I installed the porch steps on the dollhouse. They are longer than the stringers, which is how they are designed. I decided to cut mine down to size, measuring the desired length and using an easy cutter. You can choose to adjust yours as well.
I also finished gluing the window boxes. This shows why you didn’t need to glue down the window lock boxes; all the external parts are secured to both the boxes and the wall, so your window boxes will stay in place.
Next, I installed the front bay window. The window casings form the walls of the bay, so I only need to stain the interior instead of wallpapering it. Assembling the bay is straightforward. I attached the bottom and top to the dollhouse first, then added the window casings around it. I find this method easier than pre-assembling it separately.
I pre-assembled the staircases by dry fitting the stringers onto the dollhouse first to avoid gluing them on backward. Make sure they are oriented correctly before gluing on the steps. These staircases are simple and do not have risers, just steps.
While everything dried, I prepared the doors. The dollhouse has a front door and a kitchen door. Preparing them now helps me plan how to stencil later. I stained the doors but did not assemble the front door yet. Instead, I marked where the openings for the front trim panel will be on the back of the door so I can center my stencils accurately.
Stenciling was a process of trial and error. Fortunately, since it's wood, any mistakes can be sanded off and redone. I found that sponge stenciling brushes didn’t work well for these small stencils; fine-tipped paint brushes were much better. I placed my stencil on the door and painted over it with my chosen colors. Initially, when you lift the stencil, the pattern may look plain and lacking detail. This is where freehand painting comes in; you need to add depth and detail by highlighting certain areas. I used white and pink for highlights. They don’t all have to be identical—just let your imagination guide you. As you practice, you'll become more comfortable with creating designs. Remember that while the stencil provides a guide for size, you should shape your flowers and designs freely to achieve a hand-painted look.
While waiting for the doors to dry, I began working on the interior since I can't move on to the attic until that's done. I stained the floors, bay interior, and interior window mullions because this dollhouse doesn’t include interior window trim. I also painted the ceilings and primed the walls for wallpaper.
This dollhouse requires a different approach to wallpapering: you must cut out your windows before applying the paper. If you don’t, you risk covering your window mullions, which is fine if you plan to paint later but not if you want them stained. The openings in my wallpaper didn’t need to be perfect since I’ll create my own window trim from thin sticks later.
After wallpapering, I installed the doors and added “glass” to all of the windows.
