When it’s time to finish the walls, you can paint them or cover them with dollhouse wallpaper. Wallpaper will give your home a finished look. This background will help your furniture and accessories stand out. Select wallpaper or room colors that match the style of your house, as well as the furniture you want to use in that particular room. If you can’t find the perfect dollhouse wallpaper or want to save time, you can paint the room first and then go back to wallpaper.

Whether you’re painting the walls or wallpapering them, it’s easiest to do this before the walls are fully assembled. That way, you’ll be able to reach into corners to spread glue or paint. It is much easier to paint each piece separately than the entire dollhouse. Your dollhouse plans or kit will provide measurements to help you determine exactly where the visible section of each wall will be. This is the part that you will need to cover with paint or paper. However, if you’re adding electricity, you’ll need to wait to wallpaper or paint the walls until the dollhouse is assembled and the wiring is done.

For wallpaper, you can purchase special dollhouse wallpaper and borders, or choose specialty paper, such as those used for scrapbooking. You can find dollhouse wallpaper to replicate styles used in the 19th century or more modern designs. You’ll probably need 3 sheets for each room, unless it’s a very small room like a bathroom. Buy one more sheet than you think you’ll need to leave room for trial and error.

Dollhouse wallpaper does not usually have a glue backing like you would buy for your own house, although some papers are now made with this backing. While you can use glue to stick the wallpaper down, consider buying a dollhouse wallpaper gel, which probably won’t wrinkle the wallpaper once you spread it out.

To install the wallpaper, first lightly sand the walls to make them smooth. Before pasting the wallpaper, apply a layer of white paint on the walls. This will help prevent the glue from penetrating the wood. Then cut the paper to size, using the instructions in your kit or blueprint to determine exactly where the visible section of the wall will be, or by measuring the actual wall if it’s already assembled. Use a metal ruler and x-acto knife to get nice crisp edges, double check against the wall to make sure it fits. If you are using a patterned paper, be sure to fit the pattern properly to the wall space.

Then spread a thin layer of glue on the back of the dollhouse wallpaper with a foam brush and move it into position. Don’t use too much glue or it will soak into the paper and cause it to wrinkle. While installing the paper, gently press in one direction with a credit card or similar object to smooth out any air bubbles. Finally, cut out any door or window openings with a sharp X-acto knife. If you haven’t assembled the walls yet, lay the wall flat and stack some books on top of it to make sure the paper sticks well and doesn’t warp.