Dollhouse Decorating (Part 1)

After a much-needed and refreshing 3 month term-break from Uni, I'm back to a full study schedule of readings, research, books, assignments, computer screens, files,...and, well, you get the idea! It is exciting, but challenging to be sure.

During my break I enjoyed doing many things I had wanted to do for a very long time. For example, one of those really special things I managed to do was to hone my singing skills and techniques (but more on that in some later post). One other thing I really enjoyed doing, was decorate my little sister's dollhouse! Since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of doing this. I love decorating and interior design. This was a great opportunity to try it on a nice, very small scale. I was also particularly inspired by Emma J.'s work of customising and decorating playmobil houses and Cherrybrook Village: A Sylvanian Families Fan Site. 

I thought I'd like to show you something of my humble attempts to decorate my sister's dollhouse! Perhaps, it can inspire you if you've got a similar hobby. 

Here is the dollhouse...A Sylvanian House on a Hill... It is quite suitable for playmobil figures, too.

The Dollhouse!

Here is how it all turned out...

The back-side of the house...

The side-part of the house...

The hardest to work on were both the attic and the winding staircase! 

The attic children's bedroom...

A closer look at the attic...

Carpeting the winding staircase was a real challenge...

To give the impression of shinny tiles, I covered the wallpaper and flooring of both the kitchen and bathroom with cello-tape. 

The Kitchen!

The Bathroom!

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Here is how I went about decorating this nice little dollhouse!

Dollhouse Tutorial (Part 1)

Step 1 - Tools I used: 

• Rulers
• Pencils and eraser
• Scissors 
• Cello-tape (normal sticky tape)
• A Cutter
• A cutting board (or quilting board)
• Paper (for creating templates)
• Double-sided, Acid-Free sticky tape (available from Craft/Art stores or hardware store)
• Wet Sponge and towel
• A colour printer 

Step 2: 

Using a damp sponge, I made sure the surface of the walls was clean. Then, I made sure it was dry. 

Step 3: 

Then, using some paper, I made a template of all the walls of the room. I needed to make it as accurate as possible. This way I wouldn't run into problems and waste the real wallpaper.

Step 4: 

Making a template of the windows was always trickiest thing. (See image 4 to see how I did it!)

Step 5: 

For wallpaper, I browsed the internet for dollhouse decorating and miniature websites and found many printable wallpaper to use - all for free! 

Here are some links: 

Jenny's Free Printable Dollhouse Wallpaper (my favourite)

Morandi Sisters 

Mis Papeles a Escala 1:12 

My Obsession (Gives more links)

Choosing the right wallpaper was also a challenging step. I had to always take into consideration the dollhouse furniture, the style, the colours, and the historical era I wanted the house to be customised into.

Whenever I found a suitable wallpaper, I downloaded it (or 'Saved as') to my computer. Using a photo-editing programme (such as Photoshop or a free online one - Picmonkey), I enhanced, edited and 'mix-'n'-matched' various wallpapers and borders to create my own new styles.

Finally, with a bit of trial and error, I managed to find the print settings and scale required for printing the wallpaper. 

Steps 6, 7, & 8: 

The next step after finding and printing the wallpaper, was cutting it out (using the templates made in steps 3 and 4).

Then, I placed double-sided sticky tape on the back of the cut-out wallpaper. 

Steps 9-12: 

The next step was to remove the covering from the sticky-tape on the back of the wallpaper one section at a time and stick it to the wall, carefully, one bit a time. This is very important! 

I did this with all the walls...and here is the final result! What do you think?

Using the same steps, I finished the walls of all the other rooms and used the same steps for putting carpeting on the floors...using felt and the double-sided sticky tape.

The last step remaining is to put suitable curtains and put back all the furniture. So, keep a look out for another post from me when I finally get to finish it. Gracie, my sister, is just so excited with this project...and I must admit...me, too!