Dolls House Internal Decoration
Workshop Tools and Supplies
Before starting any miniature project, you must have the right tools.
A small tool box is perfect for keeping all your tools organised. The small divisions, drawers and divided trays that open out are the perfect size for your dollhouse tools.
The Basic Tool Box
The basic tools listed below will help you complete any miniature project. They are a combination of tools suggested by miniature clubs, workshops & other miniaturists:
Small and Large scissors
Tweezers, Pointed and Angle
Tooth Picks & Kebab Sticks
Pins
Brushes Assorted Sizes
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Pencil & Sharpener
Rulers, Metal are best 12" & 6"
Craft knife and Spare Blades
Plasters (just in case)
Wire Cutters or Nail Clippers
Needle Nose Pliers
Small Hammer
Masking Tape
Emery board & Fine Sandpaper
Mitre Box and Various Miniature Saws
Small Clamps and Pegs
Mini Drill & Drill Bits
Cutting Board
Rubber Mat (to Glue On)
Small Wood or Plastic Block (to hammer on)
Soft Rag & Paper Towels
Wax Paper
Assortment of Adhesives & Glues - Super, Wood, PVA etc
Workshop Tools
The tools listed below are not absolutely necessary, but they will make your project easier to complete, as well as more successful.
Angle Square
Scroll Saw
Light with a Magnifying Glass
Large Table With an Overhead Light
Internal Decoration
Doll House decoration can be a pleasure. Just like in your own home there are several ways in which you can decorate. You could paint or wallpaper the walls and carpet or put wood or tiles on the floors. There are a lot of options available to you and you can decorate your rooms in any way that you like.
Wallpapering
Wallpaper is probably the most popular method of covering walls as there are so many different wall paper options available. You can get as many different types of wallpaper in miniature as you can in full size. Wallpapering your dolls house is easy to do when you know how and we have reproduced a guide to help you.
Its hard to know what will look good when the room is finished. Well here's a few hints and tips when choosing your wall paper:
Remember before decorating your house you must put the electric's in. Also start from the bottom of the house, put the electric's into a room and then decorate.
Take the size of the room into account. A small room will look very dark and even smaller if you use dark coloured or patterned papers. Try to use light colours to make small rooms look bigger. Vertical stripes will make a room look taller.
Horizontal stripes will make a room look wider.
Using two types of paper can create a very nice effect in a room.
Using a stripe on the bottom of the room and a plain paper on the top will not make the room look smaller and will keep it from looking plain.
When choosing your wall paper consider if you will use picture rails in your room. Picture rails usually have a different paper above and below them.
Check before pasting the wallpaper on the wall that the pattern is the correct way up.
Step by Step Guide to Doll House Wallpapering
Doll House Wallpapering Step 1
Measure your room before buying any paper to find out how many sheets you will need. Sheet sizes can vary so find out the size of the wall paper sheets before you start. Bear in mind that pattern sheets or sheets with a border will have to match up so you may need more to be able to match them correctly.
Usually when using a single wall paper in a room one sheet per wall if the sheets are big enough to cover a wall. If using two wall papers you usually need two or three sheets of each paper.If you have a front opening house you also have to decide if you will paper the front wall that opens and if so account for this. Always buy more paper than you need in case you make a mistake. Colours can vary slightly between batches of paper and you might not get an exact match.
Doll House Wallpapering Step 2
Cut the paper to the required size. The full size of the wall if using one style of paper or if you are using two cut to the length of the wall and the required height. When using two papers overlap the top paper over the bottom slightly to make sure there are no gaps.Make sure you use a ruler to get a straight edge. Wall paper should already have a straight, right angle corner so you can measure from an existing edge.
Doll House Wallpapering Step 3
Before the wall paper goes up there are a few things you must do:
All wires from electric's should be in grooves to stop them sticking up under the wall paper.
Wires should be held in place with a thin piece of masking tape.
Ceilings should be painted. If possible remove the doors to paint as it will make wallpapering easier
You need to paint all the front edges of the walls. Use a good quality paint that will tone in with the external appearance of the house. Some miniaturists say that using a sponge applicator to paint the edges is much easier and cleaner than using a brush and you don't get so many drips. You will need to give the edges at least two coats of paint but three would be best and always sand the edges between each coat of paint. Make sure you remove any paint runs on all of the edges as this can affect the laying of the wallpaper and looks unsightly. Leave the paint to dry before you attempt to wallpaper.
Doll House Wallpapering Step 4
Points to Remember
When doll house wallpapering you need a paste that allows the paper to move freely you can get special wallpaper paste for hanging dolls house wallpaper.An alternative is to use normal household wallpaper paste but this can be a bit lumpy for dolls houses.
Be careful not to spread to much paste onto each piece of paper but also remember you must put enough on to stick the paper to the wall so there is a fine line between to much and not enough.
Paste the wall of the dolls house and not the paper. If you paste the paper it might become too moist and will tear more easily.
Hanging Your Wallpaper
Place the top edge of the paper up against the back wall of the room that you wish to paper and with your fingers keeping the paper flat, fold the excess paper at the floor edge using your finger to create a crease. Remove the paper and using the front edge of the room lie the paper on the floor of the room and make a crease along the left and right hand sides of the paper to give you the width of the room, you now have three creases on the back wall paper, using a sharp Stanley or craft knife and straight ruler cut 1cm outside the creases to leave excess paper but only on the left and right edge, cut the floor edge right to the crease as the carpet and skirting board will hide any discrepancies. Now paste the paper to the using the top edge of the paper as a guide to the ceiling, try and place the paper centrally so that there is an even amount of excess to fold around the corners, smooth out the paper with a soft cloth to remove any air pockets. At this stage you can slide the paper around until you get it in its right position.
Now you will need to work on the next wall I always do the outside wall first that has no doors or windows, you follow the same instructions for the back wall but this time when creating the crease for the left and right you only need to leave a 1cm excess at the front of the room that can be trimmed later once the paste has dried. Again using the sharp craft knife and ruler cut the paper to the creases (except the front edge)and paste the paper in place again using a soft cloth to smooth out any air pockets.You may need to apply a little extra paste at the edges. A artists paint brush is perfect for this task.
Now for the last wall which has the door or opening this is a little bit tricky as you don't want to rip the paper where the opening for the door is, firstly measure the paper and put the creases in place the same as you did for the last wall remember to leave the 1cm excess at the front edge of the wall, now I paste the paper to the wall covering the opening for the door but before the paste dries I cut with the sharp craft knife from the two top corners of the opening to release the paper make sure you smooth the paper with the soft cloth to help position the paper and remove any air pockets .
Once you have finished papering all of the rooms in exactly the same way leave them to dry overnight do not remove the excess paper. (do not cut away the excess paper whilst the paste has not dried as the paper will tear and ruin all your hard work). Now the paper and paste has dried using your sharp craft knife carefully rest the blade against the front edge of the wall where the excess paper starts and slice away the excess paper if you use a sharp enough blade it will cut away the excess to leave a really nice neat edge do the same with all of the walls and the door openings and there you have your fully wallpapered dolls house. Now that you have wallpapered all of your rooms you need to to install your wall lights, plasterware and cornice before you lay the flooring and skirting board.
Painting Walls
Vinyl silk works well as it is hard wearing and can be cleaned with a damp cl
oth.
For the larger areas a small roller gives the best finish as working in 1/12th scale
magnifies errors and brush strokes. Sample pots from superstores are useful if you
only require a very small amount of paint or are unsure what colour to go for. Have
fun and experiment - mistakes are easily rectified.
Doll House Decoration
Once you have wallpapered all of your rooms you need to to install your wall lights, plasterware and cornice before you lay the flooring and skirting board. The addition of cornice, ceiling roses and skirting board is time consuming but very rewarding and it really gives the project that special finish.
Coving/Cornice
There are many patterns of miniature cornice available. They range from traditional designs such as egg and dart or just plain.
Wooden cornice normally comes in 18" strips and depending on the size of your rooms you will probably need between two/three strips per room. You can get plaster or wooden cornice. Wood is easier to work with as plaster can be very fragile but it is usually white whereas the wood cornice usually has to be painted.
Fixing cornice can be tricky so you need a high impact glue or it will slide down the wall. You can use one or more braces (pieces of wood cut to the right height with a piece of sponge stuck on) placed at the right angle under the cornice to hold the length in place whilst the glue sets. Before we start to cut the cornice lets just have a quick look at the angles of your cornice cuts. The top one has left and right internal mitre cuts and the bottom one has left and right external mitre cuts. The bottom edges of each piece are the edges which are stuck to the wall. So internal go inwards and external outwards. When cutting using a mitre block you put the ceiling edge down into the block with the front of the cornice facing you and you cut into the curve. Then gently sandpaper the edges of the cut to remove any rough edges. Measure the
Back wall and cut the first piece of coving.
Using a mitre block (helps you to cut the
inside/outside angle correctly at 45 degrees)
saw the required inside or outside angle
on both ends of the coving and place the
length to one side. This is where it can be
difficult, especially if you have never done
much woodwork, but it does get easier with practice. Measure the next wall and cut the cornice 2" longer than required. Calculate whether you need an inside cut (usually used in corners of rooms) or an external
cut (usually around chimney breasts etc). Using the mitre block cut the angle and place this alongside the length already cut for the back wall to see if they dovetail. If you have cut the wrong kind of angle just re-cut the opposite way (hence the extra 2"). Once this is done and has dovetailed you need to cut the finished length of the second piece of cornice to the front of the house.
Repeat the above procedure for the last wall.
If the joins between the cornice are not exactly flush you can always fill with a little polyfilla and paint with white emulsion carefully once fitted.
Once you have cut the pieces, offer them up one last time and mark them left, back, right etc on the back of each length, so that you glue them in, in the right sequence, starting with the back wall as this is the most important length.
Plaster Ceiling Roses
Always fit before fixing the ceiling lights and place a little sellotape on the back
before drilling the hole in the centre as this may prevent the
rose cracking. Also
use a really high impact glue or gravity will ensure that the rose will be sitting
on your electric light when you return. Once again a brace (a piece of wood of the
right height with a sponge stuck on) will help the glue to set.
Skirting Board
Skirting board also comes in wooden lengths and fitting is very similar to coving
if your chosen design has a profile edge. Plain edge skirting board is much easier
as you can just cut to the length of the wall or door. If the join looks a liitle
rough it can be filled and repainted using a small artists
brush. Skirting board
normally comes in 18" strips and depending on the size of your rooms you will probably
need between two/three strips per room.
Dado Rail
For a neat finish fit the carpet before gluing the skirting board into place. Measure walls, cut to length, pre-paint and glue to walls.
Panelling
Panelling is best done using a kit as to make or router the wood for the panels is an experienced task.
However they are relatively easy to fit, except for rising stairs as these can be complicated. Measure the area to be panelled and purchase enough panels to complete the job. If necessary cut the panels to size bearing in mind that they look better uniform, so it is better if possible to leave the panel whole and place a dado rail on top if extra height is required. If the panels are unfinished, paint or varnish. Starting at the front edge of one side wall, glue the panels into place making any adjustments to the panels to fit the wall in the far corners of the room as they will be less noticeable. Repeat the procedure for the other side wall. When panelling the back wall it is best to find the centre of the room and mark the wall and place the first panel on the centre of the line, unless you have furniture that can hide any uneven finish.
Doll House Flooring
There are several choices available:
Card/Paper Flooring
This type of flooring is best glued to another piece of thin card using PVA glue,
The best way to start is to cut the card to the size of the room if one piece of
card is not enough you can join pieces together using masking tape. once the card
is has been cut to size then glue your flooring to the card being very careful to
smooth out any bubbles and wrinkles as you go then place it under a 
heavy book to
keep it flat whilst it dries, as when it dries it will curl up.(you will only get
one chance at this as once the paper is stuck to the card it will not come off) Once
the flooring is dry it needs to be cut to the size of the card, you will just need
to cut away the excess flooring using a sharp craft knife. To fix it to the floor
of your house use double sided sticky tape first make sure the floor of the house
is clean, dry and dust/dirt free then stick the tape to the paper/card flooring making
sure you go to the edges and the middle once, you have done this peel away the backing
from the tape and firmly press into place. This method is used so that if you need
to remove the flooring for any reason it can be done without damaging it.
Carpets
Self Adhesive carpet for dolls houses comes in a wide range of colours and is very
easy to use, If you want your carpet to be removable I would advise cutting it to
size with a sharp craft knife and ruler and then fixing
it to card this can then be
fitted in place with double sided sticky tape the same as the paper/card flooring
in the section above. Another option is to use pieces of fine velvet material as
this is just about the right size pile, it can be laid using spray adhesive.. Cut
to to room size and attach to card as above. For a neat finish fit the carpet before
gluing the skirting board into place.
Real Wood Floor
Wood flooring can be purchased already stained in a variety of shades, or untreated
so that you can stain or paint yourself it comes with a card backing that makes it
very easy to cut, again using a very sharp craft knife and ruler it can then be stained
or painted and fixed in place with either PVA adhesive or double sided sticky tape.
Some wood flooring comes with a self adhesive backing. If you prefer parquet floors,
you can 
purchase kits or even make wooden tiles. Place unglued on the floor in the
first instance so that you can see how they look on the floor. Always start from
the centre front of each room and work back that will ensure an even distribution.
Once correct pick up each tile and tile and glue into place.
If the floor is cabinet grade plywood to begin with, you may simply stain and finish the flooring like you
would any natural wood.
Ceramic Tiles
The choice of miniature ceramic tiles on the dolls house market is very wide. Terracotta tiles look particularly good when laid, as do black & white tiles in a hall, but you must remember to grout between the tiles and have a bowl of clean water and a sponge to clean the tile,s before any of the filler/grout dries as it is very difficult to remove. Place unglued on the floor in the first instance so that you can see how they look on the floor. Always start from the centre front of each room and work back that will ensure an even distribution. Once correct pick up each tile and tile and glue into place.
Staircases
Staircases come in quite a few different styles and I recommend that you read the
manufacturers instructions on how to put the particular one you have together if
the stair is not pre-fitted. Once your walls are wall papered and your flooring is
down you are ready to install the stairs, if 
you want to stain your staircase do
this before you fix all of the pieces together that way the glue won't mark the wood
as stain does not work well with dry glue, if you want to paint your stairs then
paint them after you have fixed it all together.
Stair carpets look great especially if you use stair rods for an extra bit of decoration, it is better if you can fit the carpet and rods before you fit the staircase to the house if possible.
Doors
There are various styles of doors for dolls houses but the
most common are the four panelled Victorian style or the six
panelled Georgian style although more manufacturers are
coming up with new styles all the time.
Most doors come as a standard size to fit most dolls houses
and come fitted to one part of the frame so are already
hinged and are very easily fitted and as most are made from
wood they can be painted or stained in the colour of your
choice then you can add door handles, door knobs and finger
plates to finish the look. If the house is made from MDF cutting a larger hole and
fitting double doors is very effective.
A Quick Guide to Decorating.
Step 1 - Paint Everything That Needs Painting.ie Ceilings,Edges etc
Step 2 - Paint And Fit Coving And Picture/Dado Rail If Wanted.
Step 3 - Wallpaper All Your Rooms
Step 4 - Install Your Lighting - See Lighting Instructions
Step 4 - Check All Lights Are Working Then Fit Carpets and Flooring
Step 5 - Fit Fireplaces and Doors
Step 6 - Paint & Fit Skirting
