Once Upon A Doll Collection : Building a Dollhouse, Part 2

I just wanted to post an update on the progress of the dollhouse. I've been working on the dollhouse for about 3 weeks now. After priming all the pieces, I knew I wanted to paint most of them before assembly, so I had to choose a color scheme even before building. I knew I wanted a cottage style and a bit of Mary Engelbreit style. When I found these paint colors at Lowes, they just spoke to me, and I knew this was it. They are from the Valspar Eddie Bauer Home Collection. I bought a 7.5 oz. Satin paint sample of each color, plus an off-white for the trim. The colors are Weathered Glass, Island Blue, Cottage Rose, and Flame.

The exterior of the house is Weathered Glass and there will be off-white and Island Blue trim. The shell of the house is painted and built. We still have to build the roof and install the windows, doors, and the rest of the trim.

Inside the house, I'm also painting and wallpapering as I go. Well, I've been painting before building, but wallpapering after building. I am using Yes Paste to adhere all the wallpapers to the primed walls. Yes Paste is a book binding paste, so it is great for a really smooth finish. Since it is a really thick paste, there's not a lot of water in it like other glues, which would cause paper to wrinkle. I could only find the Yes Paste at Michaels.

The kitchen has red and white gingham wallpaper, which is actually scrapbook paper. The kitchen floor is covered with a black and white checkerboard scrapbook paper. I applied about 5 coats of Gloss Mod Podge to the floor to give it a shiny tile finish.

In the back of the kitchen, there is a bay window, which will be the dining area. I used some Mary Engelbreit scrapbook paper that has been in my stash for years for the dining area. I haven't been able to find any ME scrapbook paper in the craft stores lately, although I do see a few other ME items.

The living room has teal scrapbook paper on the walls. The floor is the original dollhouse floor, which I stained with Minwax Light Oak and applied 2 coats of Satin Polycrylic.

On the second floor, the room above the living room has a rose print wallpaper. This paper is actually dollhouse wallpaper. It came in a roll in the dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby.

This bedroom has a pink floral print on the walls, which was also a dollhouse wallpaper from Hobby Lobby. The floors in these two second floor rooms have the original dollhouse floors with stain and poly, like the living room.

The bathroom walls are painted Weathered Glass. The floor is a tile print scrapbook paper with 5 coats of Gloss Mod Podge applied to make it shine.

The third floor is one big room. Some of the walls will be painted Cottage Rose and some walls will be wallpapered. The floor was also stained, but I decided to give it a different treatment. I scribed floor boards onto the stained dollhouse floor with a straight edge and a pen. Then I distressed the floor by banging it with the edge of one of my Quick-Grip Clamps that was handy, since we had been using them to clamp parts together until glue dried. My husband came in to see what all the noise was, and his reaction was priceless when he saw me banging recklessly on the dollhouse. He must have thought I was losing it. :) I explained to him that I wanted the floor to look distressed. Then I mixed a little of the off-white paint with water to thin it down and brushed it over the floor to give it a white washed effect.

Once the wallpaper was in, it was time to install the stairs. I had a really hard time deciding whether to stain the stairs to match the floors or paint them. I finally decided to paint the stairs off-white to match the trim. I painted the railing and part of each spindle with the Island Blue. Here is the living room staircase.

This is the 2nd floor staircase in the room with the rose print wallpaper.

I don't have much furniture for the house yet. I'm realizing now that the house is coming together, and I'm going to need to furnish it very soon. Last weekend, we went to Mississippi, and we stopped by Treasure Hunt, which is a closeout store like Tuesday Morning or Big Lots. They had a Melissa and Doug dining room set which was $29.99 for 60% off, so I got it for $12. It included a table and 4 chairs and a china cabinet. The pieces are stained a mahogany finish and the chairs have red cushions. I'm not sure the style works in my cottage style house, but I couldn't pass it up for just $12. Maybe I should repaint the set in an off-white to make is more cottage style. What do you think?

I also picked up this little old fashioned stove at Hobby Lobby, but I just don't know if it will work with this furniture. The stove was $7.99, but with the 40% off coupon, it was only $4.79. Even if I don't use the little stove in this house, I'm sure I'll keep it. It is so cute, I could just display it in my own kitchen. I still don't have any cabinets, a sink or a refrigerator for the kitchen yet. I haven't been able to find a cottage style set like I have in mind. If you have any suggestions or ideas, I'd love to hear your thoughts!