Hold onto your miniature hats — now comes the fun part: painting and personalizing the dollhouse.
In our previous post we covered the building process, so here we’ll focus on finishing touches and decoration.
Once assembled, we carried our 31″ x 31″ dollhouse into the sunroom to prime and paint. I used Zinsser Smart Prime — a no-VOC primer that blocks bleed-through well on raw or stained wood — followed by two coats of Benjamin Moore Advance, a low-VOC, durable, self-leveling paint. We used Decorators White, which we had left over from other projects, so painting didn’t add to the cost.
I applied paint with a brush in tight spots and a small foam roller on larger surfaces like the sides, roof, and back. After about 30 hours of curing time, it was ready for wallpaper.
For wallpaper, I scavenged supplies from my craft bin and gift-wrap closet:
- Top left: gift wrap from a local shop
- Top right: decorative paper from Michael’s
- Middle left: strips of decorative tape applied to cardstock
- Middle middle: older gift wrap
- Middle right: more decorative paper from Michael’s
- Bottom left: additional decorative paper from Michael’s
- Bottom right: more gift wrap
I made templates for each back wall from printer paper, trimmed them for a snug fit, then used those templates to cut the chosen papers. Double-sided tape held the paper in place, and I brushed a thin coat of matte Mod Podge over each wall to protect them from scratches and tears. The taped wall was already glossy, so I left it as-is.
I bought a mixed lot of vintage dollhouse furniture on eBay for $30, most pieces from the 1950s–60s, and soaked everything in hot soapy water to remove grime. Because the original colors didn’t suit the house, I refurbished most pieces with spray primer and paint for durability.
To avoid lingering spray-paint fumes around the house, I painted the furniture in early spring and let it off-gas in a sealed sunroom for a month. Some pieces received a dark brown spray for a wood look, while many got a white primer plus Rust-Oleum Universal Satin White as a base. Others received bright accent colors — Sun Yellow and Lagoon — for playful pops.
After a final rinse to remove dust, the painted furniture was ready to furnish the house.
I arranged the rooms loosely, since Clara will rearrange them herself and we’ll add pieces over time (like some laminated photos for wall art). For dolls, we bought a bendy plastic family set that fits the scale and withstands play — Clara adores Olivia the pig and her family.
The nursery includes a crib, a vanity with a yellow chair (I added a bit of tin foil to mimic a mirror), a small piano, a dresser, and a tiny airplane charm repurposed as a toy. Small, delicate accessories are kept aside unless we play together, so Clara can’t access choking hazards when she’s alone.
We designed the rooms with an 8″ ceiling on the first two floors and a sloped attic from about 6″ to 10″. That gave Clara plenty of space to move pieces around and made the house kid-friendly rather than strictly to scale.
The playroom/extra bedroom holds assorted furniture, a fabric rug from the furniture lot, a thrifted picture frame turned mirror with tinfoil, and a small topiary from Michael’s wedding aisle that doubles as décor.
Small plastic beads became charming “ceramic” animals, and some accessories are stashed away for supervised play. My favorite room is the laundry room: metallic decorative tape on the wall gives it a geometric, swanky feel; a yellow washer and sink add personality; and a thrift-store plastic frame painted with chalkboard paint became a changeable message board.
There’s a bedroom with a paper rug that I might laminate or later replace with fabric made from old photo scraps, a bathroom with a mint sink and a foil-backed mirror, and a living room in need of art but complete with a retro record-player TV cabinet and a tiny novelty “Baby Burger” that Clara immediately loved.
The kitchen features a stove, sink with tiny dishes (kept away during unsupervised play), a yellow fridge, and a handmade table using a small box top. Little handmade flowerpots and simple paper rugs finish the space.
Once furnished, we topped the house with a bow and revealed it to Clara after her nap. She dove right in, intuitively understanding scale and delighting in the tiny family and accessories. Watching her play with the dolls, arrange furniture, and invent scenarios was priceless.
Durable plastic and metal furnishings mean the house can stand up to toddler play. Clara’s favorite details are the little animal figures and the tiny burger toy she named “Baby Burger.”
Budget breakdown:
- Wood: $35 (we reused a scrap piece for the back)
- Nails and wood glue: $0 (already owned; estimate $5 if you need to buy them)
- Primer & paint: $0 (leftovers; a gallon of each would be around $70)
- Dollhouse furniture: $30 (eBay lot, shipping included)
- Michael’s doodads: $5 (small accessories)
- Baby Burger: $6 (eBay, including shipping)
- Olivia family dolls: $10 (Toys R Us)
- TOTAL: $86
Because we reused materials and used leftovers, we finished under our $100 goal. The finished dollhouse is sturdy, kid-friendly, and endlessly changeable as Clara grows and adds her own touches.
Have you used gift wrap, decorative tape, or other unexpected materials as dollhouse wallpaper? We loved trying different ideas and would happily swap more tips and tricks for finishing touches.