Turn a bookcase into a Dollhouse

I’ve decided not to dive into any more HUGE projects until after the holidays.  I’ve got some gifts I want to make so I can’t spend all my time on the house… I’ll still be DIYing, just not taking out any more walls for a few months!  

I was asked to participate in the Wayfair blogger challenge to take something from their site and transform it…in any way I wanted.  I was given an MDF 3 tier bookcase.

I decided to use it in my gift making quest and turn it into a cute little dollhouse that any little girl would love.

To do that, I marked the center of the bookshelf sides and then used a speed square to mark my angles.  The speed square has a ledge that keeps it flush with the wood so you get a perfect 45* angle.

After cutting on my lines (I used my miter saw but you could use a circular saw or jig saw.  Just clamp on a straight edge to get a perfectly straight cut), I assembled the bottom and middle shelf according to the original directions.

The top shelf was adjustable so I put some SPAX screws (love them because you don’t have to pre drill) into it to secure it. 

I cut the top piece to size so it would fit and screwed it in place for the back part of the roof.  I secured the little “faceplate” that came with the original bookcase to the other side  to create the idea of the front roof though I wanted it open so that area could be used as part of the playhouse.

And there is the shell of the dollhouse. 

Then it needed some paint and decoration.  I spray painted a blue border then taped over that and painted the rest of the doolhouse white.

I got a nice clean line because I removed the tape when the paint was still wet. 

 I used some vinyl adhesive shelf liner and decorative tape to fake some windows and wallpaper.

 I used some scrapbooking paper and stickers for wall art and a scrap of fabric for a rug.

I love how it turned out and it was SUPER easy to transform.  – Gift one…check!

Just 3 cuts,  some paint and imagination can turn a bookshelf into an adorable dollhouse!

Wouldn’t this be a great Christmas gift for a little girl?