A cozy breakfast room on a budget

Everyday objects repurposed, Furniture and decor I've purchased, Handmade decor for my mini house

Today’s room box has lots of inexpensive touches.

The dresser, cabinet, and small table (night stand) were all Dollar Store purchases or from the dollar (or so) aisle of one of my local craft stores. All were originally unpainted. The dresser and night stand have non-functioning drawers, unfortunately.

I wove the chunky rugs on a potholder loom. The flat, tan one is just a scrap of burlap.

Here’s a link to a previous post about the faux macrame wall hanging and the faux light fixture.

The white, fringy wall hanging on the far left is an earring.

This little plant goes here!

The diamond shaped wall hanging is a scrap of burlap I wove some yarn into.

The oversized wooden pot on top of the cabinet was featured here. It’s a napkin ring.

Earrings from Prague.

Tea for two

Furniture and decor I've purchased, Handmade decor for my mini house, Miniaturists, Shopping for minis

Today I created this sweet little room box:

The faux light fixture and two baskets shown above are recent purchases from Etsy artist MiniHome Co. Below is a photo of all my recent purchases from her: Two baskets, a macrame-style wall hanging, and three faux light fixtures. Check out her Etsy shop here.

The cute little glass animals are recent purchases from my trip to Prague.

The pink tasseled wall-hanging was made from some inexpensive jewelry.

This mirror was a quick project. You just need a snippet of twine, any inexpensive craft store mirror, and some glue.

All photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Love miniatures? Learn more about the Flip This (Mini) House mid-century dollhouse project here, here, here, or by searching through older posts.

Check out the Flip This (Mini) House book, the Decorate This (Mini) Room book, and the Style This (Mini) Room book by clicking any of these links.

Check out some more of my room box projects here, here, and by searching through older posts or following Flip This (Mini) House on Facebook and Instagram. Both feature occasional exclusive content.

Stick around to see the latest project: a farmhouse style dollhouse makeover!

Links you’ll like

Blogs and websites that inspire, Uncategorized

If you like miniatures and dinosaurs, check out these awesome photos by Jorge Saenzs

Here’s some mid century modern inspiration for you

A must-have dollhouse for modern design lovers

A Pinterest page full of quirky dollhouses

A mid century bubble chair for under $5

Handmade decor for my mini house

I was at my local craft store the other day, taking a look around since I was running early for an appointment. I came across a glass ornament (I have no idea what it was doing out in April — maybe it was meant to be used for a little spring/Easter scene?) that looked like a perfect mid century modern bubble chair. I decided I’d hang it from the ceiling in the corner of the living room. Ten minutes later, wondering down an aisle I’d never before set foot in, I discovered an assortment of plate and cup holders. One of the cup holders was a perfect match for my ornament/chair, turning it into an actual free-standing bubble chair. Here they are:

Cup holder + glass ornament = perfect 1:12 scale mid century bubble chair! Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

My new bubble chair works great with my other living room furniture.

Bubble chair with a mini newspaper rack and a side table that’s actually a container of lip balm.

Sometimes perfect is the last thing you want to be

Tweaking store-bought dollhouse furniture

As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom picked up some adorable white cupboards for my kitchen. Here they are in place, in my semi-completed kitchen:

White cupboards in my mini kitchen. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

They’re a little taller than the window, which is unfortunate but not a huge deal.

I added the refrigerator into the mix, even though it needs some more coats of paint, but left out the stove since the paint was still really wet. It looks very cute, but not exactly mid century, not exactly modern, and not exactly personality-filled like I want my house to be.

I decided to make some small changes. I purchased some cool little gold buttons:

Tiny gold buttons.

…and some woodgrain decorative tape, and gave the drawers and doors a makeover. Here’s a look at the “during” portion of the makeover:

Giving my cupboards a makeover

The great thing about this makeover is that the tape can easily be removed without taking an paint off, and the original brass knobs can be stuck back in place. However, I decided I liked it and felt it was a better fit with the rest of the decor in the house, so I updated everything. Here’s a look at the “after” version:

Kitchen “after”

As you can see, there are plenty of details still needing to be fixed, from paint on the window that needs to be removed, to trim that still needs to be installed. It will all come together soon though. If this new look seems a little weird to you, just wait. When you see the finished product, it will all make sense!

Kitchen tiles and wallpaper

Flipping my mini house

I think I’ve finally chosen a look for the kitchen.

It hasn’t been easy! Kitchens are so important. I really wanted a mainly white kitchen with orange or yellow Orly Kiely-esque wallpaper. Finally I decided it wasn’t realistically going to happen, no matter how many times I sifted through the scrapbook paper at my local craft store. So this is what I came up with:

Tiles and wallpaper for my mini kitchen. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I’m not sure about the multicolored tiles. I’ll have to put some in place and see what I think. Stay tuned!

The master bedroom has been wallpapered!

Furniture and decor I've purchased

After recently debating between a bunch of different wallpaper choices (using scrapbook paper, not actual wallpaper) here, the master bedroom has been wallpapered! I ended up choosing something completely different from the samples I showed you a couple of weeks ago. As I’ve mentioned, one of the designers inspiring me on my house flip is Jonathan Adler. I thought what I ended up choosing had that fun, “Happy Chic” feeling I was seeking, but it actually looks a little more on the childish and maniacal side of things than I’d intended. The good thing is, if I choose to take it down, at least I can use it for templates for the next sheets I install in that room.

Wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I think I will give it a couple of days and try it with furniture, just to see if it grows on me in a good or bad way. What do you think?

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Inspiration and tiny decor items lurk everywhere

Everyday objects repurposed

When I’m in the creative zone it’s kind of hard to shut it off. At any given time, I have ten (or twenty, or thirty) different projects swimming in my head. From books I’m writing to houses online I’m dreaming of buying to my imaginings of going on Project Runway (even though my sewing talent level is more on par with Threads), I’m always dreaming about my next creative endeavor. Lately my mini dollhouse is on my mind quite a bit and I find inspiration everywhere. Example: What do you see here?

A.) Some bodywash on a bookshelf

B.) Something out of place. Is that still wet? It might leave a mark. Maybe you should have set it on a coaster or something.

C.) A disposable bottle and a cap that looks like a tiny, modern bowl.

If you said A, you are a normal person. If you said B, you might be a little bit neurotic. If you said C, let’s take a closer look!

Ooh! Look at the lovely curving lines of this bottle cap. And the rich, gold color. If I flipped it over and ripped off the top I’m sure it would look something like this…

This is going to make a great little holder of mini fruit, mini balls of yarn, mini magazines, mini plants, and other items. What did I tell you? Tiny decor truly can be found anywhere if you simply look a little closer.

Exterior painting in progress!

Flipping my mini house

A decision has been made. After much hemming and hawing, I’ve chosen this shade of deep teal and given my house its first coat of paint. To get the perfect shade, I mixed it myself using a variety of tubes and bottles of art and craft paint. Here is a little peek at the secret formula:

The magic ingredients. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Final product. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I tried to make a lot since matching that color is going to be really tricky. Still, I didn’t end up with nearly enough. I’ll mix another batch soon on a bright, sunny day so I can have the best chance of getting a close enough match.

Here is a look at my house now. It’s splotchy and definitely needs another good coat, but you can see how cute it’s going to be. I’m still debating on trim colors. I’m considering leaving the front door alone and just adding a cute doorknob, and maybe some mid century miniature doodad like this backplate.

New exterior color. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

To remind you, here is the ‘before’ version of my house:

Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Here is a view of just the front panel of the house now:

When I’d gotten to the point where I barely had enough paint left to continue, and I was losing my enthusiasm (especially on the side with the carport), I got reinspired by this artwork on HGTV:

Frozen HGTV art inspiration. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I realized that the wall inside what will be the office needs a little art, so I made this mural using a Sharpie marker and some of my leftover paint:

Mini mural, step one. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Future office. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini mural, painted. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Having accent colors inside the house that match the exterior will make the finished project look much more cohesive.

While I still had my paint and paint brush out, I painted the seats of these clearance chairs to match. I’m not even sure if I’m going to use them in the house since they aren’t much of a style match, but they might work someplace.

Mini chairs before. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini chairs and mini mural. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

The mural will get cut down to fit on the wall of the office. The chairs will get sanded a little and… who knows.

Coming up soon: Another coat of paint, trim to be painted, shingles to be applied, and chimney to possibly get a facelift. It’s exciting times in Flip This Mini House land!

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