diy (micro) doll closet

When we left off yesterday, we had discovered that Théa and Gus share the smallest room on the planet and that Hazel, Théa's wanna-be American Girl doll, needed a new closet. Hazel scored an amazing closet with the help of a little Ikea trip and some creativity. And my husband's handyman skills. He's the winner, really. 

Théa and I spent a good deal of time with all of Hazel's belongings spread out on the floor to come up with what kind of storage space would be best for Hazel. We decided that shoes were a big issue. She is a girl after all. Also needed was hanging space, something to corral all those little knick knacks that make the doll experience so fun and American Girl company shareholders so rich, and a place to store clothes that were off-season (Halloween outfit, Christmas sweater, Easter dress, etc.). We spent some time together on Pinterest. (Side note: Théa may have gone a bit overboard with the pinning. My mistake teaching her how to use Pinterest.) We searched every type of closet. We did not find a complete closet that made sense, but bits and pieces that might work. 

Remember: Hazel's closet is in a VERY small space (less than 3’ x 2’). There were quite a few cool options that just didn't fit anywhere in Théa and Gus’s room. We settled on three Ikea wall boxes (similar here) as a base. We also purchased a small tension rod, four matching media storage boxes, a rope basket from the dollar spot at Target, and a set of plastic drawers that Théa spotted on the same trip to Target. 

The boxes were easy to assemble. The twins took turns screwing them together. The next step was to hang the boxes on the wall. Measure twice, hang once.

Hanging was easier said than done. According to our resident handyman (a.k.a. my husband), the screws that came with the hanging boxes were not sufficient for actually hanging. If you have ever put together a piece of Ikea furniture, you know what I’m talking about. Awesomely engineered in theory but you get what you pay for in terms of hanging. Oh, and it was a bit of a tight fit. 

In the end, the closet was a success. Théa, with the help of her assistant (pictured below), was able to put away Hazel's treasures using her own organization system. She knows exactly where each piece lives. She loves it. I love having the clothes and miscellaneous toy gadgets off the floor. And the whole thing looks pretty good too. 

Now, if only Théa can figure out how to score some of the items on her birthday list for Hazel.

I've created a monster.