Last time, I posted about doll clothing storage. Now I'm going to show you how I display and organize all of the dolls in my collection, with the hope that you might get some ideas for your own dolls!
Large dolls can easily take over any space that they're put in unless they're organized in an efficient manner. When I accepted that I was hopelessly taken over by dolls and needed to change my storage situation (aka sitting them in random places all over my room and sometimes Mars) my mother came to the rescue again. She suggested the rack.
No, no, not the torture device. A shoe rack, to be precise. They're incredibly versatile, you can stack them on top of each other, and even change the shelves to get whatever height you want between each one!
Here's a picture of my shelf from 2010. There aren't many dolls on it there, so you can see the design and how it's put together. At the time, I just used it for my A Life of Faith dolls because it was before we moved and my room got smaller.
Here I am posing with the current state of my shelf, in 2013! I'm about 5'4, by the way, so you can see how tall it can get. Since the previous picture was taken, I've added several extra levels and made room for many more dolls. It can hold my whole collection (minus my Girls of Many Lands, which reside on my dresser), plus Penny, Patriot, and other, smaller pets. I need to update again and either get rid of the small middle rack (it's being used for odds and ends at the moment until I can get a shelf up in my room for them) or use it for AG pets and small Webkinz. Cute, no?
We got my shoe rack turned doll shelving from Sam's Club, but I'm sure you can find them in many stores. This is the exact one I have, except in brown: http://www.bjs.com/store/seville-classics-3-tier-shoe-rack-platinum.134684589-.html. However, several different adjustable styles would work. Make sure that whatever you buy is sturdy, because you don't want your dolls to come tumbling down in the middle of the night! To dress up the shelves, you could add fabric for the dolls to sit on (like I've done with the Ginger Brook Hollow shelf) or perhaps weave in some flowers. Whatever suits your fancy!
Happy organizing!
Quinlyn
3 comments:
hmm... My mom bought some shelves a few years ago that are right now being used in the sewing room, but something like that could work. I would like to have rooms for my dolls but I would also like to keep them contained so I can have friends come over and not be impaled by a doll foot ;)
and you hair be LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!!!!!!! Goodness!!!
That is a good idea, but I noticed that many of your dolls are sitting in the picture. Do you worry about your dolls' limbs getting loose? Especially the retired ones? (i.e. A Life of Faith, Felicity, Elizabeth, Kirsten, etc.)
Hi Molly!
Yes, many dolls have to sit in order to make the storage shelf work (in my case). I have heard that long periods of sitting can loosen a doll's limbs, but I personally haven't worried much about it. I know that I could fix the American Girl dolls' elastic should it become loose, but as I can't fix the A Life of Faith elastic, I recommend alternating the sitting and standing ones so that no one has to sit for long periods of time.
Thank you for your comment!
Quinlyn
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