Choosing Colors and Finishes for Your Dollhouse

Watch the video here.

 

 

I had planned to have the first of the videos on wiring the dollhouse but to be totally honest I haven't started the wiring. My allergies have been horrid this week and I have had a borderline migraine again most of the week. The last few days have been better so I am hoping that means relief is almost here. (fingers crossed)

I decided this would be a good time to talk about a subject I get asked about a lot- how to pick colors/finishes for either the outside or the inside of your dollhouse. (or both)

There are several factors that can help you determine the colors and the finishes to choose. I talk about the ones I find most important and that help me to make my choices. I also tried to further explain this by relating how these points helped me to choose the colors for the Beachside Bungalow. I really hope you find this information helpful. I am going to try to expand on some of the points here in the blog. I also have photos of the wallpapers that I will put towards the end of this post.

So the first question we need to ask ourselves is what is the intended purpose of the dollhouse. By this I mean is it a display house for an adult collector or is it intended to be a playable dollhouse for a child. This difference will make a big difference in how you finish the house.

For a playable house think durability first. This means leave off any of the delicate parts and stick with easily cleanable finishes. I would probably just use a good quality of satin finish interior paint like I used on the exterior of this build for both the inside and the outside of a child's playable house. I would also paint the roof and not put the shingles on. Keep any of those pieces that you don't add now and if and when the child wants the house to grow up you can make a project to do together. As for colors have fun and use the child's favorite colors.

Since the majority of my audience is here to make adult collector pieces that is what the majority of this post and the video will cover.

The first things to consider is what I call the “place and time” of the build. In other words when and where is the house supposed to be located. If it is a historical home do the research as to how houses were finished in real life. The geographical location the house is representing will play a part in what is correct or not also.

Next ask yourself what is the architectural style of the house. The colors you would put on a Craftsman Bungalow and Victorian painted lady are very different. Both are wonderful but they need to be thought about.

Now where in your real house are you placing this dollhouse. You want it to fit in so think about the colors of the room where it will live.

Now that you have narrowed the choices down pick the color that your heart tells you is the right one/ones.

As for the interior I do prefer to cover the walls in some way in all builds except for playable houses for children. That is because it will just look more realistic if the wood is covered in some way.

You can use papers, stucco, bricks or whatever your feel looks right in your build.

As for painted walls like we have in our homes today I like to use this paper from Canson, it is an art paper and sold in large sheets. I usually pay somewhere around $3 per sheet for it. I got 3 sheets for this build and when we get done with the interior I will let you know how much we use. I love this paper because not only does it give the perfect texture to the walls in comes in beautiful solid colors that look wonderful in house. That being said I picked white this time, it just seemed like the best choice.

As for the wallpaper I picked up I found this set on the Hobby Lobby website and ordered it a couple of months ago. I love that the papers are picked to go together and they are themed to be a seaside/beach theme which was perfect for this house. I especially love the one with the sail boats.

As for your color scheme you need to keep it simple since you can see all the rooms at one time on most dollhouses. I like to keep to around 3 colors and use them in combinations in the rooms. If every room is a different color pallet it is very hard on the eyes and makes it hard to really see the wonderful treasures you have so lovingly placed.

One thing I didn't remember to talk about on the video is the importance of the having a story for your dollhouse. Know where it is located, when it is located and who lives there will help you to make a lot of the decisions about color and finish.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.