Though I will start with the first floor staircase installation, I will go ahead and assemble both structures.
These staircases are sub-assemblies that are put together away from the dollhouse and then inserted, fully built, into it. This means that careful planning has to be done for finishing both your shell and your staircases. The rooms in your dollhouse that the staircases will be in, must be finished prior to installation. We will get to that later but first, let's assemble the staircases.
The staircases are too small to be finished after assembly, so you have to decide what your finishes will be beforehand. Unless you are staining or painting your staircases all one color, you must finish the parts before they go together. I have decided to make my staircases a dual color. I am staining the steps and painting the risers white.
I will be adding flooring to this dollhouse, rather than staining the kit floors. I can not use the flooring on the staircase steps, they are way too small. I have to try and make a stain that will match the flooring. This can be difficult, especially with the different grain and wood hues running through all of the different parts of the staircase. Remember each part of the staircase can be found in multiple wood sheets and each sheet consists of different wood. You can create a stain that is very similar to your flooring but it will never be exact.
That is why I like to make my own stain, rather than buy a ready-made stain. This way I control the hue. I use latex acrylic gloss varnish and craft paint to mix together and create my own stain. Once you have the hue you want, you can store your stain in an airtight container so you can use it during your assembly. I think that the hue turned out very similar to the flooring.
I assembled both staircases as the instructions indicated. You just have to remember that the risers go between the staircase sides. You also have to be sure you are clear on which side the steps overhang. Double check the instructions and your progress to make sure you aren't making a mistake. If you overhang your steps incorrectly, the staircase structure will not lie flush against the wall.
Even though these staircases will be mostly hidden from view, you want to still finish them properly. Use spackling compound to hide any gaps, especially between the risers and steps and any gaps between the risers and staircase sides.
The second floor staircase has the back bookcase, which has to be finished prior to assembly.
Once both of these staircases are done, put them aside because you can not install them onto the dollhouse until you finish the rooms they will be in.
