Dolls House Decorating Guide
Introduction to Dolls House Decorating
When it comes to decorating your dolls house the possibilities are endless. Paint and wallpaper are the basic materials most commonly used and these can be used to decorate dolls house rooms quickly and easily. However, if you want to explore more creative interior design ideas it’s well worth spending some extra time at the planning stage.
Research is usually a good starting point. Whether it’s learning about historically correct decor for period room settings or looking at other dolls houses for inspiration and ideas online on Instagram or Pinterest. It can be helpful to create a mood board to organise all of your ideas and start to visualise the finished effect you are aiming for.
Dolls house rooms usually start out as basic rectangular boxes. Before you start decorating you may wish to consider modifying the internal layout of your dolls house or adding architectural features. Perhaps an internal wall, a chimney breast or a feature window.
Another consideration before you start decorating is electrical wiring for dolls house lighting. If you plan to install lights you should plan the wiring installation before decorating so the wires can be hidden away neatly without damaging the new decor.
Common Decorating Tasks Guide
How to Wallpaper a Dolls House
Interior wallpapers are available in a wide range of designs to suit different rooms and different periods and styles. Popular wallpaper brands include Dolls House Emporium and Streets Ahead who produce designs to suit the Georgian, Victorian and modern periods. There are wallpaper designs to suit all rooms in the house from the library to the nursery.
Exterior wallpapers include brick and stone wall effects and various roof tile and slate designs. Floor papers are also available for dolls houses to create floorboard and tile effects. The quality of papers varies from relatively inexpensive papers to more realistic heavier materials with embossed and textured surfaces. Before deciding to use these materials to decorate the exterior and floor of your dolls house you may wish to consider materials which are even more realistic such as real wood floorboards, individual roof tiles and textured brick finishes.
Wallpaper – How Many Sheets?
When choosing and buying wallpapers it is important to measure carefully to ensure you buy the correct amount, allowing a little extra for wastage and matching any patterns. Note that wallpaper sheet sizes vary between brands so don’t assume they are all the same. Often it pays to add an extra sheet just in case. When shopping online it may be difficult to visualise the paper in your dolls house rooms so it may be helpful to buy one sheet for each room initially.
Wallpaper paste will be needed to fit your wallpapers and we recommend using types specifically formulated for dolls house use. Whilst it may be tempting to use some leftover household wallpaper paste that you may have lying around, this is not generally well suited to dolls house wallpapers which are quite delicate compared to the full-size wallpapers. Ready-mixed dolls house wallpaper is a popular choice as it is supplied in a handy resealable container and is just the right consistency making it convenient and easy to use and helping to achieve good results.
Preparation
Before fitting your dolls house wallpaper it is best to get as many other jobs as possible done first. This will vary depending on the particular dolls house, chosen decor and personal preferences, but may include the following:
- Cut grooves and drill holes for wiring
- Apply sealer or primer to MDF / wood panels
- Paint ceiling
Fit the Wallpaper
Measure the height of the room. If fitting skirting and/or cornice it is best to fit these after applying the wallpaper, but leave a gap at the top and bottom of the walls slightly less than their height so you can glue these in position neatly overlapping the edge of the wallpaper afterwards.
Measure the width of each wall. I usually add on around 5 – 6mm to each side. I usually start by applying wallpaper to the back wall of a room and wrap the excess wallpaper around the corners onto the side walls. Then apply wallpaper to the side walls so it fits into the corners overlapping the previously applied wallpaper.
I recommend using a sharp craft knife, steel ruler and cutting mat to cut the wallpaper accurately, but scissors will do.
When the wallpaper is cut to size and ready to fit, apply dolls house wallpaper paste to the wall of the dolls house rather than to the paper. You should aim to apply a smooth even coating of paste, but not too much as this can make it difficult to apply the wallpaper smoothly and can soak and damage it.
Position the wallpaper on the wall and apply pressure to ensure it is smooth and bubble-free. A brayer roller is a useful tool for smoothing out the wallpaper, but the edge of a credit card or similar can be used with care. Note that dolls house wallpaper is fairly delicate, particularly when wet so care should be taken.
I recommend wallpapering over window and door openings and edges, leaving an overhang. Fit the wallpaper and allow it to dry before using a sharp craft knife to trim the edges as necessary.
How to Paint a Dolls House
There are various different parts to a dolls house which you may wish to paint. These include the exterior walls, roof, window frames and mouldings and the interior ceilings, skirting boards, cornices and stairs.
There isn’t really such a thing as ‘Dolls house paint’ so when choosing paint for your dolls house it is really a matter of choosing from the commonly available DIY and craft paints and using the best suited for the particular application.
Recommended Paint Types
Emulsion Paint is ideal for painting the main walls (internal and exterior) and ceilings. Small (250ml) sample pots are ideal. Eggshell finish emulsion paints are more durable and can be wiped clean, but can be difficult to find in small pots. If using matt finish emulsion paint we recommend applying Decorators Varnish over it which will create a more durable wipe-plean surface.
Acrylic Craft Paint is useful for painting smaller parts such as window frames, doors, roof tiles and mouldings. The Crafters Acrylic paint range includes varnish with matt, satin or gloss finish so you can create the finish of your choice.
Other Paint Types can be used for for different applications depending on the surface material and the effect you wish to create.
The most important consideration when painting is to make it as easy as you can by painting parts before assembly wherever possible.
How to Paint a Dolls House
Painting guide
