I was surprised by how many of you asked about the tiny dollhouse glimpses I posted on Instagram Stories while the kids and I were fixing this one up. After I polled you, 91% said you wanted a post with details—so here it is, a full walkthrough of our little renovation and how the kids helped bring it to life.
We picked up two secondhand dollhouses on Facebook Marketplace with the plan to renovate them together. The kids wanted highly detailed mini houses to decorate, so we made an afternoon project out of painting, gluing, and arranging furniture. Although this house technically lives in our son’s room, both kids helped—from choosing colors to painting floors and arranging tiny accessories. We also have a larger dollhouse in our daughter’s room that we’re slowly renovating together.
Below is the quick before photo I managed to snap once we’d already started painting. It gives you a sense of how much transformation happened with just some craft paint, glue, and imagination.
Our son insisted the exterior be white with light blue shutters and a gold trim along the peak, and he was adamant about that vision. We used basic craft paint and worked on the interior and exterior as a family. The kids handled broad areas like walls, floors, and exterior color, while I tackled finer details such as trim with a small brush. We even made up a silly painting song to keep everyone focused—partly to remind them to avoid getting paint on the roof. If you prefer a tidier method, you can mask off areas with plastic and tape, but our approach worked just fine for this project.
The decorative peak trim was originally part of the dollhouse but had broken off. I reattached it with wood glue and used tape to hold the pieces in place while they dried so I didn’t have to hold them the entire time. It was an easy repair that made a big visual difference.
I enjoyed reusing small items we already had around the house. For example, the tiny topiaries on the porch came from a wedding aisle find years ago—they were meant as place card holders but make delightful miniature plants for a dollhouse. You can find cute miniatures everywhere if you keep an eye out.
For the window boxes we used a small piece of faux greenery cut into sections. The kids loved helping glue the greenery into place. Craft stores are full of small faux mats and pieces that can be trimmed and repurposed for miniature gardens—use coupons when you can to save money on paint, glue, and tiny faux plants.
Here’s a photo for scale with our dog Burger, who was very interested in the project but not much help with painting. We eventually fixed the dollhouse steps by slicing thin craft wood with an X-Acto knife, gluing the steps in place, and painting them to match. It’s a simple fix—much easier than building a full-size staircase.
This dollhouse sits in the corner of our son’s room. It’s bigger than I expected when we picked it up, and the one we bought for our daughter turned out to be even larger. Despite taking up a surprising amount of space, both kids adore them and have spent hours playing and rearranging furniture.
Most of the furniture we found came from two bulk purchases on Facebook Marketplace—about $30 total for enough pieces to furnish both houses. The original furniture leaned toward wood tones, deep reds, and greens, but our tiny homeowner wanted white walls and light blue floors. Once we painted those base elements, we let the kids pick accent colors. They requested gold beds, a pink-topped table, and pink appliances in one house because they’d enjoyed the pink stove in another. We happily obliged.
Tiny details came from repurposed household items: small pillows from an old doll, bedding made from small cloth gift bags, and miniature accessories purchased with gift cards and Christmas money. The kids chose tiny plates of pancakes, a gingerbread-making kit, and a pots-and-pans set—items that brought them a lot of joy when they arrived in the mail.
Some miniature pieces we bought secondhand came with charming extras, like a tiny candlestick with real wax candles. Other bits, such as round wire chairs, were originally decorative items from home stores and fit perfectly in the small scale. It’s fun to scout thrift shops and decor aisles for unexpected miniatures.
I also made a few small potted plants from scrap materials. I cut clippings from the same faux-green mat used in the window boxes and glued them into tiny containers—wood beads, small craft pots, and even a clear bead paired with a flat button to mimic a glass vase on a coaster. These little DIY plants add a lot of character and were quick, inexpensive projects to do with the kids.
Another easy trick: fill the bathtub or sink with colorful beads or sequins to simulate water. The kids loved bathing their miniature dolls and stuffed animals in sparkly “water,” and it’s much less messy than real water play inside a dollhouse.
Interactive elements like a rocking horse, pull-out drawers, opening chests, and a toilet seat that lifts make play more engaging. Our daughter’s house includes a tiny Christmas tree and wrapped presents that the kids love to arrange and rearrange while they create stories for their mini people.
That wraps up the tour of House #1. We’ll share the larger, more detailed renovation of the bigger dollhouse in our daughter’s room when it’s further along—she wants tiny lighting and more features, so that project may take a bit longer. One final note: dollhouses are for everyone. Many boys who come to play gravitate straight to them and have a blast. These small remodels have been a great way to spend time together, use creativity, and breathe new life into secondhand finds.
*Note: Some items pictured were purchased for the project. We used a mix of thrifted finds, repurposed pieces from around the house, and a few new miniature accessories chosen by the kids.*