Turn Everyday Furniture Into a Dolls' House

In a compact flat or townhouse bedroom, floor space for a dolls' house is hard to spare. Look again at the storage already in the room and you will find two clever ways to build one in, then shut it all away when playtime ends.

Let a chest of drawers become the house

A chest of drawers can double up as a dollhouse with almost no effort, giving each drawer a floor of its own for a mansion or a block of flats. This works especially well when siblings share a room, since several children can play at the same unit at once without squabbling over space. A simple washi tape outline on the wall above adds a homely touch without any painting or fuss. Tidying up afterwards takes seconds: everything goes back into the drawers and the room looks neat again, which matters in smaller Maltese bedrooms where clutter shows quickly.

As with any tall furniture in a child's room, secure the unit to the wall before letting the games begin.

HEMNES chest of 8 drawers, white stain, 160x96 cmRÅDMANSÖ chest of 6 drawers, brown walnut effect, 159x48x81 cmHEMNES chest of 2 drawers, white stain, 54x66 cmHEMNES chest of 3 drawers, white stain, 108x96 cmIDANÄS chest of 6 drawers, white, 162x95 cmRÅDMANSÖ chest of 3 drawers, brown walnut effect, 90x48x81 cm

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Fill a cabinet with a whole dolls' world

A cabinet with open shelves can stand in for a dolls' house almost as it is, needing only toy furniture and a little imagination to turn each shelf into a room. IKEA's EKET cabinet is a practical choice here, as it comes in finishes beyond plain white, so it can be picked to suit the rest of the room's colours rather than looking like an afterthought. Children can even decorate the edges of the shelves with paper or card details to suggest doorways, windows or skirting boards, adding their own architectural flourishes to the scene.

Once playtime is over, stray dolls and furniture go back onto the shelves and the cabinet doors close over the whole scene.

EKET cabinet with door, white, 35x35x35 cmEKET cabinet w 2 doors and 1 shelf, white, 70x35x70 cmEKET cabinet w door and 1 shelf, white, 35x35x70 cmEKET cabinet with 2 drawers, white, 70x35x35 cmEKET cabinet, dark grey, 35x25x35 cmEKET cabinet, white, 35x25x35 cm

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Both ideas use furniture that earns its keep well beyond the dollhouse years, and pieces ordered through Maltashopper reach homes across Malta and Gozo.

More children's room ideas