Barbie's New Digs

I just began a new project for my daughter and her Barbie Family. I am turning two bookshelf things we got for FREE into a cool, funky and totally fun Barbie Dream House! First, let me tell you about the shelves. I got this set of cabinet/dresser things off of Freecycle about 2 years ago. They had a hutch shelf thing on top, not screwed in just there, and they weren't quite deep enough for my storage bins. Plus they were UGLY!

One of the shelves, after I added a base.

So I decided they would make an awesome Barbie house. My husband looked at me like I was crazy, which is not abnormal or untrue. The first thing I did was add a base, as these did not have one and I did not want them to fall over and crush my daughter, plus barbie furniture would just work better on a nice smooth surface. I checked out the cull lumber at my local Home Depot, and I got two of these shelving pieces for 50 cents a piece. They have a nice curved front edge, are slightly larger than the shelf providing stability, and a little longer too. Now Barbie gets a little patio for BBQ's, and maybe a hot tub. All I did was secure it with 4 L brackets. 

Now, not to deceive you, but I have had it in that exact state for about, well, 6 months. I had a lot going on, and my little one still played with it and Barbie just had a very plain white house. I just pretended that she was still in talks with her interior decorator, deciding on colors. 

Then today, I decided it was time to get started. I am moving slowly, but I got a few things painted. First, the dining room accent wall. 

Check out the Zebra rug!

Yes, that is black. And I am using scrapbook paper as a wallpaper. I am going to Mod Podge it on tomorrow.  I know I got paint on the other wall, but it will scrape right off and I was not in the mood to tape it off tonight. And yes, that is a zebra print rug. It is a piece of scrapbook card stock that I covered on both sides with contact paper, so she can move it around.

I also painted a pink and a red room. I know most Barbie furniture you purchase is pink, but my daughter even said Ken doesn't like pink. After the first coat of red, it looked like a little Barbie CSI scene. The second coat looks better but I think it will need at least three, and I am going to clear coat it all. 

The other bookshelf. See what I mean about the red?

 

I will keep posting as I get more completed. I would love to hear ideas for decor and flooring. I am hoping to do this very cheap, using stuff I have been hoarding for the past few years in the craft room. What do I have planned? Check back to find out, but it does include scrapbook embellishments, vinyl and much more.