Upcycled bookshelf dollhouse with furniture reveal
This is a story about how two barbie dolls became lucky owners of their enchanting new dollhouse made out of a bookshelf, filled with easy-to-make upcycled furniture using scrap wood and objects found in a thrift store.
Have a child you’d like to do a project with? This may be just the ticket!
Catch up with the series:
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Upcycled bookshelf dollhouse with furniture reveal
For all, click HERE.
or visit:
Part 1 / intro, bookshelf used and thrift store finds
Part 4 / More dollhouse thrift store finds
Part 5 / Reveal (you are HERE)
Part 6 / How the furniture was made
Part 7 / Where the dollhouse ended up!
So let’s check out that reveal!
Upcycled bookshelf dollhouse with furniture reveal
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Dollhouse Living room
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click click click click click…
“WOW! Did you see this?!”
Fireplace
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Barbie doll reclaimed wood fireplace includes:
- a fabric banner
- flickering fireplace made from a battery operated candle votive
- area carpet out of a placemat decorated with a stencil
Sofa
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Barbie doll reclaimed wood sofa in a living room includes:
- sofa branch arms
- craft rosette throw pillow
- wood laptop
“Funky Junk Interiors is creating this super cool upcycled dollhouse out of all reclaimed finds! And it says here, it’s going to be donated to a place that works with kids!”
“Wow… can I see?”
(Coffee design – National Coffee stencil – Go design – BINGO stencil)
“Ok, that’s just cool! Check out the fireplace… love reclaimed wood and crates!
And it even has a flickering fireplace with a battery operated tea light!”
“How about that burlap pennant? Sweet! We should make one!”
And how about that coffee mat? It’s made out of a woven placemat, stencilled with parts of her “National Coffee” stencil kit… we could totally do that!”
“Coffee?! I love anything that says coffee all over it. Now I want one…”
“WAIT! I just had the BEST idea! Wanna go grab a coffee and go JUNKIN?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice! Lemme just go grab my boots and purse.”
Bedroom
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Barbie doll reclaimed wood bed in a bedroom includes:
- wood scraps and hinges for farmhouse headboard
- rosette brooch for throw pillow
- jewelry box for armoire
- branch for purse hook
- lamp from a votive holder
“Hmmm… this one? I need room to really pack it home…”
“I think I’m really gonna need a bigger purse…”
“I think we need to bring these cool Imax Essentials 3 Piece Storage Boxes from Wayfair instead where we keep our main storage under the house! They’ll hold enough junk!”
“Oh hey… I just remembered… we have more purses down there… let’s check it out!”
“Oh wow, I totally forgot I had all these purses… here’s my hot pink number!”
“I know! And here’s my cool distressed leather one! Perfection! Once a junker…”
“Yup, the pink one is it!
But… I’m having second thoughts…”
“I love the idea of going out. But… I think I just feel like staying in tonight after all. I’ve just been wanting to try a new recipe out that I found on a blog…
“Wait… don’t tell me… is it that pizza you were raving about?”
“Yes!”
“Thank goodness for BLOGS! Fine by me! Let’s do it!”
Kitchen
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Barbie doll reclaimed wood kitchen includes:
- mini crate and soap dish into a sink
- 3 stacked mini crates into dish shelving
- mini crate and scrap wood into a butcher block
(Roasters mat above and crate shelves below – National Coffee stencil)
“Ok… let’s see… yep! There it is! This is gonna be awesome!
“So did you notice that kitchen on Funky Junk? A soap dish for the stainless steel sink?”
“Missed that! I was busy drooling over those stacked crate shelves, stocked with plates made from some moulding pieces. And that little upside down box made into an island! That sure looked a lot like ours…”
“Pizza’s pipin’ hot on the butcher block island! Let’s dig in!”
“Ok, go have a seat and I’ll brew up that pot of coffee.”
Dining room
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Barbie doll reclaimed wood dining room includes:
- mini picture frames for wall art
- wood blocks for table
- branch cuts for chairs
- checkerboard for carpet
“Oh, this recipe nailed it. It’s amazing!”
“No kidding… thank goodness for BLOGS, right?!”
“WORD!”
The complete bookshelf dollhouse
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Barbie doll reclaimed wood doll house includes:
- all repurposed furniture made from wood scraps and revamped thrift store finds
- dollhouse is made out of a bookshelf
- storage baskets underneath are for additional furniture and accessories storage
“You know that dollhouse? I hope it goes to the perfect place that will play with those sweet dolls all day long. They sure were cute! Those clothes!”
“Ah! I know! And I just love the fact that the furniture was made out of a few thrift store finds and scrap wood.
I really hope that post inspires others to set their kids up with a project like that. I’d bet it’s one of those projects that would never have to end…”
Learn how to make this dollhouse from a bookshelf HERE
“So, do you wanna go out now?”
“Hmmm… not quite yet… I’m gonna go check out one more thing… I have a hunch…”
click click click click click
“AHA! That’s what I thought!
We’re MOVING! And we’re about to make a LOT of new little friends! Ohhhhh I can’t WAIT!”
Dollhouse details
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I hope you enjoyed this upcycled bookshelf dollhouse with furniture reveal story!
If you’re just tuning in, I donated my time making this dollhouse and furniture which will be donated to a place that works with children. (yet to be determined)
The dollhouse was created from a bookcase. There is currently no back on it, in hopes that it can be used as a double sided doll house for ample play. Walls via white painted wood planks, chalkboard or whiteboard may be added if that design works better once house is placed.
And aren’t those Barbies adorable?! I couldn’t stop with just one! 🙂
All the furniture was created from either reclaimed wood or upcycled thrift store finds. All stencilled images were from my own Old Sign Stencils collection.
I’m really going to miss my little friends and endless creating. And it’s true. This is a project that NEVER has to end for kids. The creativity is endless and I found it hard to stop!
If you’d like to see how the furniture was made, let me know in comments, and I’ll build a post showing how I put everything together.
Thanks Porch and Wayfair, this upcycled bookshelf dollhouse with furniture reveal was a BLAST!
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Visit more dollhouses!
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Visit more dollhouses made from bookshelves!
Visit this entire series
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Dollhouse Instalments
For all, click HERE.
or visit:
Part 1 / intro, bookshelf used and thrift store finds
Part 4 / More dollhouse thrift store finds
Part 5 / Reveal (you are HERE)
Part 6 / How the furniture was made
Part 7 / Where the dollhouse ended up!
Sponsored / source list
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Bookshelf / Rona in Chilliwack BC – approx $35
Stencil Designs / Funky Junk Old Sign Stencils
Dolls / Barbies are called “Barbie Style” – jean jacket / red vest (I paid $25@ at Superstore in Chilliwack, BC)
Wayfair storage boxes to come
Doll furniture / thrift store finds or wood scraps
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Disclosure: I partnered with the good folks at Porch and Wayfair to create a dollhouse out of a bookcase, to donate for a good cause. They provided a materials budget, then I donated my time for this project, because this one spoke to me. All my ideas are my own. The source list shares some affiliate links. The stencil store is my own.
Sheer genius! The details are just amazing, Donna!
Truly inspired work, Donna! Your best yet!!!
This is awesome!!! And just in time for me to re-do the doll house I had as a child with my own two girls!! Thanks for the inspiring ideas!! Love it all – especially that real little kids will be able to play with this amazing Barbie house!!
Oh, this is right up my alley. When I was young and played with Barbies (when they first came out, so I am OLD) I got into making all kinds of things for their house. In fact, I thought the houses that you could eventually buy were inferior, since no creativity or imagination was required. Even as a kid, I enjoyed making things to play with. Love the idea of using a bookcase, since we had to reassemble “rooms” when we played. Love this idea and I hope lots of girls take this on, not just adults.
From one old Susan to another, Hi!
I remember having the Barbie Dream house that folded up into a suitcase, sort of.
Did you have that?
I used to put it away behind my dresser that was angled in the corner of my room.
While away on family vacation, a pipe broke in back of my dresser destroying my Barbie Dream House., as it was made out of cardboard.
After the disaster, my grandfather helped me make a new Dream house that turned out to better than the original.
Since then, I have given my Barbies and house to my niece who will be 30 in September.
She has the original Barbie and offered it back to me, but I told her to pass it on to her daughter some day.
I absolutely loved looking at all the lovely things created on this page. Brought back so many memories.
Awww thank-you Susan! I had the most fun with this project! I didn’t have the Barbie house, but did have the country camper! 🙂
Hi Donna – This is beyond adorable. I loved Barbie when I was little and my twin sis and I didn’t have a house for her and we made our own. Seeing yours brings back many fond memories. What fun you must of had making all the mini versions of the furniture in your Funky Junk style.
I know there are going to be a lot of happy Barbie loving girls at the place your dollhouse creations end up.
Thanks Diane! It was REALLY HARD to stop! haha
You are so creative… LOVE IT…!! So cute..!!
Donna… I think I just relived my childhood! I could not stop going through this…this is just the most fabulous thing I think I have ever seen! I was totally into Barbie as a child, which was when the Barbie first came out…. Yeah getting old but omg my niece is totally into Barbie and wanted a dollhouse for Christmas. Unfortunately the mom and dad just couldn’t swing the expense. I have been planning on building her one, as I am a woodworker and I really know how much she wanted this. Of course she doesn’t have any furnishings for her dolls so this will be wonderful to surprise her with! I go thrifting all the time and probably already have some different things to work with.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THE INSPIRATION!! You did a fantastic job on this!! By the way I do love a lot of things you do as well! Thank you again!
Donna it’s wonderful! Every inch just wonderful. I would have been crazy for this -to do and to play with- as a child.
This is adorable! Barbie is such a lucky girl. Great work!
Ohmygosh, Donna – this is so fantastic, not to mention your creative writing for the post itself. You have opened a whole new area for yourself in upcycling! You make Barbie look so much more real to life.
I used to love playing with Barbies and making furniture out of jewelry boxes, using toothpaste caps as mugs, and so on. You really knocked this one out of the park. And wow, Barbie’s got a lot more flexibility in posing these days.
Thanks Rita!
I will admit, most Barbies today do NOT bend. Not the arms, not the legs. I was pretty surprised. I had Malibu Barbie back in the day (which were tanned and bendable LOL) and I knew these dolls needed to sit to make good use of the furniture, so when I found Barbie Style, I was sold! Very bendable, and then there’s those mix and match clothes… swooning!
This is so adorable! I love it & my mind is racing with ideas other things you could do with this….a barn/farmyard,…fire station, fairy house…so fun. You did a great job.
LOVE! Love every detail and that you made just about everything we see. I also love that the bookcase will be cool and functional when the Barbie days are long gone, just by removing the furniture and accessories! I know this was so much fun to put together! XO
Thanks Christy!
Yeah, I thought of that too. The house is pretty wide the way it’s set up, so if a place couldn’t incorporate the entire thing as a house, maybe they can use it to store books on one side!
Oh that’s aorable! What fun. I just love all the junkin’ stuff. Somewhere there are going to be happy children. 🙂
Now this is a dollhouse. I wished I had one like this when I was a kid….I love it. You have really thought of everything and your eye for detail is wonderful. There will be some happy little ladies playing in this house.
I know!!! While making it, I was thinking all I used was a cardboard box and cut up catalogue pictures of curtains, etc. This brought it to life.
BUT… I do remember being completely over the top amazed at my own houses back in the day. Maybe it’s better I didn’t know more at the time. LOL
I have been waiting anxiously for the Barbie House reveal. It turned out fantastic. Love the way you used reclaimed items. I am always on the lookout for creative barbie ANYTHING. Thanks for sharing. Is there a blog or somewhere I could
see more of the Barbie houses? I thought in your previous post you mentioned someone else doing it too. We love it!!!
~Crystal
http://krystlewv.blogspot.com
Crochet, A Day In The Life
Thanks Crystal! The other houses are linked at the bottom of my post!
WAY cooler than anything you could buy! Awesome job, Donna!! And, YES, I’d love to see a post on the furniture build.
Thanks Anne, and sure thing! I knew this post would be too long to incorporate the how to’s. Will work on that soon!
OMGosh, that is so adorable, I love all the rustic furniture! Any kid would have a blast with this…never having a doll house…well, this old gal would love to play…too!
Wow! You nailed it Donna! Very ingenious use of materials for a mini Funky Junk abode and entertaining, too. I love it!
Best.Dollhouse.Ever. EVER!!!!
Having a few doll houses myself…
I loved seeing this and all the neat ways your repurposed items were used!
so creative! Some little kids are going to be so fortunate to get to play with it. 😉
Donna, you have outdone yourself! It’s amazing. I remember as a kid making my own Barbie furniture out of matchboxes, cotton balls, and scraps of fabric. This is so cool, it’s like a little miniature Donna could move right in! I love the armoire, the floor lamp, all the little dishes and food. Really cute stuff.
Thanks Becky! I think my fav piece is the fireplace. The pennant addition was an afterthought, but now I want one in real life! 🙂
Donna, how much fun did you have with this Barbie project, you will have those lucky kids so happy playing, using their imaginations, transending them to a happy, happy place, what a wonderful projectl!!! You rock girl.
Word!Yes, the word would be awesome and just the style for a couple of junkin’ Barbies.
I’m part way thru my own dollhouse project (scored a well loved one at a garage sale) and am slowly furnishing it. I’ve needlepointed a chair, footstool and sofa. My sis has made some tiny rugs. I found some dolll house furniture at a flea market and have needle pointed a mattress and pillow for the bed. Love your soapdish sink so will check my local thrift stores for something similar. I’m planning on using matchboxes to make a dressing table and dresser, possibly kitchen drawers as well.
Fortunately I’ve got plenty of time as she’s only three and not ready for something like this for a couple years.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Your ideas sound adorable Patricia!
This house could have been a very long ongoing project. I had to force myself to call it a day! 🙂
I hope you share yours with the world when it’s complete. It sounds charming!
Oops I meant “needle felted” not needle pointed. Stabbing a fuzzy wad of fleece with a sharp needle is in my skill set; needlepointing most certainly is not.
The fun is putting it all together. Painting an itty bitty room (while someone twisty) goes so much faster than a full size room.
I played with Barbie’s until about last year so this is literally THE coolest thing I have EVER seen!!!! I can’t get over how amazing every detail is!
I’m speechless (very rare) over this fabulous creation! You’ve made Barbies so cool again. Now you need to start a new furniture line!
Bhahaha… the entire time I was making it, I was thinking how ‘they’ need an upcycled furniture line for dolls.
Gotta admit, when I found these Barbies, they really made the piece sing. The clothes are so cool!
Blown away by the attention to detail! Beautiful job!!!
Love love love your upcycled dollhouse Donna! I’ve been waiting for the reveal and you did not disappoint. I hope many little hands enjoy hours of playtime with this special gem. Such creative use of materials!
Oh, and yes, you have inspired me to turn an odd piece of furniture kicking around in the shop into a Barbie Condo – thank you 🙂
Awesome Marie! Totally do it! What a lovely gift it would even make for ?
You really knocked this one out of the park! I love that the style is still so essentially *you*. What better way to show kids the power of junking than by making cool stuff out of junk?
Thanks Brooke! The whole time I was making it, I had wished for a little girl along side me.
I showed my 15 year old SON, but he looked at me like I had 759+ heads! haha
WOW!! How cute…. absolutely adorable.
OMG…are you serious with this??? This just blew my mind! I have never wanted to be a Barbie soooooo much as I do at this moment…those lucky dolls! 🙂 This is just off-the-hook amazing, Donna…I knew it would be really special, but this surpasses even what I had imagined! BRAVA!!! The children who get to play with this are going to be in their blue heaven!
Wow, my girls would have been CRAZY for this. This is going to make some children very happy! Awesome designs, Donna!
This is over the top waaay too cute…loved the conversations!….The most creative dollhouse I have seen in a long time….This comes a long way from when my sisters and I made dollhouses as little girls using matchboxes and fabric…Love it!
I love you dollhouse. My cousin had one that her Dad built her when were kids, and I was always so jealous. Yours is even better. Some little girl is going to be over the moon. No little girls in my family, but seeing your dollhouse makes me want to build one. The only thing I would change would be to put brunette Barbie in a flannel shirt. (just kidding, its perfect)
Don’t think I didn’t think of that! You know me very well it appears… 😀 Thank-you Linda!
AMAZING, GREAT JOB! YOU ROCKED IT AND IT’D BE HARD FOR ME TO LET GO OF SOMETHING SO AWESOME, BUT THE CAUSE IS GREAT, AND IT COULDN’T BE FOR A BETTER PURPOSE. EVERYTHING IS SUPER!
I love this! SO creative & FUN!
OMG!!! You are so clever! Love love love it!
Adorable !!!!!
This had to be entirely too fun to work on! How inspiring for young girls to learn that they can build their own doll house with junk!!
This is so stinkin’ cute! I want to build one for my peanut now. The kids are going to love it wherever it lands.
This is awesome… But I think Barbie needs a little Mack jacket! Do you still wear yours? Hope you are well! (Catherine – AKA Peace Love Sweater)
Wow! Brings back tons of memories playing Barbies at the ole Farmhouse. This is beyond brilliant! Once again, you’ve outdone yourself! ox
You got that right! Nothing like playing barbies on a big ‘ol blanket on the lawn covered in dandelions under the big cherry tree! Hey… the yard light just went on.. guess that means it’s time to go home! 😀
How’d I do?
You’ve hit it right on the head! lol Then we’d pack it all up and you’d walk me 1/2 way home in the dark. I was terrified to walk the rest of the way by myself, but it was all worth it!
I’d love to see a post on how to make furniture for dolls house. So nice to see an alternative to the usual pink.
OMG Donna! That dollhouse is absolute genius! That’s going to be one lucky charity that receives the dollhouse. You should have a hands-on workshop to build these, or at least sell them. You remind me of a favorite Erma Bombeck quote that I love: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.”
You certainly have been blessed with creativity – I love reading your blog.
Simply Fabulous Donna! I wanna be a kid again 🙂
Just amazing!!! My dad built my Barbie house out of scrap wood he had in his workshop when I was a little girl. It was so big, I stood on a chair to reach the top floor. They still have it in storage. Going to get rid of all of that plastic 80’s furniture and start working on this for my daughter. Great inspiration!!!!!
Awww sooo glad this has inspired you to work on yours! How fun!
I love it! You are so talented!
BEST idea EVER!!! You are amazing 🙂
My favorite is the Barbie laptop. Cute.
This is absolutely amazing! So creative with the use of so many different items! Barbie has never had it this good! Wow! I am so impressed! I’m going to show it to my daughter and grand daughter – they will flip! Such a worth cause too. Anything that makes children smile is so worthwhile and this will excite them to pieces! Hugs, Leena
Aghhh! OMG this is fabulous beyond words Donna! I know the little girls in my class would be in heaven! This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! 🙂
Susan
love it ,how fun!
This turned out too darn cute, Donna! I wanna play!
I am amazed and in awes. I used to makes hints for my Barbies and their house. Love this and want to play with it so bad!
Yours is the absolute best! I love how you took the discards into a new dimension with paint and stencils. You did a wonderful job! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Wow, Donna, it’s soooooo amazing and gorgeous!!!!!! I love it all!!!!!!!!! It’s really inspiring, and of course I would love you to let us know how you built the furniture, it’s so cute!!!!! That kids home is going to be sooooo lucky!!!!!!!
Oh my goodness! My hubby and I are loving what you did. I told him where was this dollhouse when I was little. Plus our daughter is now 17….dang, because she would be getting this for Christmas.
Oh my gosh Donna – I can’t take how adorable this is – the attention to detail is incredible !!!
xoxo
Just fabulous!! Love everything about it!
That is so adorable! I will have to show my girls- they will love it!
This turned out awesome, Donna! I love all the details you added.
What an adorable doll house! I’d <> to make something like this for my granddaughers! I was wondering about the butcher block in the kitchen. Did the box come in that stain already? I love the color of the block stain and it’s legs. If you know the stain colors, could you post them? I’d love to do something like that with my kitchen table! <3
Thanks Sheila! Yes, I did find the box just as shown. But I’d think just a darker stain with a redish hue would turn out awesome! I’ll do a post next week on how I built everything. 🙂
love this! Hope you don’t mind that I wrote a post about it and linked up to your site. Happy Monday
Oh my… thank-you Mary Beth! I’m honoured!
Donna this was not only amazing work but HILARIOUS to read!! Thanks for the entertainment and the incredible project! I love the idea of Funky Junk Barbie decorators 🙂
Wow this is amazing i want one and im almost 50 lol!
Don’t feel bad Julie.. I’m over 50 and I’m having a hard time letting this one go! HAHA
Wow! That’s all I can say. This is totally thinking “outside the bookcase”..lol. I love the not so polished look you created, making it easy for kids to feel relaxed and less fearful of breaking anything. I am sure they will love it. Thanks for sharing.
Psssst….I got my hubby trained to look for 1:6 scale things at stores like Lowe’s or Wal-mart lol….he’ll text me a pic and say you think this would work for Barbie? lol. We are working on building Little House on the Prairie home. I like the late 1800’s, I think I was reincarnated from that time. I’ve found Johnny West Marx horses the perfect scale for Barbie. Her horses her legs are almost dragging the ground but not with Marx horses. Love your site, it makes peeps think outside the box. I craft most of our Barbie stuff cause I want my grandkids to know you don’t have to buy everything, that you can make them yourselves and make them better too. N me so not like Barbie Pink! Grrr. lol. toodles Debs from Texas
My granddaughter is into renovating old doll houses oand using dressers. She would love these ideas. I would appreciate knowing how you made these items.
This is genius and you are so generous to do this for a wonderful cause.
Diane
Hi Diane! Thank-you!
At the bottom of the blog post, there is a list of all the posts attributed to this project.
Here is one of them on how the furniture was made:
https://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/2015/04/furniture-how-tos-for-the-upcycled-dollhouse.html