The Cotton Stem Dollhouse

TO PURCHASE THIS DOLLHOUSE OR ANY OTHERS I MAKE, CLICK HERE.

I am so excited to share my best work yet with you: The Cotton Stem Dollhouse. Erin (@cottonstem on IG, duh) is my absolute favorite IG account: her home is gorgeous, she keeps it real, and she shares the best ideas. You can find her website here. Erin inspires pretty much everything I do to my home so she got my very first set of shiplap chargers (you can buy them here). Erin's buddies (#CottonStemmies Unite!) are super loyal to her so every time she shares my chargers, I get a ton of business.

Because so much of my success is because of her, I decided to make a dollhouse for her 4 daughters (she calls them her little women, how cute is that?) When I first started working on dollhouses, I thought it would be so much fun to create a mini version of her home, and here she is. Since I couldn't replicate every single thing, I picked the most iconic features I associate with Erin.

With over 50 hours of work, this is definitely the most involved dollhouse I've done. I poured my heart and soul into creating these mini pieces, and I constantly prayed for Erin's little women as I worked. Ok. Enough of my babbling. I know what you're here for: you want pictures. Well, I have lots of them. I'll break this down room by room and share how I made some of the pieces (I always share progress of my dollhouses in my IG stories @sawdust.angel so stop by and check it out).

Let's start this party in the bedroom, my favorite room in the house because I think it most closely resembles the real deal. The whole house was painted with SW Sea Salt, the paint color used in most of Erin's house. The hardwood floors were made from popsicle sticks that I stained with watered down paint.

I created the shiplap headboard with popsicles sticks and cut the shape on my scroll saw (find instructions for a life-size shiplap headboard here). I got super lucky when I found these mini embroidery hoops (what on earth do people actually use these things for?) to create the hoop wreaths with small pieces of faux greenery I had on hand. You can find Erin's tutorial on how to make big versions of these hoop wreaths here.

This faux fireplace is probably my favorite feature in the whole house. I feel like I spent hours envisioning how I would make this piece. The wood slices are real wood slices from sticks I found in my yard. For the decor on the shelf, I used a couple books, jadeite candlesticks, and a vintage seltzer bottle I made from a glass bottle (coated with Mod Podge to give it a more authentic vintage look), cork, and brass tubing.

I know the scalloped edges on the nightstands (find the real deal here) don't match exactly, but I was able to find mini trim that looked pretty close, and it meant I didn't have to spend over an hour on my scroll saw cutting the trim. The lamp (find the real deal here) was created with a mini wood finial, brass tubing, a clear paint palette cup, and textured cardstock. The candle from Antique Candle Works (shop their candles here) is filled with actual wax that I melted and poured into the mini glass jar, and I added a mini label of their cotton scent (obviously). The books are such an easy way to add a personal touch in a dollhouse. The bottom book is Pride and Prejudice (one of Erin's favorites), and the top book is Little Women (for her 4 daughters).

This wood bead chandler (find the big version here) was one of the last things I did because I thought it would be so hard. Like most DIY projects, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, but it was tedious, which I don't mind. Let's all just ignore the fact that Erin removed this chandelier to replace it with a fan a couple days after I hung the mini chandelier. It's supposed to be a time capsule anyway so her daughters remember what their house once looked like.

I contact my friend Diane from Artizen Home who graciously created a mini chunky throw from yarn. Just like the real deal, it adds the perfect cozy touch to any space. Shop her gorgeous chunky throws here. The jute rug was cut from cross-stitch fabric.

I knew I had to make the bed tray from Gulley Farmhouse. I topped it off with a coffee cup and pastry for breakfast in bed.

I made the quilt from a placemat, and the pillow in the front was created from one of Lucy's favorite dresses that she had outgrown. Let's move this party to the living room.

I filled this space with some of the most iconic Cotton Stem features, like the book wall that started it all. The rug is the Maxwell Blue Vintage from Well Woven (find it here).

This is the wall that launched Erin's success because it showed her unique, out of the box thinking. I created the wall with the Navy Bean Lettering sign, mini pages cut from a dictionary, and miniature books. Click here for a tutorial on how to make your own book wall. The shiplap wall on the bottom floor was created with popsicle sticks painted SW Alabaster, which is what Erin used to paint the shiplap in her home.

The fireplace area took me 3 days of nap time. The foundation is foam board covered in individually cut cork bricks and popsicle stick shiplap. I added a wood mantle, a grate made from brass tubing with real firewood (aka sticks from my yard). The artwork is from Copper Corners (find the big version here), and the 3D effect was created with mini plates I found on eBay.

The coffee table was a super easy build (it's funny how I use the same process, whether I'm doing real woodworking or small). I topped it with distressed corbels because a Cotton Stem dollhouse had to have some corbels.

I love the subtle touch of color the lavender baskets add to the room. I used resin baskets I ordered online and stuffed in pieces of faux lavender I had on hand.

The couch from Painted Fox Home (buy the real deal here) was the very last thing I made because I was dreading it. I spent over a week thinking of ways to duplicate this couch. Of course, it ended up not being difficult, and I adore the end result. I created a wood frame with my scroll saw and painted it gray-blue. I used cross-stitch fabric for the deconstructed look. The cushions were created with foam board, batting, and drop cloth fabric. I used a blue Sharpie to draw the French stripe. Let's check out the dining room next.

I loved creating this vintage farmhouse table, and I was even able to add the corner bracket accent with vinyl cut on my Silhouette Cameo. The rug is the Ciato Blue Vintage from Well Woven (find it here).

The dough started a block of wood that I shaped with my Dremel. My initial thought was to fill it with mini lemons like Erin did for summer decor, but I thought the yellow would clash with the rest of the house so I filled it with lambs ear and cotton, a classic combo and perfect for this house.

Ahh, the ironstone cabinet. I cannot say enough how much I love how this turned out. I started with a mini wardrobe, cut the panels from the doors, and added Plexiglass so you could see inside. The "vintage" ironstone are pieces mostly ordered from eBay.

These cross back chairs (find big versions here) were definitely a labor of love. They were created with wood, metal "ribbon," and brass tubing.

Since Erin has my shiplap chargers, you know I had to include a mini version in the dollhouse made from a small wood circle that I cut into thirds on my mini table saw. Erin loves layers for place settings so I added a plate, a napkin cut from cross-stitch fabric, and a bowl. On to the kitchen.

I had to keep this space small so I could fit the other features I felt were important. I made sure to include a white farmhouse sink, an Arabesque tile backsplash, and black cup pulls.

I created open shelving to display some hanging Rae Dunn mugs (I used a fine-tip Sharpie to add the text), a jadeite cake stand, copper pots, KitchenAid stand mixer, and a couple Rae Dunn canisters. Our last stop is the bathroom.

Since Erin doesn't share her bathroom much, this is the only room in the dollhouse where I didn't have a specific design to follow so I opted to incorporate design elements that Erin uses throughout her home.

The vanity is actually supposed to be a foyer table, but I know how Erin loves to envision unique purposes for traditional pieces. The mirror has a craft paper backing and ties in well with the jute rug in the adjacent bedroom.

Her little women recently got a room refresh that includes a sweet scalloped-top table that the girls chose to paint pink so I love including it in here is a little side table. Notice how the reflection in the mirror shows our blooming pink crepe myrtle to match the pink table. How lucky did I get on that?

The rug is the Wonderly Grey rug Erin has in her breakfast nook (find it here), and I thought the hint of pink in the rug would be perfect in here. All the rugs in this dollhouse were made by printing an image of the rug onto velvet paper (find it here). I had no idea such a thing existed, but it's awesome and gives the rugs such a genuine texture.

I incorporated Erin's signature You Do You motto above the classic clawfoot tub. The wall has the same Arabesque tile found in the kitchen.

The bathroom storage was made from wooden crates that I think go well with Erin's style. The glass bottle is filled with real pink Himalayan bath salts, and I created the Philosophy face wash that Erin uses with painted wood dowels and a tiny label I printed.

Whew! If you made it this far, I commend your dedication. I hope you love this house as much as I do. Now, it's time for me to get everything painstakingly packaged so I can ship it to Erin. I cannot wait for her daughters to play with this!

UPDATE

I just had to add the photos Erin took of this dollhouse in her home with her sweet daughters. Their squeals of delight when they saw it for the first time melted my heart and made every second of work worth it. Click here to read Erin's blog post on the dollhouse.