When I first pondered the idea of a dollhouse, I wasn’t sure where I should start. Most houses I’ve seen were so intricate and full of gorgeous detail, but a minimal approach felt more suited for our young children. I came across the idea of a mouse house on Instagram after viewing a project completed by Vanessa (@oursimplestdays). It was everything I was looking for in a dollhouse aesthetic. Incredibly stylish, just the right amount of minimal without skimping on the details, and a reasonably easy process to put together. The Maileg mice as the characters for our houses felt like the perfect touch to complete these spaces.
Mouse House One: Living room, dining area, bath and parent’s room.
Once I decided on the number of houses, rooms, and furnishings, I began researching using the Maileg website. Now, I would be kidding myself if I said that those initial prices of the items for the mouse houses didn’t take me back a bit. Indeed this would be an investment in our children’s playtime for years to come, and honestly, I love that idea. When shopping for our girls, we always strive for a certain quality. Also, because we have three children, the chances of items getting handed down are very likely, and the heirloom element always adds a specific value for us. In saying that, we are very much a one-income family. Therefore, creating a budget around projects like this takes time and creativity.
With Christmas coming soon, I proposed the idea to our family members wanting to buy gifts that, instead, they help us check items off our dollhouse list. Since we live in an apartment with less than four months till our next move, we wanted to avoid having a flood of toys coming through. Once again, the idea that something more heirloom, more quality, felt like the direction we should go in. Our families were more than happy to contribute, and over a few months, we got all the furnishings and mouse characters for our houses. Our family’s contributions and willingness to see our vision made this project come to life.
Mouse House Two: Kitchen, laundry room and children’s rooms.
We decided to start with two houses which worked out wonderfully for us. The idea for the setup is that it is one big house split between the two. The mice characters we chose resemble our own family, and we also chose a style that reflected our own. Overall this project has been one of my favorites to create for our girls, and I honestly could not be happier with the finished product.
Items Needed to Create a Our Mouse Houses
- Flisat Dolhouse (Ikea)
- Maileg wrapping paper (wallpaper)
- Double sided tape for the adhesion of the wallpaper.
- Living room: chairs, fireplace, mirror (Anthropologie ornament converted), macaron plate.
- Dining room: Table and chairs.
- Bathroom: Sink, shelf and tub.
- Parent’s bedroom: Bed and sidetables.
- Parent mice
- Kitchen: Refrigerator, stove with pots + utensils and food.
- Breakfast nook: Table and chairs.
- Laundry room: Washing machine and broom with dust pan.
- Baby room: Cradle, armoire and mirror.
- Girl’s room: Beds, side table and mirror.
- Twin baby mice.
- Big sister, hiker mouse.
- Big sister, ballerina mouse.
