Oh, this is darling!

It's cute but I was expecting to see a "dollhouse", not a bookcase with a pitched roof. I guess I would be a little more impressed if the end product had wallpaper, a spiral staircase, furniture and some dolls.

Totally impressed! I have been wanting to do this and like the materials you used for the roof. I am soooo pinning this. Thanks for sharing!

KHinNJ - TOUGH crowd! take it easy. let's see your attempt at a doll house with a spiral staircase.

I think this project is absolutely charming. beautifully done! :)

You know, with some carefully cut holes and strategically placed plastic tubes, this couold make a really good hamster habitat. With a plexiglass front, of course.

I'd like to see your version of a "real dollhouse". Most children would enjoy a simple dollhouse like this, and imo it's pretty cute.

I agree with KHinNJ - It is very cute, but I was expecting a dollhouse. With furniture and dolls - not necessarily a spiral staircase, but something more. This is still a bookcase, just with a roof. But it is inspirational as a basic template. If I had kids, I would be all over this idea.

I was looking forward to a dollhouse too. Sad Face.

I like the simplicity, more scope for the kids to use their imagination. Depending on their ages they can make their own bits and pieces for the dollhouse out of paper or old containers or whatever. A lot of the very beautiful fully furnished dollhouses end up not being played with so much as displayed. Some of the dollar stores also have unfinished wooden dollhouse furniture that can be painted by the kids.

This is a dollhouse?

Beautiful job! I would have loved that as a little girl!

That's a bookcase, not a dollhouse.

Very cute, I just don't get why it's filled with books instead of furniture and, um, dolls.

Good work and it will work perfectly.

My grandfather made me one almost exactly like this, which I am still toting around. Things that made it more dollhouse and less bookcase included a small mirror that he framed and fixed to a wall to make a window, and linoleum and carpet on the floors to delineate space, just like we are taught to do in open spaces today!

It's nice & qualifies as 'simple' as that. Not exactly a DOLLhouse as I also expected, but kids with a good imagination certainly could make it so. Those that certainly want more of a dollhouse now have a starting point.

It's nice & qualifies as 'simple' as that. Not exactly a DOLLhouse as I also expected, but kids with a good imagination certainly could make it so. Those that certainly want more of a dollhouse now have a starting point.

Rebecca did a fantastic job turning a basic bookshelf into a dollhouse! Check out more fun DIY projects from bloggers here! http://pinterest.com/wayfair/diy-blogger-challenge/

Awesome but I was picturing a real "dollhouse" with dolls and furniture. Like this idea a lot - both the bookcase in the shape and idea of a dollhouse and making a real dollhouse out of a bookshelf. Great idea!

Cool, very creative!

Er ... that's a painted set of shelves, not a dollshouse. It could be used as a dollshouse, but it would actually require dolls and furniture, not random display objects. Children's dollshouse furniture doesn't have to be expensive.

Lighten up, people! If you click through to the blog post, she calls the project a "DIY Dollhouse Bookshelf." She writes, "I've photographed it as a bookshelf, but as mentioned, we're going to be giving it to our girls for Christmas along with some darling little furniture so they can use it as a dollhouse."

I think it's adorable, and would've loved to play with this as a child. I'm sure her kids will love that their parents made this for them.
Well done!

I too was looking for a doll house but If you click the link that actually takes you to Rebecca from Simple, she has titled it in her blog as a DOLLHOUSE BOOKSHELF. The heading here is the fault of the AT WRITER and not Rebecca.
So now that is clear, it's very cute and love the colors.

I think this is a wonderful idea. Let the kids use their imaginations as a dollhouse and when they outgrow it, use it as a bookcase. Win, win.

Great idea. I can see how it can easily be transformed into a dollhouse but would have loved to have seen it photographed as one instead of as a bookshelf! Still a nice project though.

well, whatever you want to call this, I think it's adorable! I know my girls would LOVE it.

Sometimes I think AT is yanking our chains by leaving out info. If they'd included a quote from the creator's blog: "We'll be adding dollhouse furniture to it and they'll use it as a dollhouse," there would be little or none of this predictable (and understandable) backlash.

Nice shelves. Nice dollhouse-to-be.

Heh...when I was a kid I had just a bookshelf. My parents didn't try and pretty it up or anything like this, it was just a dark wood bookshelf that I put my Barbie furniture in. I did fine with that. I never complained. I rigged up a little shoebox and yarn elevator when I got a little older.

Exactly. I was thinking it would be a cool way to make an actual doll house!

Don't listen to the naysayers, Rebecca. This is just the thing to inspire a child's imagination and creativity! When I was a kid, my mom let me have one of the bottom cupboards in our livng room wall unit for playing dollhouse. I decorated it with things I made myself and strange little things I found all over town - tiny lanterns from Chinatown, those novelty perfume decanters (empty!) that Avon used to make, and so on. I like to think I grew up to be a pretty creative person. :)

Okay, this is a dollhouse shaped bookcase. Very cute. But I too wanted a dollhouse out of the bookshelf.

Forget about the spiral staircase. I want an elevator. Just a nice box attached to the outside of the bookshelf with a pulley. Kids don't need to be literal enough as to have doorways and staircases. In my 6 year old mind this is a brownstone mansion with elevator and maid quarters in the attic. (I was obsessed with having maids when I was a kid. Watched too much The Little Princess.)

AT - Do I see a dollhouse post in the future?

PS- My grandma made a dollhouse ceiling fan out of a liquid dishsoap squeeze bottle cap with 4 emery boards coming out of it. And wall sconces out of the hatted heads of snowmen that stick out of cupcakes. (Face turned to the back against the wall.) She rocks.

wow! so many bitter and angry comments. d*mn! there are a lot of lonely and unhappy people out there. to take the time and energy to bash a clever idea is tragic. my 4 year old daughter would enjoy hours playing with this doll house as-is and would most likely store books and puzzles in it as well. this is an example of a positive and sweet project that inspires creativity. thank you AT! I'm sorry you attract such hostility and criticism.

Precious! What a lucky little girl you have :)

You can see by the comments that a lot of people have lost their imagination as they got older. In a 6 year old's eyes, this IS a dollhouse. Her girls will decorate the way they want, i'm sure. My dollhouse I had never had stairs, and I was obssessed with it. I spent hours making furniture and rugs out of food boxes and scraps of fabric. Fun memories.

Wow, what a bunch of comments THAT was!

1. The thing is MULTI-PURPOSE, as she said. It CAN be a bookcase as well.

2. The thing is going to be a GIFT. Why would she bother to fully stage it before having to dismantle and wrap it just to fulfill the expectations of AT readers??? The kids will want to set it up for themselves, that's what toys are for!

Sheesh!

One nice thing about his kind of multipurpose dollhouse is that it's more rugged than "real" 1/12 scale dollhouses, and can suit more kind of dolls. (This is especially nice for little kids who aren't into the scale model stuff -- which they could grow into later, by the way.) Also, it's accessible at different heights. ALSO it fits against a wall, on the floor. (My "real" 1/12 scale dollhouse, back when I still had it, was a big pain in the bottom to display in a small apartment.) ALSO it has to be a lot cheaper!

Altogether I think this is a brilliant and creative gift and the girls willprobably adore it, especially if they get to do their own interior decorating!

I totally agree with gbh.b!! This has the word IMAGINATION written all over it. When my sister and I were growing up this was exactly what we had as far as a doll house. We played on that thing all night and all day. All of our girl friends had the pretty plastic ones, and they would always say how much cooler ours was than theirs.

The good thing about a design like this is, when they get older and are not into dolls as much as they were, it can be a book shelf. :) How can people NOT love it?!

Hmmm, doll house that does double duty later on as storage. Sounds like most peoples real houses! As George Carlin once said, "A house is a place for your stuff!"

I do in fact build dollhouses,and I clearly can see it as one though its staged like a bookcase.Its a charming and whimsical piece,they did a very nice job.Im betting their girls will be thrilled.

wow, so cute

Great DIY.

Hey everyone, Rebecca from Simple as That here. I appreciate all your sweet comments on our little dollhouse/bookshelf. Since we're giving it to our girls for Christmas this year we don't have the furniture for it yet but can't wait to share how we furnish it in the new year, so stay tuned. We'll be keeping it really simple though so that as the girls get older they can use it as a bookshelf. :)

Thank you for the wonderful feed back @SherryBinNH! :)

Beautiful job Rebecca! I would have died as a little girl to have something like this in my room! And I just can't believe somehow, some way a few AT readers managed to draw something negative from such a cute, fun post! Quite hilarious really. :) Good work!

i heart this dollhouse. it is sturdy, super cute and well built and i'm sure there will be plenty of making it their own (isn't that all little kids need)! i'm surprised by all those who can't look at the project and the many uses it will have as a plus. amazing, rebecca..can't wait to see it after christmas!:)

Oh, I can't believe you PAINTED IT! Just kidding! I think it is absolutely adorable, and a really creative idea. I'd have never thought of it and I love how you had the vision to replace the back with use the scalloped trim on the "roof."

Very nicely done!

Thank you for your sweet comment @DodieGoldney. :)

thank you @nycgreenmomma

I like this so much more than a traditional dollhouse. Those always seem a little fragile and overly complicated to me. This one seems durable, and the simplicity leaves it wide open for a child's imagination to fill up. That fact that it can be used a shelf again later makes it that much more awesome.

I'm not sure I'd necessarily call that a doll house. ...A cute book shelf for a little girls room, maybe.

I see a potential garage, a basement, an open concept living area, two bedrooms (or maybe a master bedroom with a grand master bath) and an attic with a fancy peaked roof. It looks like a lovely dollhouse to me! :)

@whatfreshhelltwenty...I would have to agree. I was a little disappointed when I saw it but still the concept is good. I really like the hamster house idea! I made my nieces a barbie house out of a big box and lots of imagination. We hot glued bits of fabric and my nieces came up with all sorts of creative ideas for furniture, "wall art", etc. It is so cool to see them use their imagination.

I just can not believe you turned that sad little bookcase into this wonderful creation! One of the best before/afters ever! You have a wonderful imagination and a fantastic sense of style. Great job!!!!

@nycgreenmama, I think you're reading more hostility into these comments than actually exists.

i LOVE this..so versatile. I totally want to fill it with modern mini replica furniture and host tea parties and doll dress ups.

my sister has a bookshelf that was already in the shape of a house, disney type bookcase all pink and purple. My dad got her pieces of flooring for real houses and cut them for her based on the room. I had her pick out wall colors and painted them for her per room and then did the outside the colors she picked. It was perfect for her barbie dolls and I had so much fun looking at her set up.

I think it is very sweet. It's a dollhouse-shaped bookcase. Once all the dolls and doll furniture are in, it will be a dollhouse.