Felicity’s Bedroom

Welcome to Felicity’s  Bedroom! This is the largest dollhouse room that I have created so far! Felicity is my favorite American Girl character. As a child I saved up my weekly pay ($2 to help my mom clean) and was able to purchase Felicity after a year of saving. I now have a few Felicity’s from different years and versions. To see my collection visit Felicity Through the Years.

As I began planning Felicity’s room, I had to take into consideration the size of her pieces. Her furniture is very large and very heavy. When deciding what IKEA Pax frame I wanted to use, this became the biggest factor. I wanted to make sure that the room would be on the “ground level” because I knew the weight could potentially make the floor bow (or break) if it were higher up. I chose a 93″ IKEA Pax and laid it on its side. I used the shelves (sold separately) to act as the vertical walls and supports for the frame. The Pax is divided in half by a wall to create a bedroom on one side and eventually Miss Manderly’s Parlor will be on the other. Felicity’s bedroom is 29″ tall x 44″ wide x 22.5″ deep.

My inspiration for the room’s design came from Felicity’s Scenes and Settings that was available in the mid-90s. To me, this is exactly how her room should look and with Felicity being my favorite doll, I wanted her room to be perfect.  This room has been in the works for awhile, not because it was labor intensive but because I had a hard time making decisions on what I felt was appropriate for the time and the character.

Once the Pax frame was set, I added a faux hardwood floor and used ModPodge to adhere a textured cardstock to the walls. From pine molding, the hubs cut trim, base and crown that I painted a colonial blue. It was the closest match to the illustration that I could find.

With the large size of the room the walls felt bare. In colonial décor a child’s room would not have been plastered with paintings and art but I did want a cozy feeling and bare walls do not lend to that vibe. The first piece of art I chose was a horse painting that I feel Felicity would have related to. The horse reminds me of her dear Penny.

In Felicity’s Scenes and Settings there is a sampler on the wall and I wanted to add one to my room also. In Felicity’s time a sampler was an educational tool that would help develop a young girls stitchery skills for both ornamental and practical purposes. I found a photo of an early American sampler in a museum, sized it and framed it.

I photo copied Mr. and Mrs. Merriman’s portraits from the book and appropriately sized them to fit small plaster frames that I painted gold. I inserted a hook to hang Felicity’s bedwarmer on under the portraits.

In one of the other Felicity rooms in the Scenes and Settings book, a large portrait painting is present. I wanted something similar for this room and chose this 1700’s painting. I’m going to pretend this is Felicity’s late grandmother holding Felicity’s infant mother on her lap. I like the idea that this painting was a gift to Felicity from her grandfather when her grandmother passed away. Under the portrait are two hooks that can hold some of Felicity’s many hats. Her travel trunk and a pair of brocade shoes sit underneath.

Next to Felicity’s bed is her nightstand. On the top is her basket with Shrewsbury Cake Kit (my original from childhood), her rescue whistle, her shuttlecock set and the invitation to the Governor’s Palace. Underneath is an extra tea caddy I have and Felicity’s bird bottle. I am still missing a few pieces from the collection that I hope to add one day.

Felicity’s Fashion Doll has been lovingly laid on her bed and her mules (house slippers) are placed on the floor beside the bed. Felicity’s Noah’s Ark toy is ready to be played with when her siblings Nan and William sneak in the room.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of Felicity’s bedroom! I am looking forward to many hours of photoshoots in this new space. To see more of my historical dollhouse check out these posts Courtney’s Totally Rad Bedroom, Kit’s Attic Bedroom, Molly’s Bedroom, Julie’s Room and Addy’s Parlor. Happy Collecting!