I bought the kid kitchen and doll furniture from the same seller on Facebook Marketplace. The seller told me all the furniture was made by her grandfather, who was a furniture maker in Grand Rapids, MI. Based on an inspection sticker I found on the kitchen, I guessed the maker worked for the Phoenix Furniture Company; more on the history in my Upcycled Kitchen Post.
An Easy Job?
After I finished and sold the kid’s kitchen, it was time to work on the doll furniture: a dresser, vanity, and bunk beds (ugh which I don’t have a before picture of!) At first glance, the furniture seemed to be in better shape than the kitchen – besides reattaching the vanity mirror, I didn’t see any major issues. Now I know…the smaller the furniture, the harder the project! But in the end, it was ALL worth it.
The Process
Similar to upcycling the kid kitchen, I documented the process through Instagram stories and don’t have interim pictures! I just wasn’t thinking about a blog at that time, so I didn’t take pictures throughout the process.
I knew I wanted these to be more feminine than the kitchen, it was doll furniture afterall, but I wanted a modern look. Originally in my head I saw gray and pink with gold pulls. But, when I painted the dresser in gray, I can’t remember which exactly, it didn’t look right. Gray body with pink Jolie Rose Quartz drawers looked too dark. In my gut I knew I was going to go white, but I dreaded doing more white! Gah, so much work! But, I had leftover Jolie Dove Grey and when I made one pass with a coat, I knew I was going white.
Once I had the colors picked out, and the liner from Thistle and Fox, the dresser actually WAS simple to finish.
The hardest part of this project was repairing the vanity mirror and reattaching to the bottom vanity. My handy husband was very involved with this process helping me nail a new backing to the mirror, gluing to the vanity, and nailing new “L” brackets on the back to secure. Again, sorry for no static pictures! The wood was splintered where the mirror broke from the vanity base, so there was no clean way to reattach. A lot of plastic wood filling and sanding, a few choice words, paint, a weird crack, more sanding, more words, more paint…and finally the vanity was finished along with the dresser.
After I finished both of the larger pieces, I had two bunk beds to update and for those I actually did go grey, but I made the spindles white. The beds were in good shape and didn’t need any major work (thank goodness!) The set came with the original bedding made from old (clean) cloth diapers. I decided to ask a local “buy nothing” group on Facebook for fabric remnants, and just my luck someone had some really cute girly fabric! Finally I got to use my sewing machine for something other than sewing face masks, and I made new bedding for the bunks.
The Materials
Here’s the roundup of the materials I used to upcycle the doll furniture:
- Jolie Paint Dove Grey – dresser and vanity
- Jolie Paint Rose Quartz – dresser and vanity drawers
- Sealed with Jolie Finishing Wax
- Eco-friendly liner – Thistle and Fox
- Hardware – original, spray painted, Rustoleum
- Fabric for bedding – local “buy nothing” group
The Final Results
After a month or so of working on the doll furniture, nearly everyday (30-60mins each) it was finally finished. And, lucky me, a good friend of mine was interested in buying for her daughter for Christmas! I am beyond thrilled to know the person who is currently enjoying the set, and her mom sent me the cutest pictures of the American Girl set up. Little tissue box on the dresser? Gah, I can’t handle the cuteness. I admit, I may have had too much fun styling with my own AG accessories to take pictures.
After I finished the furniture set, I took a break from upcycling furniture to sell, and turned my focus to some home improvements and painting projects around the house. By the end of 2020, I had managed to balance a crazy work schedule with home school/virtual school demands, and start a business from scratch. The Restored Dogwood has given me something positive to focus on and a creative outlet I didn’t know I needed.
P.S. Love what you read? I’d love if you shared with a friend! And don’t forget to follow @the.restored.dogwood on IG to see what we’re up to!
