In this post I’ll be sharing updates and progress photos of my dollhouse renovation project: wallpaper, hardwood floors, and kitchen cabinetry DIYs.
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Welcome to my DOLLHOUSE RENO series! Click here to read the intro post or click here to jump straight to my list of resources.
If you’re just joining in, here’s a quick recap of the project so far: The house is originally a “Deluxe Townhouse” from KidKraft. The scale is 1:16. I was lucky enough to find it in great condition at a thrift store. This is my first ever dollhouse project so it’s definitely a learning-as-I-go situation… expecting many imperfections, and just having fun with it!
Here is where we left off last time I shared an update:
The exterior paint, roof and windows were completed. Click here to see how this came together.
I had a hard time deciding on a front door color, and was itching to get started on the inside rooms, so I felt like this was a good stopping point for the exterior for now. I’ll come back to the flower boxes, planters, trellis, and other details later on.
Wallpaper, molding + hardwood floors
The first things to tackle on my list for interior: walls and flooring.
I used 2 coats of Folk Art chalk paint in White Adirondack on all the walls to really give myself a clean, blank canvas.
I’m aiming for a more eclectic + collected interior design style with this dollhouse. Just like my own personal spaces, I like using different elements, colors, and patterns that are slightly juxtaposed. Picture a modern Ikea console paired with a vintage mirror with an ornate gold frame. That kind of thing.
To add a bit of personality to the all-white walls, I headed over to Etsy to hunt for some dollhouse scale wallpaper. There are tons of shops that create beautiful designs. I purchased a floral print for the nursery, a victorian style print for the closet, a pink subway tile for the bathroom walls, a marble tile for the bathroom floor, a black and white diamond tile for the foyer, a trellis tile for the kitchen backsplash, and a terracotta tile for the kitchen / breakfast nook / balcony / rooftop terrace. PS – we have terracotta tiles throughout our house, so I just HAD to incorporate it into the dollhouse as well.
I created templates for the rooms using cardstock, and used them to carefully cut out the wallpaper and tile floor pieces. I made sure to “measure twice and cut once” because these specialty dollhouse papers are NOT cheap. I then glued the wallpaper and tile flooring directly onto the dollhouse with Aileens Tacky Glue.
Next up, “hard wood” floors. I watched tons of tutorials and read blog posts about DIY-ing dollhouse floors with popsicle sticks. And was also feeling brave after my popsicle stick shingle roof project, so I went for it.
So far this has been my biggest “regret” because WOW was this a tedious and frustrating process. Next time I’ll definitely go with a woodgrain printed cardstock or something more ready-set-go. I had a really hard time getting the sticks to lay evenly, flat, and seamless. Although, spoiler alert: I still love the overall look of the final outcome!
I started by marking, cutting, and sanding what felt like 2 billion popsicle sticks to create the floorboards. I then used wood glue to adhere them to my floors. However, I left the floor templates underneath in case I ever want to change this flooring later on. I figured it would be much easier to remove if they were glued to my template and not directly to the house itself. Bad idea. As I glued, the wood began slightly warping and although I used heavy books and coasters to weigh them down as they dried, they still don’t lay completely flat in some areas.
I’ve concluded that from now on, things are just getting glued directly onto the house, and I will NOT be changing anything out. This house will be as is… like forever. HA!
After the floorboards were glued, I added base boards everywhere and some wall molding in the 2 bedrooms using coffee stirrer sticks.
Next I painted the baseboards and molding the same color as the walls for a seamless look. Tip: I highly recommend using a short paintbrush. It helps when painting things that are already inside the house. I just snapped mine in half and it was much easier to get into the small corners.
Lastly, I used a DIY stain for the wood floors. I wanted something very subtle, just adding a slightly warmer tone to the raw popsicle sticks.
Before staining, I gave the floors a light sanding and wiped off any dust/particles with a baby wipe. For the stain, I mixed a few colors of brown/beige acrylic paint with some water. Using a sponge, I lightly pressed the stain over the floors and quickly used a paper towel to soak up any excess moisture. Once it dried, I used one coat of all purpose sealer.
Kitchen Cabinets
I then moved on to the heart of the home: the kitchen!
The first thing I did was build out the wall so that it lined up perfectly with the corner columns. I wanted a nice seamless fit for the cabinets and appliances that would live along that back wall. I did this using 2 layers of cardboard, then applied the “backsplash” tile to the entire wall.
Since I had already purchased my appliances, I knew the cabinets would need to be designed around them.
For reference, I bought a Tomy Smaller Homes refrigerator from Ebay and a Lundby stove from Etsy. Both are vintage from the 1970s, aka when the 1:16 scale was last commonly used for dollhouses.
I placed the fridge and stove along the back kitchen wall, and used the spacing in between to design the cabinets. I decided on a tall pantry to the left of the fridge, and 2 lower cabinets on either side of the stove. I really didn’t want a boring wall full of cabinets, so I opted out of upper cabinets, and added an exposed hood with 2 floating open shelves to the left instead. The floating shelves will be perfect for displaying cute accessories like books, bowls, food, etc.
Lastly, I designed an island for the sink and included an overhang for some cute little stools. I also plan to add some hanging pendant lights over the island.
To finish off the cabinetry, I created a “built in” style bench to place under the window in the breakfast nook. I plan to add cushions to this with a little table and maybe a chair off to one side. This built in bench also helps hide the seams on the wall from when I converted the previously existing door into a window.
To make the base of the cabinets, I created templates with construction paper, and cut the pieces out of a cardboard box. This took some trial and error. I had to adjust the template patterns a few times to get the sizing right.
I then used thick cardstock to make the drawer fronts and cabinet doors. Everything was glued together with a combination of Aileens Tacky Glue and hot glue. Because this house is SO tiny, I decided not to make functioning drawers and doors. I’ll save this fun little feature for my next dollhouse at a slightly larger 1:12th scale 😉
The cabinets got 2 coats of the same white paint as the walls, and I gave the fridge and stove a coat of glossy white spray paint. To bring out some of the details on the appliances, I went in with some black nail polish and gold leaf paint for the knobs.
The cabinet drawer pulls are beads painted black. The floating shelves and island countertop are made with popsicle and coffee stirrer sticks, stained the same color as the hardwood floors.
The sink is made from the thin metal base of a tealight candle, and I painted the inside with black nail polish. The faucet is made with craft wire.
Although it’s quite simple, I’m super happy with how the kitchen turned out. I might paint the cabinets a different color once the rest of the house starts coming together, and I’m still not sure if I want to add a marble effect to the countertops along the back wall. But for now, it’s the perfect blank canvas for food, accessories, baskets, and so much more!
NEXT UP: I’ve already started planning and marking out some room layouts, so up next I’ll be tackling some of the larger furniture pieces, window treatments, and rugs.
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. Or click here to see all posts from the Dollhouse Reno Series.
Xx Laura
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