One of the subjects I get a lot of questions about on a regular basis is wallpaper for the dollhouse. I did do a wallpaper 101 video almost 10 years ago. A lot of the information here was in that one also but some things have changed (mainly what to use as a wallpaper adhesive) so I decided to do this video today. If you have questions about wallpaper that I don’t cover be sure to ask and I will do my best to answer them. If there are enough I will do a follow up video where I answer those questions.
So our first subject is glue. What is the best thing to put wallpaper onto the walls of the dollhouse. My all time favorite will probably always be Yes! Paste, but I have not been able to find a good source for that product for many years. Also the places online I can find it is extremely expensive. I have tried several different brands of adhesives that are marketed to dollhouse miniaturists. The brand I like the best is New Creations Wallpaper Gel. It goes on well and I have had very few issues with it. It is also available online from several places (including Amazon) and the price seems to range from around $5 to $10. so it is not terribly expensive.
Another product I have used in the past with mostly success is the adhesive that is sold to put wallpaper borders in real size homes. This is not the paste for the actual paper but specifically for wallpaper boarders. I am not sure what the difference is but I have read in the past not to use the regular wallpaper paste for dollhouses but I am not sure of the reason now.
Stay away from any adhesives that are thin (like Mod Podge) because they are very hard to work with on the larger areas that we are applying wallpaper.
The next thing we need to talk about is what to use as wallpaper. There are wallpapers sold for use in the dollhouse. They are normally large sheets about 12” by 18” depending on the manufacturer. They are a bit heavier than regular scrapbook paper but not by much. The designs are scaled for use in the dollhouse so they will look correct as far as size goes. Also the designs usually have fairly regular repeats across the sheet to make matching seams in the paper a lot easier.
The down side is depending on the style of your project you might have problems finding what you are looking for. There are only a few companies that make these papers so the choices can seem limiting sometimes.
Scrapbook papers come in many more styles/designs and are easy to find. Almost every craft store has at least 1 aisle in the store devoted to papers with designs printed on them. These however are not always going to be in scale for your project. You will have to use you “mini” eyes to gauge scale. Also the sheets are smaller generally (in the US anyway) either 8 ½” by 11” or 12” by 12” so you are more apt to need to have a seem in the paper on a larger wall. Also since this is not what they are designed for they generally are very difficult to match the pattern if you do end up with a seam. This can be worked around by being careful about placement though. I just want you to be aware.
Also these papers vary a lot in the weight of the paper they are printed on. They can be about the same as the mini wallpapers or very thin lightweight paper all the way up to cards stock weight. Depending on where in the dollhouse you are using them may or may not be an issue.
In most of the miniature rooms I have created over the 30+ years I have been doing this I tend to use more solid colors to create rooms that look like they are painted drywall like most of the rooms in the real homes I am familiar with. I prefer painted walls in real as well as mini homes. To me too much wallpaper with designs on it is over powering and I looks to busy. I tend to use patterned wallpaper on accent walls in both my mini rooms and real rooms. To do this I had figure out how to successfully replicate the look of painted dry wall. You can’t just paint the walls of the mini room and have it look right. I spent some time looking at the papers available in the craft stores/art stores and found the option in my opinion is to use the papers that intended for artists that use colored pencils and chalks. The paper I like the best is made by the company Canson and is called Mi-Tintes Art Paper. This comes in large sheets (19” by 25”) and in many solid colors. It is mostly smooth with just a hint of texture that looks like drywall in scale. I love this stuff. Over the years I have used this many many times and always been very happy with the results. I use it for both walls and ceilings.
One aspect of dollhouse wallpaper that I get asked about a lot is the question of which is better to add the wallpaper before or after the room/dollhouse is constructed. I have always wallpapered after construction, I prefer the look.
I know a lot of people do like to wallpaper before construction when everything is flat and easier to reach. They don’t have to worry about reaching into a small space and smoothing the wallpaper. And if that works for you great. I don’t like to do it this way and I will talk about why.
I do agree that it would be easier to apply the paper to the flat panels rather than reaching into the awkward spaces that the small rooms can become.
However I one thing I don’t like about this is that there will always be a line where the side walls meet the back wall of the room. When I look into a room that has been papered that way that usually is one of the first things I notice (unless you can hide with furniture or something) and that distracts me totally from enjoying the rest of the room.
To avoid this I usually wrap the paper on the corners to hide the seams so I am able to hide them better.
Also, I tend to not always put the walls dividing up the interior of a dollhouse exactly where the instructions might say to. Sometimes when I get ready to assemble oi decide to move a way a little bit one way or another. If I had wallpapered before assembly this would be much harder.
Another thing I always want to do is to add my lines of tape wire to all of my dollhouses, even if I am not planning to add lights right away. And this tape wire needs to go on the walls under the paper.
So in the end it is up to you when you wallpaper and do what works for you but those are my reasons for doing it when I do.
If you have any more questions be sure to ask and I will do my best to answer them.
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.
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