper tubing hairpin legs. I made the wooden bath mat from popsicle sticks painted pink.

Here's a shot from the bedroom where you can see the marble shower floor. Now for some fun outtakes.

Rick decided to jump into one of the photos while I was staging everything. He said he could be the nice giant that rules over the dolls.

And, here's Ricky grabbing one of the donuts. He loves to pull those out and pretend to eat them. I don't blame him; he has a definite genetic weakness toward donuts that he inherited from his mama.