This cabinet hung in our powder room when we moved in. I considered putting it back up once we finish updating that space since we don't have much for those walls, but we really don't need it for storage in there. Buying and arranging little bathroom items simply to give it some purpose just doesn't appeal to me.
Sophie got an American Girl doll from Santa last year and has acquired a few little outfits. Until now we've stored them, like so many items, in shoe box sized storage bins in the playroom.
The idea came to me months ago to take out the middle shelf from this cabinet, add a tension rod, and buy some little hangers to transform the cabinet into a mini wardrobe, but it wasn't until this recent holiday break that Mike and I snatched up ten minutes and made it happen. For real, it took ten minutes to unscrew the sides and back, pull out the shelf and its dowels, and pop it back together. We had the tension rod on hand, and the hangers arrived on the doorstep two days later via good ol' Prime.
If I'd been thinking properly, I would have taken this project on a couple of weeks ago and made a Christmas gift out of the wardrobe. Sophie loves it, and even Michael enjoyed hanging the clothes up the first time.
Of course, if you don't have an old cabinet hanging around waiting for new life, this would be a great swap site, garage sale, or thrift store item to hunt down.
Below are the hangers we used. I got the smallest ones for 18" doll clothes that I could find, knowing that anything much bigger than 6" wide would not fit in our cabinet.
With new wardrobes like the Melissa & Doug Wooden Doll Armoire
running about $50 each, I feel like we upcycled that cabinet effectively.
Thank you for posting this wonderful up-cycle project! My friends daughter and her family have just moved to Ireland and will be there for the next 3 years. Their 6 year old daughter has an American Girl doll but with weight restrictions was able to take just her doll and no other toys. I have tons of clothing for the doll and will be mailing a few pieces to her each month for the next 3 years! I will order the hangers for her and forward your post to her dad. He can make her the wardrobe following your instructions. She will probably have to leave it when she returns but it will be a great piece for her to gift to another little girl at the embassy when she leaves. Thanks again. It's just ADORABLE!
ReplyDeleteI hope the idea works out for your friend's daughter! What a great idea to send the little girl outfits for her doll while she's away. I bet she'll love that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here!
DeleteI ran across your post when I was directed to Pintrest while Googling 18" doll wardrobe. It reminded me that I too had a small wall cabinet that once hung in my kitchen that will be perfect for this project. Tell me please, is the window in the cabinet glass or plastic? My granddaughter is 3 so I'm thinking I might get a Plexiglas window cut to size. I'm hoping when we remove the top shelf that it won't do too much damage to the cabinet. Thanks again for posting this adorable little wardrobe...so much nicer than anything that you can buy retail under $100 dollars!
ReplyDeleteOurs is glass, but I think switching it out for Plexiglas is a great idea, especially for a little three year old! I apologize for the late reply. I got caught up in the holidays!
Delete