Sewing Doll Room Makeover
The bedding was easy. I found a Laura Ashley Patchwork Quilt and Pillow Sham on Target for $80. Although, later, I found the same one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for less. Even then, it was twice as much as I have ever spent on any kind of bedding. But I wanted this room to be perfect. It is my cozy corner of the house that is all mine and where I will be spending all my time sewing. It's my happy place. I found the sheets at Ross for $17. The bedskirt was on walmart.com.
At first I wasn't even going to have the bed in it, but then I thought it would be nice to have a place to set my dolls and photograph them. It also makes a nice cutting table when I set a piece of hard card board and mat down on it. I already had the storage bench at the foot of the bed, and bed and headboard. They were from Walmart years ago.
Sitting on the bed are my childhood dolls. Well, the bald preemie, Jennifer, is a replacement for the one I lost. Somehow she didn't make it when I moved from California to Idaho years ago, so I found her replacement on eBay. For my 11th birthday, I picked out Jessica. I remember seeing a sales ad in the Bi-Mart flyer. I showed my mom and we went there first thing in the morning to make sure we got first pick. I was a bit disappointed, as these dolls were the new Posables by Hasbro. They weren't the ones I had wanted with the old-fashioned outfits and classic pony-tail hairstyles. So I picked the one that mostly resembled me--blonde hair and blue eyes.
I found the rug on Walmart for $42.99 and was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It's so soft, yet sturdy, yet not too bulky. It says it can be thrown in the wash machine to be cleaned. I ordered the 5x7 Aesthetic Pink. I also found the curtains at Walmart, and the cellular shades on amazon.
I was just going to keep my old desk, but decided to go with white. Plus I needed a bigger desk. So I found one on Amazon for $170.98 with a coupon.
The pictures above the desk were especially easy. I saw them at Hobby Lobby on sale for $17.99 each and thought they would be perfect! Originally I was going to put them over the bed, but they looked a little crowded.
I also switched out my old book cases with a new cube storage organizer for $96.44. Since all my fabric was able to fit in my closet, I didn't need as much cube storage.
The decor above the cube storage was by far the most challenging, partly because I didn't want to spend a fortune on everything. I used AI to give me ideas and to show me mockups of designs, using items I had found. I went to several different thrift stores, department and craft stores, antique stores, and home decor stores--several times over. I was exhausted. I found the large vase and tea cup at Ross; the small planters, large picture, goose statue and shelf at Hobby Lobby; the flowers and plant at Michaels; the doll at a thrift store; and the small oval frame at Marshall's. Altogether it cost about $150.
The small frame holds a picture of my late mother. It was taken in 1992, so it was very fitting for the room since my inspiration was the 90s.
The Corolle doll is from 1999. I found her at a thrift store and thought she'd be perfect for this room. Her outfit matches the whole pink and white theme. I originally was going to have American Girl doll Samantha with her books, but she just didn't seem right.
For the paint, I used Glidden Silver Feather (2 gallons) for the main wall and ceiling. For the trim, I used a quart of White semi gloss paint. Just after painting, my husband kept saying how much better it looked. The previous owner never repainted the house from what the previous owners painted. The entire house inside is painted blue, with lots of touchup places that are more of a yellow color. It looks horrible. It's barely noticeable in photos.
For the entire room, I spent over $700. Good thing I sold a bunch of my stuff!
I have a pinterest board with all my items.
Here's a video showing my tour:
