IKEA Dollhouse Paint and Wallpaper Makeover

Hi friends!  I’ve finally finished the IKEA dollhouse and I can’t wait to show you all how it looks.  We had a fun time on our trip to IKEA where I scored the dollhouse.  The dollhouse is going to be part of the decor for my daughter’s ballerina themed bedroom.  

So here is how the IKEA dollhouse looked after I finally got it assembled.

It’s cute, but a little bland.  I decided to put some pretty floral wallpaper on the back walls, stain the floors and roof, and paint the rest white.  

As I usually do with craft projects, I went through my stash first to see what I already had on hand.  I was pleased to find a roll of shiny floral wrapping paper in just the right colors I had in mind.  

I also had off white milk paint leftover from my grandfather’s dresser makeover.  And I had gel stain in stock as well from the chalkboard sign and the woodland candles.  The only thing I had to purchase was some Mod Podge.

I decided to paint first, so I needed to tape off the floors.

As I started painting, I was amazed how the milk paint soaked into the raw wood.  After the first coat, I knew it would take at least three coats to get the coverage I wanted.  I just love working with milk paint because it goes on so easily and it has a thinner consistency than latex paints.

After the third coat of milk paint dried, I removed the painter’s tape from the floors. Then I attached more tape along the bottom of the newly painted walls.  Now I was ready to stain the floors and roof.  

As you can see from the photo below, I ran out of blue painter’s tape.  Luckily, I had a new roll of green Frog Tape that I got in my swag bag from the Haven Conference.  And it matches my sweater LOL!…that was totally unplanned!

The gel stain I’m using is from Amy Howard’s A Maker’s Studio line.  It’s an amazing product!  I’d never before seen a stain that is non-toxic and smells great until this came along.  I just rubbed it into the wood with a rag and then rubbed off the excess.  It gave the wood a lovely finish.

Now I was ready for the wallpaper.  I measured the dimensions inside each section of the dollhouse walls and made templates out of cardboard.  Then I traced the templates onto the wrapping paper and cut out each piece.

Finally I was ready for the wallpaper.  I must admit, I’ve never worked with Mod Podge before.  I thought this was going to be the easy part.  I was wrong.  I followed the instructions and applied the glue directly to the walls.

Then I attempted to put the wrapping paper in place.  It was very difficult to get it in the right spot, especially after it got stuck in the “wrong” places.  It also tore easily.  There are wrinkles.  I soon realized that this was not going to look perfect.  Fortunately, I still like how it turned out.  I was able to cover a few obvious imperfections with another layer of wallpaper.

I think the sheen of the paper also helps take the curse off of the wrinkles.  What do you think?

I was going to wait until after the whole room is done to style the dollhouse, but…I couldn’t wait to make it look pretty!

With this project out of the way, I’m getting close to finishing the ballerina bedroom!  The last things I need to make are pillows and bunting.  Then I’ll put everything together for the big reveal.  It will feel great to finally finish this room.  My daughter is very excited!  She loves everything that’s been done so far.

Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy your weekend!

Rebecca