Before & After: Discarded Dollhouse to Stylish Storage

published May 28, 2015
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(Image credit: Sam)

Sam spotted this dollhouse on the street, and even though she had no homeless dolls, she decided to rescue the shelter and turn it into storage.

(Image credit: Sam)

From Sam:

A couple weeks ago I was walking back to my apartment, when I stumbled across this wooden dollhouse on the sidewalk. I currently attend university and live in an area where there are a lot of student apartments. Since it was moving day, people were leaving a lot of old stuff on the sidewalk.


I didn’t really want a house-shaped storage cabinet, so after a lot of hammering from my (lack of) arm muscles, my project was starting to take shape. Next step was to give this baby a good coating of white paint. It’s crazy how big of a difference a bit of paint can make!


Next step: pizzazz. I took some chevron patterned paper and glued it on the inside walls of selected squares. Subtle, but worth it. The final step was to put some knick knacks in the squares! I went to the dollar store and got some wooden sticks, which I cut with a knife (no joke) to make sure they were the right size. Then, I hot glued them to hold my rings, sunglasses, and watch.


Finally, I created a spot for my nail polishes, as well as a place for some mini cactuses! I also put a little terrarium on top. I absolutely love how I was able to turn something that someone didn’t want, into an awesome piece!!

More photos over on Not Your Basic.

Thank you Sam!