Since many of you have asked for an update on this large (and delightfully small) renovation, here’s the progress on our second dollhouse makeover. If you missed our first tiny house project, you can find that earlier makeover for reference.
This dollhouse is such a sweet miniature echo of our own home, which has made the project extra fun. Our nine-year-old has been the project manager, interior designer, and architect—helping choose colors, arrange furniture, paint, and brainstorm future additions. Watching her lead this has been a joy, and I’ve happily played the role of assistant and budget realist.
This tiny house will probably evolve over the next few years as we add more furniture, working lights, and maybe even a spiral staircase to the attic. Despite the long list of ideas, it’s already come a long way. The front of the house looked worn when we got it, but a fresh coat of paint made a huge difference.
We kept the exterior white so it resembles our real house and painted the roof gray to match ours. Our daughter wants a slate look eventually, so we may try shiny paint and tiny cedar shingles later. I’ll share any updates if we pursue that.
The back of the dollhouse was a blank canvas when we first opened it:
Now the interior has fresh white walls and floors. The light background our daughter chose makes it easy to layer in bold furniture colors—navy, turquoise, red—and patterned fabrics like the bedding and sofa upholstery. The bright backdrop even accommodates a faux pink marble kitchen island without looking busy. Kids’ design instincts can be surprisingly smart.
If we could shrink down, I’d love to walk through that tiny kitchen and sit at the little island. I adore the faux pink marble top we made for the island—more on that below. Most of the appliances and cabinets were painted with light blue craft paint, while a small shelving unit was painted navy by our daughter. Tiny shelf brackets found in an old box turned out to be the cutest hardware details.
We made a little potted plant by tucking a bit of faux greenery into a tiny bucket included with secondhand furniture we bought for the dollhouse. We painted the bucket gray so it reads more like a plant pot than an old well bucket.
A quick note on sourcing furniture: every piece in both of our dollhouses came from secondhand lots—either with the houses or purchased together. Secondhand lots are the most affordable way to furnish a dollhouse. You can often get a box of tiny furniture for under $30 and then repaint or repurpose items instead of buying individual new pieces that can each cost as much as a whole lot.
For a subway tile backsplash, we searched online for a white subway tile image, printed it at the right scale, and glued it to the entire wall. This paper-tile method is far easier than laying real tile and gives a convincing look for dollhouse kitchens.
That pink marble island was made from a broken refrigerator part from our other dollhouse. By flipping it and gluing a scaled photo of pink marble to the top, we created an instant island. Dollhouse kitchen makeovers can be wonderfully simple.
The navy cabinet originally came brown—painting it transformed the look. Little sweets and cakes on display came from various tiny toy sets. Our daughter used a gift card to buy a tiny tiered dish of macarons that was the perfect finishing detail. The kids enjoyed carefully selecting tiny items that felt personal to them.
We made framed botanical art by cutting magazine clippings and adhering them to slightly larger paper-bag rectangles. Cutting boards on the wall were traced from wood-patterned magazine pages, cut out, and glued in place. Even a clock was created from magazine paper—simple collage techniques give instant miniature decor.
The living room is a highlight because it already had built-ins and a fireplace. We plan to add tiny birch logs for a faux fire, but for now the built-ins display folded magazine cutouts, small keepsakes like thimbles and shells, and tiny bottles. Nearly anything small works on those shelves. For small potted dollhouse plants, we followed the same DIY approach used in our earlier project and adapted it for this house.
A crafty friend surprised us with a tiny package of handmade dollhouse items—mini art, a birch slice coffee table, and other accessories—which added personality and sparked more creative ideas. Old furniture pieces were refreshed with new fabric and paint; for example, the sofa seat was simply reupholstered by stretching fabric over the cushion and securing it with tape and craft glue for a quick refresh.
The rug was an easy DIY using burlap scraps cut into small rectangles with lightly frayed edges. It’s an instant jute look that suits miniature living rooms perfectly.
We’ll add hardware to the cabinets and maybe tile inside the firebox later, but the room already feels cozy. On the shelves we mixed found items and folded paper accents to create a lived-in miniature vibe. Tiny clothespins were useful to hang more magazine-clipping art in the foyer and upstairs landing.
The upstairs includes bedrooms with handmade details: tiny potted plants, a small wooden book that mimics our own, and a geometric lamp. Leaning art was made by gluing magazine clippings to scrap wood, and more miniature books can be fashioned from small blocks wrapped with paper.
We refreshed beds by painting frames and covering cushions with patterned fabric secured with tape and craft glue. Tiny frames were repurposed and fitted with small magazine images to create cohesive miniature art displays.
On another middle-level bedroom we added a small plastic cat, more magazine-cut art, and a playful glowing-eyeball sign cut from paper—one of the little whimsical touches our daughter loves.
A special surprise was a tiny replica of a fireplace from our real-life home that a friend made for us—an emotional and charming miniature connection to a real renovation we did a few years ago.
Up in the attic we painted rescued secondhand furniture and added small sewn pillows stuffed with cotton. We used rose gold paint on one fireplace and light blue craft paint on a secretary desk to tie color throughout the house. The house now boasts multiple tiny fireplaces, which adds to the sense of luxury in miniature form.
We also made a tiny notebook by folding small sheets of paper, stapling the seam, and gluing a magazine-cover-style scrap to the front. Small handmade details—like that notebook or a pizza-shaped eraser found in the old furniture box—delight the kids and make the house feel personal.
The third-floor bathroom is a favorite: a vintage-style toilet tank with a pull chain, a navy vanity and sink, and gold hardware. Small beads in the tub create the impression of water, and tiny towels sewn from scrap fabric add practical play elements.
We made a little hand towel by looping a fabric scrap over a tiny bar and pinned a folded stack of towels together with a few stitches to hold the folds. Magazine clippings make convincing gold mirrors and artwork above sinks.
Small interactive details—towels, pretend water, miniature food and drinks—make play more immersive. The kids love that their miniature figures can “bathe” and “eat,” and these touches encourage imaginative play.
That’s the tour of our second tiny house makeover. I’ll share future updates when we complete bigger projects—like redoing the roof, adding a spiral staircase, or installing working lights. Until then, this little house is a continuing family project and a great way to explore design ideas affordably and creatively.
P.S. These makeovers have been such a joy to do with the kids. I love watching their ideas develop and showing them that many creative things they imagine can be made with simple materials and a little effort—often at a fraction of the cost of full-size renovations.
It’s also a great reminder that small-scale projects can be fast, inexpensive, and endlessly fun.
P.S. If you missed our first dollhouse makeover, take a look at that earlier project for more ideas and inspiration. *This post contains affiliate links*