Time for the most enjoyable part: painting and personalizing the dollhouse.
In our previous post we covered the build process (you can see Part 1 on the original project page) — here I’ll describe how we finished, decorated, and furnished the house.
Once assembled, we hauled the 31″ x 31″ shell into the sunroom to prime and paint. I started with a coat of Zinsser Smart Prime (a no-VOC primer that blocks bleed-through on raw or stained wood), then applied two coats of Benjamin Moore Advance (low-VOC, durable, and self-leveling). We used Decorator’s White leftover from other projects, so painting didn’t add to the budget. Below is the house after priming:
I applied paint with a brush in tight spots and a small foam roller for the larger surfaces like the sides, roof, and back.
After letting the paint cure for about 30 hours, it was time for wallpaper and backgrounds.
I used leftover gift wrap, decorative paper, and tape from my craft stash to paper the back walls of each room. The finished wallpapered interiors gave the plain white shell personality:
Here’s what I used from the craft closet:
- Top left: Gift wrap sheets picked up from a local store called Mongrel
- Top right: Decorative paper from Michael’s left over from another project
- Middle left: Strips of decorative tape from Michael’s mounted on card stock
- Middle middle: Older gift wrap from Mongrel
- Middle right: Additional decorative paper from Michael’s
- Bottom left: More decorative paper stash from Michael’s
- Bottom right: Another sheet of gift wrap from Mongrel
To apply each pattern I made a paper template for the back wall using printer paper (taping sheets together as needed), trimmed until the fit was snug, and used that template to cut the gift wrap or paper. I attached each piece with double-sided tape and brushed a thin coat of matte Mod Podge over them to add some durability — except for the taped room, which was already glossy.
For furniture, I bought a mixed lot of vintage dollhouse pieces from eBay for $30 including shipping. The set was mostly plastic and dated from the 1950s–60s. After a long soak in hot, soapy water to remove grime, the pieces were ready for an update.
Because the original colors didn’t suit our vision, I refreshed the lot with spray primer and paint. I planned for durability rather than low-VOC indoor touch-ups, so I sprayed everything months in advance and let it off-gas in a sealed room and outdoors on sunny days. After curing, the finishes looked permanent and authentic. Some pieces received a dark brown “wood” coat (Rust-Oleum with primer), while most got a white base (Rust-Oleum Universal in Satin White).
For a playful touch I added bright accents from leftover cans — a sunny yellow washer and refrigerator (Sun Yellow) and a turquoise dresser (Lagoon) — to make the set feel modern and kid-friendly.
The painted pieces spent extra time in the sunroom curing (they even collected a little dust), so I rinsed them before staging.
Once everything was ready, I started arranging furniture inside the house. I kept placement relaxed — Clara will rearrange and we plan to add more items over time, like laminated photos for wall art.
We chose Olivia the pig family as the dollhouse occupants because the bendy plastic figures at Toys R Us fit our scale and feel sturdy for toddler play. They arrived at the right size and Clara immediately began inventing stories with them.
The upstairs nursery includes a crib, a vanity with a yellow chair (I added foil for a mirror), a baby piano, a dresser, and a tiny airplane charm repurposed from a necklace charm. For safety, very small accessories are kept aside and only appear during supervised play.
Regarding dimensions: we gave the main floors 8″ ceilings and a sloped attic rising from 6″ to about 10″. That made the rooms a bit larger than strict scale, but it gives Clara room to place and move figures comfortably.
One downstairs room functions as a playroom/extra bedroom — filled with assorted furniture, a fabric rug from the lot, a thrift-store picture frame (glass removed and replaced with foil for a leaning mirror), and a tiny topiary found in the wedding aisle at Michael’s.
Small “ceramic” animals are actually plastic beads from Michael’s — cute accents that are kept out of reach during independent play. The laundry room is a favorite: geometric metallic tape wallpaper, a bright yellow washer, a sprayed utility sink, and a repurposed thrift-store frame painted with chalkboard paint to hang on the wall. We change the message often — Clara requested “Moooo!” and it made her giggle.
The bedroom sports a paper rug I may laminate to extend its life; someday I’d like to make fabric rugs from scraps, possibly using fabric printed with Clara’s monthly photos.
Tiny finds — a metal camera charm and a miniature flowerpot — decorate dressers. I painted the terra cotta pot with pink nail polish to match hand-made chevron pillows and a pink duvet skirt.
The bathroom includes a mint-green sink and a foil-backed mirror made from another thrifted frame. Clara was initially disappointed the potty didn’t open, so I taught her to “flush” with a long whoosh sound — now the family spends lots of time in the bathroom.
The living room still needs wall art, but it has a retro record-player/TV cabinet with a little rhino figurine that makes us smile. My favorite tiny find is a small burger toy I purchased on eBay — Clara named it “Baby Burger” and was delighted to see it in the house.
The kitchen features an oven, a sink with tiny dishes (kept away during solo play), and the cheerful yellow fridge. I made the dining table from a wooden box lid set on a small paper gift box base and topped it with another handcrafted flowerpot and chairs from the lot. Many paper rugs are placeholders until I make sturdier fabric ones.
After furnishing the house, I tied a bow on top and revealed it to Clara after her nap. She immediately began playing — testing scale, discovering which items fit her and which were made for Olivia and her family. Her favorite parts were the pig family, Baby Burger, and the little kitty Olivia holds.
We designed the house to be robust so Clara can play freely without worrying about fragile pieces. Most furnishings are plastic or metal and should stand up to enthusiastic play.
She loved it from the first moment and spent the next morning talking about it the second she woke up. Admittedly, the grown-ups enjoyed it too — a little late-night rearranging happened after Clara went to bed.
Budget breakdown:
- Wood: $35 (we reused a scrap for the back)
- Nails and wood glue: $0 (already owned; estimate $5 if you need to buy them)
- Primer & paint: $0 (leftover — a gallon of primer and paint would cost roughly $70 but last for many projects)
- Dollhouse furniture: $30 (vintage lot on eBay, shipping included)
- Michael’s craft bits: $5 (tiny flowerpots, faux flowers, beads, charms)
- Baby Burger: $6 (eBay)
- Olivia’s family: $10 (Toys R Us)
- TOTAL: $86
Thanks to supplies we already had — paint, paper, Mod Podge, and a scrap of wood — we stayed well under our $100 goal. The finished house cost less than many used options online and gives us room to add upgrades and new furnishings over time.
Have you used gift wrap or decorative tape for dollhouse wallpaper? Or turned beads into tiny decor? We loved the ideas shared in Part 1, from carpet samples and tile flooring to tongue-depressor shingles.
Psst—Check out Part 1 of this project here.