I started fixing up the dollhouse I found at Goodwill last month. Looking better already, right? This is one of those basic dollhouses that probably isn’t intended to be painted or decorated, but it had so many battle scars, something had to be done.
I couldn’t wait to rip off that ugly contact paper and start cleaning this thing up. Luckily, it came off without a fight and didn’t leave much stickiness behind.
After tightening all of the screws holding the house together, I filled the holes with wood filler and sanded them smooth.
I actually ended up lightly sanding the entire house just to rough up the surface. After that, I wiped the whole thing down with mineral spirits to get rid of all the dust. I used to just use a damp rag, but mineral spirits work so much better.
I primed the whole house, inside and out, with a stainblocking primer. There were pencil and marker scribbles and a layer of grime that didn’t wash off, and I don’t want any of that peeking through the paint later.
Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, next up is the fun part — planning, painting and decorating. I know that I want to do something simple and cute (nothing super fussy). And having spent so little on the house itself (just $2!), I’m not interested in gussying it up with a bunch of expensive extras. Dollhouse furniture is surprisingly expensive (even on eBay) so I might have to get creative.
Want to see the finished dollhouse? Click here >>
