Introducing the home of Mini Miss Em...

My grandmother used to work with a carpenter friend of hers to make dollhouses to sell at her church bazaar. He would build them and she would decorate them. When I was a little girl, my sister and I had the very good fortune to get one of these dollhouses for Christmas, complete with furniture, curtains, rugs, food, pots and pans, pictures for the walls and everything else you can think of, including a little family. We loved it, playing and playing with it. Eventually, of course, it got packed away to the attic and years later, I rescued it and restored it, then once again packed it away, but this time with much more care.
That was when I also rediscovered in my own attic the second dollhouse I had been given by my grandmother, this time gifted when I was an adult. It was one she and her friend never got to finish and she gave it to me, saying maybe I would do something with it someday. It sat in my attic for years.
But then one day I had the idea to sort of create a mini version of The Pink Home, using fabrics and wallpaper I design under The Pink Home name to decorate it. My friends encouraged the idea, thinking it sounded kind of fun.
But then before I could get started, we lost our sweet Emily. She had been sick for a while and required such care that my husband and I had become exceptionally attached. Losing her was incredibly painful. Just dreadful.
I needed something to take my mind off all of it so I started work on this dollhouse. I had been given a little Shih Tzu figurine before by a friend from work because it looked so much like Emily. When I came across it again, I named her Mini Miss Em and decided to create this home for her. It turned out to be wonderful therapy, even if it does sound a bit nuts.

All the fabrics and wallpaper you see were designed by me. I made the curtains, pillows, rugs and bedding, and outfitted the house just like my real home, with art by one of my favorite artists and books and magazines I love, right down to miniature copies of Vogue and Southern Living. Candles are sprinkled throughout the house and Outlander is on TV, and of course there is a dog bed and toys in the living room. Just like home.

The kitchen is stocked with plenty of wine, flowers and cake, just like my real house, and Mini Miss Em’s water and food bowls are in the same spot they always were.

Upstairs, she has a bathroom to scope out ~ one of her favorite activities ~ and a comfy bed to sleep on in the bedroom. She should feel right at home.

The real Emily always loved Halloween ~ she loved meeting new people ~ so I decided we should decorate the dollhouse for fall. Because, why not? Mini Miss Em has big velvet pumpkins throughout her house, just like in the real Pink Home, along with a fall wreath. She has also acquired some new teddy bears.

I am surprised by how much I am enjoying my little foray into miniatures. It’s quite fun and relaxing to create a little mini world, one Mini Miss Em gets to enjoy forever.
Now I can’t wait to decorate for Christmas...

Designs used in this project from The Pink Home:
Living Room – Pink Forest wallpaper, curtains, pillows and dog bed. Rug is My Dahlia.
Kitchen – Scottish Isle for curtains and rug.
Bathroom – Pretty Polka Dots in Lavender for wallpaper and curtains. Scottish Isle for the rug.
Bedroom – Butterfly Garden for the wallpaper, curtains and pillows. Bright Leaves for the Rug. Pretty Polka Dots in Lavender for the dog bed. Lilac Stars for the bedspread and long bed pillow.
All designs can be purchased here.

Photos by The Art of Living Beautifully