Dollhouse – Bethany Nolan

Hosting A My Favorite Things Party at The Dollhouse

These are a few of my favorite things….

I’ve been reading all about My Favorite Things parties for a while and decided it was finally time that I threw one myself! With The Dollhouse all festive and parties needing to remain small and quaint, I decided what better of a time than now?!

So what is a My Favorite Things Party you might ask? There are many ways to throw one, but I’ll break the way I threw mine down for you and ways you can customize it for your crew. Basically, a Favorite Things Party is where everyone brings their favorite thing, explains why it is their favorite and someone else takes it home. It’s a fun twist on your typical White Elephant party. But what I love about this twist is that people really put some thought into their items and you don’t have to fight with strangers over gifts.

Here are the Rules:

Think of something that you LOVE that’s $10 or less and bring 3 of those items (all 3 items are the same)
Bring all 3 items to the party in one bag (unwrapped)
At the party, you’ll have a chance to share your favorite items and draw names for 3 people that will go home with that item
Everyone will walk away with 3 favorite items from friends

Feel free to use this image I created to share with your friends for your Favorite Things Party!

Rules Breakdown for the Host:

When people arrive, have them place their favorite things underneath the Christmas tree (this was a fun way for people to check out all of the items unwrapped)
Have people write their names down on 3 pieces of paper and put it in a bowl
When the exchange begins, have everyone draw a number and when their number is called they present what their favorite things is, why they love it and draw 3 names from the bowl
Have small gift bags for everyone to take home their new favorite thing items home – I ran to Dollar Tree and got small bags with name tags so that people could put their name on it after the exchange to know what their bag was when they left! I even threw a little goody in their of a festive light up necklace for future Christmas parties!

Decide on a Theme:

This goes for both the party and the favorite thing items. So first let’s start with the party! I did a pajama party theme because who wants to dress up just to go to someones home when you could show up in your comfiest PJs?! To go along with the theme, I served yummy breakfast items and did a hot chocolate charcuterie board along with some ways to spike it… if you wanted!

I made my famous hot chocolate cookies, pigs in a blanket and parfait cups and the rest was a simple freezer pick up from Sam’s Club (quiches, cinnamon rolls, hot cocoa mix and a majority of the treats on the hot chocolate charcuterie board).

There are a lot of ways to customize the party from the gift theme to outfits. Some people make their favorite things follow a specific theme like beauty, kitchen, decor, outdoor, entertaining pieces. While I think following a theme sounds so fun, I decided to make it simple this year and just people bring whatever their favorite thing is whether it be beauty, kitchen or decor related.

Favorite Thing Gift Ideas:

My friends really showed out with their favorite things and here are some of the items we all loved:

I highly recommend putting a spin like this on your next White Elephant party! We all embraced a little bit of change with this fun gathering and look forward to making it an annual affair at The Dollhouse!

Such a fun night with this group of girls!

The Dollhouse: Sunroom Before & After

Keeping it sunny, keeping it cute! Whether it’s chilly or toasty outside, a sunroom has already been a MUST on my home wish list. There’s just something about being able to sip on coffee in a screened-in porch that gives me all the homey vibes I could dream of. It’s the little things that make the smallest home feel the coziest.

You’ve seen all the beauty and glory of the interior of The Dollhouse, so now it’s time to show you one of my favorite rooms that truly took the most creativity… my sunroom! It is located at the back left corner of my house and is what I like to call the perfect wine drinking room! There were some debates on adding a half bathroom to my home, but it would have needed to be where the sunroom is and that was just a non-negotiable for me to take such a fun room away.

The good news from when I purchased The Dollhouse is that the bones for the sunroom were already there. The room just needed a little bit more fun and a whole lotta love to make it more me! I always had this vision of black and white hand painted flooring with cedar colored furniture and while the vision shifted here and there, it truly came out to exactly what I was envisioning.

THE SUNROOM

Matching the brick with the exterior white color and have the painters also paint the concrete floor white really were the biggest game changers before decor and stencil painting came into play. My mother and I hand painted the floor with a stencil and while it was totally worth it, it was quite the ordeal to have done. This was the perfect sized space to hand stencil, but anything larger than this room would have been quite the job to take on.

I plan to do a blog post going into full detail on how we stenciled the floors because there are a lot of different details that helped throughout the process. In a summed up version, though – it took me about two days to stencil the floors and a hand dobbed with a round paint brush. I learned very quickly that sponges seep through underneath the stencil and had to redo a couple of portions. My biggest blessing was having a high speed fan to help the paint dry faster but the hardest part was the edges. My worst edges thankfully have furniture over them, so I didn’t feel like I had to be as much of a perfectionist.

This is one project that my Dad did not touch at all as I (the painter contractors daughter) wanted to prove I could handle it. He was actually very impressed, but no worries I did consult on types of paint and he made me veer away from sealing it as it’s white and outdoor so the weather changes may turn it to yellow once sealed.

What I really wanted this room to have were those black and white accents with pops of green full of plants and pillows that made me look like a crazy plant lady although they’re almost all succulents that don’t need much love at all. Work smarter and plant easier, y’all!

This last section is by far my FAVORITE! Where the now plant wall is was once a door to my bedroom that we had closed in. The door made the inside of my master bedroom very choppy and awkward and closing it in truly changed the layout of that space. Once we closed and insulated in this doorway, I was tasked with what to do to make this not quite look like an old door. There were many options: brick it in, paint it, add shelves and so on. I felt that you would still be able to see the bricked in section and it wouldn’t look natural if we went that route. Shelves wouldn’t be deep enough to hold enough plants or watering jugs but then I thought what about a plant wall?!

I am so, so pleased with how this plant wall turned out. Both the hooks and the planters are from Crate and Barrel. I really let my Dad (y’all he’s the best for all the projects I had him do!!) take the lead on this project with measurements and distancing of the planters. He was very exact and wanted to be able to measure with the planters and plants inside them to see the proper distance of what was needed. It was a task that took a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, but didn’t they turn out great? It’s just the perfect pop on the wall that was once a doorway and feels far more natural of a focal piece than antyhing else did. This sunroom is my perfect like outdoor oasis and I’ve enjoyed making it my little wine drinking room for my friends, family and me!

Thank you always for following along on my little Dollhouse journey!

The Dollhouse: Bathroom, Guest Bedroom and Hallway Before & After

We are nearing the end of my Dollhouse before and after reveals! Lots of changes are continually happening in my home like drapery and pillows that took a little longer for me to decide on (no worries… I’ll share it down the road). You’ve seen the rooms like my master bedroom and the kitchen that took some of the most creativity in the home, but my guest bedroom and hallway area needed some cosmetic love. On the other hand, the bathroom was a total overhaul!

Just a reminder, I’m working with one bathroom in my home. We really tried to find a way to add at least a half bath elsewhere, but it would have taken away from other useful spaces and it’s just me to deal with in The Dollhouse for now anyway! For entertaining purposes it can be challenging to have just one bathroom, but it hasn’t become large enough of an issue for me to regret the decision. Older homes have their charms, so I guess one bathroom has to be part of that… right?

THE BATHROOM

For as much as I loved the archway to the bathtub/shower, it was truly disgusting and dark. It is too small of a space to have something like an archway make the shower area feel smaller. I love a good subway tile, but fell in love with these thin uneven styled tiles that lead the eye straight up to the ceiling making the shower space feel much larger than it actually is. I wanted this to be a bright and light space with pops of brass and funky colors.

A couple designs I’m happy I focused on were making the storage space larger (my shoe closet is behind the cabinetry), adding in a glass door for openness and finding function in my medicine cabinet and above the toilet storage. It was tough finding the perfect glass and hardware for the glass doors. I unfortunately couldn’t do the minimal hardware look with the swinging doors as there’s not enough room to have the door open both ways so it had to be a sliding door. My glass guys had never installed one with a white border and gold handle, but it turned out perfect – any other color would have taken away from the clean and minimalist look I was going for.

As you can see all the beatiful pepto pink tile is off the walls and it’s all a fresh gray look with pops of gold. I found this functional shelving/towel rack that allows me to store items for guests (or me!) and hang hand towels as well. Also, if you don’t know this saying “Please don’t do coke in the bathroom” then you’re obviously not a real housewives fan! My older sister Ilissa got me this and it’s the funniest and cutest addition on the wall.

While you can’t see the inside of the mirror, it is a functional medicine cabinet that I made into a space with a plug for my electric tooth brush and custom glass cuts for shelving to add perfumes, deodorant, etc. One of the best parts, though, of the bathroom is that I did get to keep the original pedestal sink. I think it adds a fun and frilly charm that I just couldn’t do away with!

THE HALLWAY

Nothing crazy here in the hallway other than taking away storage. What I took from the hallway was added in my master closet which is behind this wall. By adding storage in my bathroom, I could make sense of take away what was in the hallway.

GUEST BEDROOM

My guest bedroom (or as both of my sisters like to call their room) isn’t quite complete, but it’s getting there! You see this room directly to the right when you enter through my living room so I wanted there to be a bold look. I love, love the simple gold frame of my guest bed with the pop coming from the zebra hide. I originally wanted a metallic cowhide, but when I saw the zebra rug I was SOLD! I hung up an East Texas Yamboree posted from when my little sister was Yamboree Queen last year and I have a family chair that lots of my mother’s side of the family has been rocked in throughout the years below. It’s fun to have family pieces and memories in the home. When my cousin and uncle came to check out The Dollhouse, they knew exactly whose chair it was and made me promise to never get rid of it!

There’s still so much to be done in my guest room, though! I have pink curtains and abstract pillows that are ordered and in the making that will totally complete the room. I’m excited to see it all come together and make it even more of a Dollhouse than it already is!

The Dollhouse: Living Room Before and After

One year later and here we are! Last September, I closed on my perfect little Dollhouse and now get to share the practically finished result with you! It’s been a labor of love for not only me, but my family and many friends that listened to me obsess over paint colors, decor and light fixtures. I’m so excited to open my door to you and show you room by room how The Dollhouse has little pieces of my personality layered throughout.

My biggest goal when starting the demo and renovations on my home was that it be an entertainers home and flow for parties and events. Now COVID put a damper on me hosting events anytime soon, but The Dollhouse sure is ready for one! Since this is a smaller home (~1,500 SF), it was crucial that my living room, dining room and kitchen all flowed comfortably and felt open enough without taking away from the original charm of the home.

Documenting the complete gut and renovation of my first home has been so important simply for the memories to one day look back on, but I’ve also so appreciated everyone that has followed along from beginning to end! The door is open and I hope you enjoy…

THE LIVING ROOM

Rug // Coffee Table // Couch // Lamp // Crown Light Fixtures // Pouf // Gallery Wall Frames

For the most part, I really did try to keep the character and charm of this home in mind during the process. I chose tall baseboards, worked with the original mantle and simply refinished the original hardwoods. My assumption is that the previous owners attempted to strip the original wall coverings from what you can see in the images, but once we got behind it (many people thought it was shiplap… it certainly wasn’t and was truly wood holding up the structure of the home) we got it quickly insulated and all the good stuff like drywall and paint followed suite.

I was most excited for the fact that I was able to keep the original mantle and front door. I needed the mantle to pop, but didn’t want it to contract too much with the rest of the colors so black felt like the best bet and I’m a big fan! Having a mantle that I can decorate was also huge for me. I love florals and seasonal decor, so I’m excited to change this out through the seasons.

Hands down, the best part of The Dollhouse is the natural light. There’s a window at just about every corner in this home (there’s 12+, y’all!!), but it helps bring a beautiful light into the home. Next, I’m focusing on window dressings and I cannot wait to share it with you all.

Keeping the furniture to a minimum but with ample room for flow and entertaining was obviously top priority. My living room flows directly into the front guest bedroom and the dining room. I love that this home gives space for a sectional but that I can see through to the other rooms and the dining/kitchen area.

Sitting and watching TV every evening above this mantle is always my favorite. Minus the funky and retro tile, the floor bricks, mantle and blocks in the fireplace are all original. It was a simple paint job for those and finding a tile that felt retro, but wasn’t too simple and not too busy was actually quite a challenge. Very thankful for the crew at Paint Etc. that helped me with all my tile and paint colors because those were some of my hardest decisions. I also had my sweet friend Designs by Dylan create this beautiful floral piece for my mantle and it truly changed the space!

A COUPLE MORE PRETTIES…

The Dollhouse is now bright, inviting and full of personality! Yes, I know a velvet pink couch is a little much but doesn’t it just make sense! It’s functional, though. I made sure that if I was going to buy this couch that it needed to pull out into a bed (that’s my form of function!!). It was so fun decorating my living room and finding the right pieces that matched and complimented the home without being overwhelming or too busy in the home. I’ve always heard that you should have one statement piece per room, and I’ve tried to stick to that principle.

I hope you enjoy and love The Dollhouse’s living room as much as I do! I am excited to bring you more room updates throughout the next few weeks. Thanks for letting me share my Dollhouse with you!