Castles in the sky

From Resene and Your Home and Garden

Finalist 2 - Small Room Awards Competition

A dollhouse inspired a starry, whimsical makeover for this sweet space.

When Laura Bunea’s daughter, Sophie, requested a pink dollhouse for her room, what followed was a makeover of mythic proportions. “It’s such a gorgeous piece of furniture, I knew I wanted to create a whimsical space for her and this was the perfect base to build from,” Laura says.

On the hunt for the perfect shade of pink, Laura stumbled upon the Karen Walker Paints range from Resene at her local Wellington shop. “I instantly fell in love with the range as her colour swatches are moody yet soft,” she says. The bedroom walls are painted in Resene Concrete, while Sophie’s feature wall makes the most of Resene Periglacial Blue, and the darling dollhouse boasts Resene Blanched Pink as the focal point of the space.

“She doesn’t have a very big room, it’s just her bed, some cupboards and this little nook,” says Laura, “so I wanted to create a little space for her that sparks her imagination and lets her creativity shine while also hiding all of her toys.”

The dollhouse has been turned into a secret cupboard to store Sophie’s toys, while the sky wall displays her collection of hair bows. The room looks increasingly more charming with every glance, from fairies perched on fluffy clouds to tiny mice floating from balloons.

When asked what she likes most about her room, Sophie replies, “All of it. But my favourite thing is when I get to open the doll’s house and play with all of my toys.”