I made furniture for my daughters' Barbie dolls using recycled materials. Of course, you can buy doll furniture, but since I enjoy DIY projects, I decided to make it myself. I always have a lot of cardboard on hand and save various packaging materials for future crafts.
When I searched online, most of the doll furniture I found was made of plastic and mostly came in white and pink. That didn’t appeal to me—I wanted something different and more sustainable.
When I was a kid, I only had a couple of doll furniture pieces that were store-bought. They were also white and pink, made from plastic—a bed, a table with a mirror, and a chair. I kept them in a box for many years and recently gave them to my daughters to play with. Even as a child, I enjoyed making things, and extra furniture for my dolls was no exception. Back then, my creations were poorly made from cardboard and styrofoam, so none of them survived. But now, with more skills and better tools, I think I did a pretty good job making this set for my daughters.
Tutorial on YouTube:
Table
To make the table, I used a rectangular piece of cardboard and glued four toilet paper rolls as legs. For added sturdiness, I used thick cardboard, which tends to have uneven edges. To improve the appearance, I used strips of cereal box cardboard to cover the sides. I then covered the tabletop with packing paper.
To add some design elements, I twisted long strips of packing paper to create a rope-like effect and glued them around the legs. I finished the table by painting the top with acrylic paint in a color that matches the fabric I used for the sofa and chairs.
Chairs
For the chairs, I used various thicknesses of cardboard. The thicker cardboard came from IKEA furniture packaging, but if you don’t have that, you can glue together 3–4 layers of regular cardboard. Once I built the base, I used toilet paper rolls for the legs and wrapped them in my handmade paper rope.
For the cushioning, I used a thin foam sheet from old packaging. The fabric came from my mom’s old shorts (which were previously pants). I even made a toddler-sized chair to complete the set.
Sofa
The sofa base is made from thick cardboard, and the sides are covered with thin cardboard. I added plastic foam to the seat for comfort. For the cushions, I used pockets from a pair of old pants and stuffed them with lint from the dryer. Of course, you can use polyester stuffing instead, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I got creative. I painted the sofa before gluing on the cushions.
Final Thoughts
And that’s it—a full doll furniture set made from recycled and waste materials, very affordably. My daughters absolutely loved it!
Not only does creating Barbie doll furniture from recycled materials encourage creativity and resourcefulness, but it also promotes sustainability. By repurposing items that would otherwise end up in the trash, you're teaching your child the importance of reducing waste and caring for the environment. Plus, the unique and handmade furniture pieces will add a special touch to your child's playtime.
Materials Used:
- Cardboard
- School glue & hot glue
- Fabric scraps
- Acrylic paint
- Plastic foam
- Dryer lint (or polyester stuffing)
- Packing paper or any other decorative paper
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Acrylic paint on AMAZON: https://amzn.to/3FPPNQZ
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