The Tennyson Dollhouse Day 8

Attics that have a lot of slanted walls and dormers can be very difficult to finish. I suggest that all of the finishing be done before assembly. This is especially true if you are wallpapering with stripes or some other geometric design which has to go all in one direction. Trying to do this after the walls are up, would be extremely difficult if not impossible. It's best to wallpaper these slanted and angled walls before installation.

This is a large attic so the standard three sheets of wallpaper will not be enough. You will need at least six sheets of wallpaper to finish this attic completely. I unfortunately did not have enough, I only had three sheets and since I bought this wallpaper by the bundle, I will not be able to acquire more of this pattern.

When you're faced with this type of situation you can do one of four things. Paint your attic, stain your attic and add beams for a traditional unfinished look, divide your large attic into two or more smaller rooms or strategically wallpaper and paint. You can also take the wallpaper sheets, that you do have, to your local office supply store and have them print out copies. The hues will be slightly different but you can always use those on the side walls and the rest on the front ones.

I decided to do both paint and wallpaper. The standard is to wallpaper all walls that are facing you and paint all side walls. I'm also going to wallpaper the dormer. I first primed all parts and then I installed the front triangle walls.

The way this roof goes together, is kind of tricky. It has hardly any support whatsoever to the third floor. The main support is these front walls so you have to let them dry before you can continue. Clamp them so they are straight while they dry and they don't end up tipping over. Also remember to wallpaper them after they dry and before the side walls go up.

I painted and glued on the roof brackets today. It's always best to paint the brackets on wax paper because it makes it go faster. Just lay them on the paper, paint one side and the edges, let it dry, peel them up, turn them over and paint the other side. Once they are glued on the dollhouse and dry, you can touch them up.

I used spackle on the roof edges, to hide all gaps and then I repainted the overhang and roof trim so everything is nicely finished before the brackets go up. I then glued on the brackets. I followed the box photo for spacing and quantity of brackets.

Using a pencil to mark the spaces, makes it easier to then just glue the brackets on those guidelines.