I also finished the attic staircase and door. Both of these items will be painted all white as well. They are very simple to assemble but you will have to do the measurements between each step yourself to make sure that they are evenly spaced.
I decided to assemble the tower roof a little different than the instructions say. I did it following the instructions before and it was horrible. The only way to do this as the instructions tell you to, you will need to use hot melt glue. Use the hot melt glue to keep things in place and then run wood glue on all the seams. I wanted to try another technique to see how it worked out though.
I first laid the tower sides, good side down, in a circle on a flat surface and used masking tape to keep them together. I then lifted them and they are able to be made into a cone shape without falling apart because the tape is holding them together. I then taped the ends together so the cone doesn't open up anymore.
I then inserted the top piece in place with glue and waited for it to dry. You will have to use masking tape on the top to hold the sides tightly against the top piece as it dries.
Once dried, I went ahead and glued the bottom piece in place.
It will take a lot of glue and a lot of waiting time for drying. You wont dont want to touch it too much while it dries or it will come apart.
After the ends were dry, I applied glue between the side seams as well.
It doesn't matter how messy you are with the glue because the tower roof is shingled on the exterior and painted on the interior. I might even use a mix of paint and spackle just to give it a little texture on the inside.
I painted all of the interior components white to match the staircase.
I added a little handle to the attic door and you can see how the raised fireplace decoration looks after painting. It almost looked like it was carved.
I used sandpaper for the backs of the fireplaces and I painted it gray. Sandpaper is a simple and economical material to use for your fireplaces and some roofs.
I worked on finishing the base.
The foundation does not have backing for the lattice so you have to paint the entire frame of the base on the interior or raw wood will be visible through the lattice holes. You do not have to paint the underside of the first floor, it's not visible.
Every area under the base is accessible for painting after assembly with some wiggling of your paint brush. A flashlight will help to make sure that no raw wood is visible through the holes of the lattice.
I forgot to mention when I was assembling the lattice, that it does tend to be very fragile. If you're lattice breaks, it can be easily repaired with glue.
I stained the floor with a dark faux stain.
I then started putting up walls. Follow the instructions carefully because you can't put them all up since the staircase has to be fitted inside.
I then had to wallpaper the entire dining and living room before putting on the staircase.
I then fitted the staircase.
Trim the bottom of your staircase, just like you would your floors, and you will see that all gaps and crevices will be hidden from view. You can also use it to trim any gaps between the staircase and wall, staircase and floors, etc.
I added wooden beads to the corners of the staircase railing for more detail.
Go all the way around your staircase and make sure it looks perfect from every side. I know that the front will be hidden from view but it is very nice when you look through windows and doors and see just as much work put into those sides as the back side. This is also your time to check everything since sooner or later, this staircase will no longer be accessible from all sides.
Once the staircase is in and dry, you can put in the second floor. It will not go in easily. You will struggle. As you add parts to the dollhouse, the other parts straighten, so you will have to use strength to make it all come together tight at the joints.
Lots of masking tape and lots of glue will do the work. Careful with your wallpapered walls.
Once dry, sand down all tabs protruding from slots on the exterior walls and fill them in with spackle, sand again.
