In this post I’ll be sharing the intro to a new dollhouse renovation series and a list of helpful resources for dollhouse miniatures and DIYs.
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Welcome to my new DOLLHOUSE RENO series!
I have been dreaming up this hobby for years, and I was finally able to find a perfectly imperfect dollhouse for $15 at Goodwill last September. Almost a year has passed by and I’m just now getting around to working on it.
When I sat down to write this post I couldn’t really think of a good “intro” or even find the words to describe why I feel so passionately about this project. But then… it hit me. I realized the world of adult dollhouses and miniatures is the perfect outlet for me to enjoy one of my all-time favorite things: interior design. Because, while it may not be realistic to completely redesign every room in my house whenever I fall in love with a new trend or decor style, it is much more achievable to do so in a smaller (miniature) scale.
Another thing that excites me about this creative hobby is that it is an on-going work in progress. Even when it’s done, it’s not really done. I plan to update and change things around seasonally, continue adding tiny details, and even completely redesign entire rooms from scratch again and again over time.
Seen as how this is my first dollhouse makeover project and I’m still a total newbie figuring things out, this series won’t be full of tutorials or step-by-step instructions. However, I’m excited to share progress photos throughout my entire design process from start to finish, plus any tips or bits of information that I find useful along the way. I will also share a list of helpful resources (tutorials, shops, tools, etc.) and update them over time.
Click here to jump straight to my list of resources.
So here she is! The dollhouse in her original form. After some research I found out it was called the “Deluxe Townhouse” from a toy company called KidKraft. This model is discontinued but they still produce and sell similar dollhouses. It’s super sturdy and seems to be made out of a combination of wood and particle board.
The first thing I had to learn about was the scale of the house. The most commonly used scale for dollhouses is 1:12 (1 foot in real world = 1 inch in miniature world). Most of the miniature furniture and findings on the market are in 1:12 scale.
To figure out the scale of my house, I had to measure the doors and ceiling heights and do a bit of math. Turns out my dollhouse scale is 1:16 (1 foot in real world = 3/4 inch in miniature world). While this scale may be better for my wallet (as there are way less furniture and accessories available for sale in this scale) it will also require me to make a lot of pieces from scratch if I want a specific design.
Most of the dollhouse pieces I’ve found in 1:16 are from vintage dollhouse and toy brands from the 1950’s and 1960’s and they tend to have more of a retro feel. In other words, it’s nearly impossible to find a dollhouse mini furniture piece with modern day interior design trends in 1:16 scale… unless they’re custom made.
Here is a list of brands that offer 1:16 scale pieces: Sylvanian Families, Tomy Smaller Homes, Ideal, Strombecker, Renwal, Lundby, and Marx.
My plan is to purchase a few of the vintage 1:16 pieces (fridge, stove, etc.) if I find any I LOVE on Etsy and Ebay, and then make most of the other pieces for my dollhouse from scratch. I think this combination of modern and retro will give my house more character in the end.
However, I’m getting ahead of myself here because we need to start off with priming the house and working on the exterior.
Here’s what I have done so far:
I thoroughly cleaned the dollhouse inside and out and gave it a few coats of Rust-oleom Ultra Matte white spray paint on the exterior. Next I used FolkArt chalk paint in White Adirondack to cover up the interior walls, ceilings, and floors.
I always envisioned the house looking sleek and modern… a white house with black windows and pops of natural wood on the roof and shutters. So at this point, I should’ve stopped and moved on to the shingle roof. But something came over me and I decided to try painting it a peachy/beige color so I mixed a custom color using pink, rust, and off-white.
This ended up being a waste of time because I eventually painted it back to white in the end. I also DO NOT recommend using a custom mixed paint for something as important as the exterior walls, because if you ever need to retouch later on it’s nearly impossible to mix a new batch of paint with an exact color match. Two big lessons learned: trust your gut, and stick to standard paint colors for large areas.
Here is my initial floor plan and some of my favorite inspiration images from dollhouse IG accounts that I’ve been loving lately.
That’s all for now! Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more dollhouse updates and check out the “dollhouse” story highlight for more content.
For
Xx Laura
Helpful Resources
Information + Tutorials
Youtube video – Kathleen Holmes Dollhouse tour
Youtube channel – Bentley House Minis
Youtube video – Homemade Hermits DIY curtains tutorial
Youtube channel – The Square to Spare
Youtube channel – Julie Warren
Shops + Inspo Accounts
Etsy shop – Miniature Rose Garden
Etsy shop – Dollhouses and More
Etsy shop – Miniature Imaginarium
Instagram – @thecheddarsresidence
Instagram – @pretty_little_minis
Instagram – @velvet.rabbit.miniatures
Instagram – @itsadollhousething
Instagram – @valleyofthedollshouse
Tools + Materials
Click here to see my complete TOOLS + MATERIALS list
PIN THIS FOR LATER!
