Hold onto your miniature hats — now comes the fun part: painting and personalizing the dollhouse.
In our previous post we covered the build process in detail, so here I’ll focus on how we finished everything — priming, painting, wallpapering, furnishing and the final reveal.
Once the house was fully assembled we carried our 31″ x 31″ creation into the sunroom to prime and paint. I used Zinsser Smart Prime to block any bleed-through from raw or stained wood, then applied two coats of Benjamin Moore Advance, a low-VOC, self-leveling, durable paint. We chose Decorator’s White because we had leftover cans from other projects, which kept costs down. Below was the primed but unpainted house.
I rolled the main surfaces with a small foam roller and used a brush for tight spots and trim. After painting, I allowed the paint to cure for about 30 hours before moving on to the next step: wallpaper.
For the wallpaper I raided our craft stash and gift-wrap closet. I used a mix of gift wrap sheets, decorative paper and rolls of patterned tape — mostly materials I already had on hand. This approach gave each room its own personality without spending extra money.
- Gift wrap sheets from a local shop collected over time
- Leftover decorative paper from craft store purchases
- Decorative tape mounted on cardstock for a textured accent
- Older gift wrap patterns saved from previous years
- More decorative paper from craft-store remnants
To apply the wallpaper I first made paper templates for each back wall by trimming printer paper until it fit snugly. I used the templates to cut the decorative paper to size, adhered each piece with double-sided tape, then brushed a thin coat of matte Mod Podge over the paper to protect it from scratches and tears. For the room with decorative tape, no additional sealant was needed since it was already glossy.
Furniture came from an eBay “mixed lot” of vintage dollhouse pieces, mostly from the 1950s–60s. The entire lot cost about $30 including shipping. After a soak in hot soapy water to remove grime, the pieces were ready for refinishing.
To update the mismatched colors and make the toys durable enough for regular play, I used spray primer and spray paint. Knowing spray paint fumes can linger, I painted the furniture weeks before the final assembly and left it in a sealed room to off-gas and cure. For a few pieces I used a dark brown spray to mimic a wood look, while most items received a white primer base and a satin white topcoat. A handful got bright accent colors — cheerful yellows and turquoise — from leftover cans for a playful touch.
After curing, the furniture collected some dust, so I gave everything a quick rinse before placing items in the dollhouse. I didn’t overthink the layout because I wanted Clara to be able to rearrange and play freely. We’ll likely add more accessories and wall art over time — perhaps laminated family photos or small framed prints.
For dolls we chose a bendy plastic family set at a toy store that fit our scale and seemed sturdy for toddler play. They’re indestructible compared to delicate ceramic figures and fit well with the furniture scale.
Clara loves her dolls and enjoys assigning them to different rooms — naps in the crib, dinners at the table, and lots of imaginative scenarios. The house is arranged so that rooms can evolve: a nursery with a crib and vanity, a playroom with random furniture and a fabric rug, and a tiny topiary from a wedding-aisle decoration that doubles as a plant.
Small decorative touches — like faux ceramic animals made from plastic beads, tiny camera charms, and a miniature airplane — add character. For safety, the smallest accessories are kept aside and only used when we play together, since Clara sometimes still explores with her hands and mouth.
One of my favorite rooms is the laundry area, where metallic decorative tape gives an unexpectedly chic look. I sprayed the utility sink and washer bright yellow and added a thrift-store frame repurposed as a chalkboard with leftover chalkboard paint. The message can be changed whenever Clara asks — currently it reads “Moooo!” which makes her giggle.
The bedroom features a paper rug and small handmade accents like painted terra-cotta pots and chevron pillow details made with nail polish. The bathroom has a mint-green sink and a small foil-backed mirror above it. Clara was delighted to learn to “flush” the tiny toilet with a playful whooshing sound, and now the dolls spend plenty of time in the bathroom.
The living room still needs wall art, but it already has a charming vintage-style record-player cabinet and a tiny, well-loved miniature burger that Clara named “Baby Burger.” That little detail made her very happy.
The kitchen includes a stove, sink with miniature dishes, a bright yellow refrigerator, and a DIY table made from a small wooden box topped with a lid. Chairs from the furniture lot complete the scene. Many paper rugs and quick crafts around the house may become laminated or replaced with fabric versions as the dollhouse evolves.
Once the furniture was arranged, we tied a bow on the house and carried it out of hiding for Clara to discover after her nap. She ran straight in and began playing as if it had always been there. It was delightful to watch her learn that these tiny items are perfect for the dolls, not for her to hold — and to see her invent little stories and routines for the family.
We intentionally used durable materials and mostly plastic or metal furnishings so the dollhouse can stand up to toddler play. It’s satisfying to give Clara something she can explore freely, and we’ve enjoyed playing with it ourselves when she’s asleep.
Budget recap:
- Wood: $35 (we reused a scrap piece for the back)
- Nails and wood glue: $0 (already owned; expect about $5 if you need to buy them)
- Primer & paint: $0 (leftovers; roughly $70 would buy a gallon of primer and paint for many projects)
- Dollhouse furniture: $30 (vintage lot from an online auction)
- Craft supplies from a craft store: $5 (small pots, faux flowers, beads, charms)
- Miniature burger: $6 (online)
- Doll family: $10 (retail toy store)
- TOTAL: $86
Because we used many supplies we already had, we finished well under our $100 goal. The final result is a playful, durable dollhouse full of character that will grow and change as Clara does.
Have you ever used gift wrap or decorative tape as wallpaper? Or turned tiny beads into miniature décor? We loved hearing ideas from earlier posts about carpet samples, tile, or using tongue depressors for shingles — so many creative possibilities for future updates.
See Part 1 of this project for the full building process.