The Charming DIY That Turns A Simple Nightstand Into An Adorable Dollhouse

Whether you're "just Ken" or a girl living in a "Barbie World," the release of the "Barbie" movie in 2023 made the dolls and their houses very cool again. And as every child who ever played with a doll knows, where there's a doll, there also needs to be a dollhouse. Walk into any toy store or browse dollhouses on shopping sites, and you'll find enough abodes to fill a cul-de-sac. To really spark your child's creativity, however, consider a charming DIY that turns a simple nightstand into an adorable dollhouse. And when playtime is done for the day, you just close the doors.

The do-it-yourself dollhouse repurposes a nightstand you might already have but haven't been making good use of, or you can seek out an inexpensive find at local garage or estate sales or discount stores. You'll be doing some renovations to your "house," so there is no need to get a brand-new, top-of-the-line model. Just like other creative ways you can repurpose your old furniture such as the option to convert an old bookshelf into a dollhouse, you might say you're giving a bedside cubby a new lease on life. The project doesn't take a lot of tools, which makes it ideal for weekend hobbyists, and depending on the age of your child, it can be a fun renovation to do together. Just like with a real house, you'll need to confer about design options, including discussing swatches and color schemes.

Choose a cabinet-style nightstand without drawers for your custom dollhouse then add interior shelves and dividers to create rooms. Begin with the dollhouse's exterior, however, which you can paint or stain it as you wish. If it rests on the floor, you also may want to screw furniture legs onto the four bottom corners to raise it up off the ground. You'll want to add doors and windows to the cabinet door to make it look like the front of a house. Craft stores may have them in stock or you can shop online. A search for "fairy door" as several TikTokers describe it, can turn up whimsical doors better suited for forest-dwelling fairies, but if that isn't the vibe you want for your dollhouse, try this miniature door (available in pink, red, or yellow) from Amazon, which comes with extras, including a fence and Christmas decorations, for $11.99.

Moving inside the dollhouse, let your creativity run wild! A TikToker shared some decorating tips. She found wallpaper at Hobby Lobby and affixed it to interior walls of the nightstand using Gorilla Glue spray. If you want something that's easy to replace, try using a heavyweight scrapbooking paper and repositionable glue in spray or stick form. If you use the non-permanent tacking method, you can easily peel it off when you want to try something new.

Thinking big? You could turn an empty window nook into a stylish seating space with an IKEA nightstand hack, and let those nightstands become a dollhouse duplex that's perfect for multi-child families.

Turning a nightstand into a charming DIY dollhouse is a project that can help repurpose old furniture, reuse scraps of wallpaper or bits of carpeting, and stretch your child's imagination as they come up with ideas on how to reuse household items like an empty single-serve jelly container into a doll sink. If the children are old enough, they might be able to help with gluing and other tasks, but cutting is probably best left to adults. To cut the opening for the door and windows, one Instagram user extolled the virtues of a multi-tool (hers was cordless but you could also get a corded saw/sander/grinder for a little less money).

You might have been inspired to find some smart ways to repurpose a nightstand around your home, and couldn't resist the dollhouse option, but playing with dolls in a dollhouse is more than just a good time. Dr. Sarah Gerson, a developmental psychologist, told Illinois State Magazine that playing with dolls positively impacts a part of the brain that controls empathy and social skills.

Dollhouses made from nightstands are likely to be fairly durable since most nightstands are pieces of furniture that are meant to last. You also might want to try renovating an end table in a game room or family room if it's the kind that has cabinet doors. One thing is certain, this dollhouse could be an heirloom you hand down to the next generation, too.