Barbie’s Garden Tiny House

I mean it this time: this is my very final Tiny House. I’ve now made every kind of kit on the market and am truly feeling Tiny Housed Out. Plus, this one makes for a satisfying grand finale, with its multiple side views and features I’ve not seen in any other Tiny House.

It’s got a bunch of places where you can imagine your shrunken self lounging about, plus several chandeliers, plenty of landscaping, and a weird little pool. Be still my Tiny House heart.

Kitchen & Living Room

I love this open-floor layout, but as usual the practicalities (or lack thereof) get the imagination fired up.

If you’re frying something on the stove, would oil splash into the pool? How about that elegant leather settee: how would a couple watch TV together here? Perhaps one drapes oneself languidly on the sofa while one’s partner watches from the pool. In anticipation of this likely scenario, I moved the TV up a bit so the swimmer could get a full view.

Another change from the instructions: the wooden pieces for the kitchen cabinets came in a dark green, which, bluech, so I painted them white. Not the brilliant white this house’s style deserves, but good enough considering I had a small tin of paint from previous projects that fit the bill well enough.

I was chuffed with myself about those leather stools looking relatively sturdy, and then I decided to swap out the plant in the back by the staircase and accidentally smooshed the chairs. Emergency repair got them upright again but never as sharp-looking as at first.

I like how pink pastries are being served here. Where are the tiny champagne glasses?

I got the sugar label upside down and my glue is gloppy, but seriously, this is so small it’s a miracle anything here is recognizable. This Tiny House really likes its wee bottles with labels on them. See if you can spot more throughout.

Here we go with the improved plant by the staircase and the TV at a better height.

I felt so triumphant in getting this table reasonably level; I had to cut the length of wire for each leg just so, and my usual technique of turning it upside down to eyeball it wouldn’t work here.

Once I gloried in its levelness, though, I realized there was supposed to be a throw rug underneath. Not gonna happen now! As always, I glue everything down right away because I have to stow it all for travel. (I finished this Tiny House in December in Brownsville, but I started it in October in Michigan, so it travelled many miles in the Airstream shower.)

Pool and Deck

The pool wouldn’t pass code for safety, but it sure looks inviting. Maybe it doesn’t qualify as a pool because it’s so shallow? A large foot bath for refreshing the senses between courses; how’s that?

I felt like it needed a little something, so I added a glass of lemonade and a fruit and flower bowl.

Those bits I made by slicing through tiny lengths of extruded rubber with a straight edge.

The deck wraps around this Tiny House from the pool, so I’m thinking you sit on that bench to dry off and slip on a bathing suit cover up in time to look at strawberries on TV.

What you don’t do is look at your laptop when you’re dripping wet.

So I moved the laptop table to the side, decidedly away from the pool.

Bedroom & Balcony

Check out the luxurious details with the bedding. I cut the fabric swatches so they’d line up together neatly, and the effect is perfect.

I sewed the headboard tufts with a tiny needle and thread and added the gold edge.

Even the weave of the pillow cases lines up!

The tapestry behind the headboard is just a print on paper I cut and glued, but it gives the illusion of texture. I just love this. It’s dark for our bright, pink look, but, bunnies!

If I forget to take photos while I’m making things, I feel like details go unseen. For the bed, the mattress is padded with two layers of cotton, the frame is wood covered in linen, and the little feet are brass. A tiny person really needs to live here to appreciate it.

This valet stand in the bedroom is brilliant. The purse is so cute I want to pop it in my mouth and eat it.

The rug at the foot of the bed was just a piece of cardboard, so I used a swatch of fake fur leftover from a previous tiny house. I didn’t have enough to cut it exactly, but I think the texture is worth it. Say you’re in the pool and need to grab your book upstairs; you can rub your wet feet on the rug. Brilliant!

And, the garden elements make the rooms upstairs as well as down all flow together. Like the Dude’s rug. They pull the room together!

I’m showing the balcony in dim light because it looks terrible otherwise. Those chairs are upholstered in suede, which does not play well with glue. Looks good at night though! Barbie’s nighttime balcony, for Romeo and Juliet scenes.

Bathroom and Laundry

Here’s this Tiny House triumph and fail all on one section.

The triumph is this washer/dryer combo right off the bedroom, which I’ve not seen before. Check out the … um … incense sticks on top? Or is that a room purifier? Whatever, it’s adorable.

The adjacent bathroom is more than a little weird, though. Shower elements were all old hat to make, same with the sink and mirror. The toilet though.

Seriously, the toilet is in a corner of glass walls. And not even interior walls: these look right outside. So much thought was put into the design of this house, but apparently the designer has never pooped before. (So, I added the bit of curtain.) Seriously, a lovely house with gardens and a pool and a toilet front and center.

Backdoor

This entrance is a really nice addition that didn’t need to be there. I’m totally overlooking the fact that you wouldn’t leave your purse hanging up outside, because look how cute it is.

This sweet family living at 102 sweet home has great taste in handbags (I gave it the beaded strap because I threw out the rest of the white leather by accident, but I think it looks posh.)

Process

In case you haven’t seen my Tiny House process, here’s a sample. From bits of wood and fluff and large swatches of fabric to a settee.

These chandeliers aren’t as ornate as some I’ve made, but they were a fun challenge.

Those on the main floor are hard to see, but the upstairs ones show through the large skylights.

My goodness was the wiring tricky, though. There are two long strands of daisy-chained lights at the pool and deck, plus several outside lamps, and those chandeliers, and all their wires had to be fed along walls and under the base and to the battery box. I’ve re-connected them all so many times I’m done with wiring forever.

Tracy’s genius idea to give me access to the wires that run under the base was to prop the whole thing on inverted steel cups.

It’s not pretty under there, but every light works now.

As for who will take this, I do not know. Normally when I give these away, I’m in a campground with people who will take the Tiny House back to their real house. The folks in this RV park are here all winter, though, and don’t have room to store this sucker.

I’ve put the teenage girls on the case though, and if anyone can find a taker, they can, as they drive around and around in their golf cart, music playing, pool noodles hanging out the back, sunglasses scanning for a Tiny House lover.