Project (kind of) - Dollhouse

I had grand plans of making a dollhouse for Puddleduck over the holidays. My plan was something relatively minimalist - some Ikea Expedit bookcases forming the frame and internal walls. We even went so far as to get one of the units (Puddleduck chose the black-brown wood) and start sketching out layouts (do dolls need bathrooms?).

However, I then stumbled across this dollhouse reduced to just over $100 at Anthropologie. It was too good a bargain to pass up - especially when I realised not only would they ship it to Australia, it would only cost $25 to ship it!

So we waited patiently for it to arrive. I think I gave myself some sort of repetitive stress injury as I obsessively refreshed the tracking information. FINALLY it arrived.

The construction nearly did my head in - at least six hours all up. I came to the conclusion that while the Brinca Dada flatpack workmanship was far superior to any IKEA flatpack I have come across, they really could take a leaf out of IKEA's book when it comes to labelling and describing pieces.

Anyway. Here is the end result. It's a huge hit!

Before and after - kitchen

We finally, finally found our stash of before shots - taken before any demolition or removal of old desks and shelves happened. They have eluded us for ages - filed away safely - so I'm a bit excited to finally have them back. Expect the before and after posts to come thick and fast now. Consider yourselves warned.

This is a picture of the bedroom that became the kitchen. There was no internal access to the room - only this door that was accessed via and grated gangplank over the internal courtyard.

The view out from the bedroom to the courtyard.

On top of this contraption custom built set of drawers was the previous owners mattress. Behind that back wall was the only bathroom in the house (now our upstairs powder room). 

There was one long, thin rectangular window letting light into the room. I think it is fair to say he would never have had a problem being woken up by the early morning sun.

This is the view back out to the courtyard now. The wall where the bench and louvers are is the wall he had his bed against.

(You know how I've said I am always rearranging? Well, I've since turned the outdoor table so it runs the other way. I think it gives us a little bit more space outside.)

The louvers let an enormous amount of light - as well as breeze - into the kitchen. Even without the glass doors to the courtyard the kitchen would be full of natural light all during the day. It's beautiful to be in.

I used to keep my cookbooks on the benchtops, but because we don't have huge amounts of bench space I decided they would be better off out of the way on a shelf. Until we put in our permanent kitchen, this wall was just wasted space so it was the perfect spot.

This shot gives an idea of the 'temporariness' of the kitchen. Nothing is built in and the oven and dishwasher just sit side by side. The wooden board on top of the dishwasher is a handy bit of extra bench space for when I'm cooking. It's surprisingly functional for all its temporariness, so we're no longer in a rush to get something built in.

The wall above the oven has seen several incarnations and this is the current one. Puddleduck quite likes to get the blackboards down when I am cooking and doing some drawing. Which suits us both. Actually, I suspect part of the reason I quite enjoy our kitchen not being 'final' is that I get to change this wall whenever the mood takes me.