I started working on the tiled rooms, choosing a pattern that closely resembles the tile in my house. The tile is an off-white, gray, and brown mix. I left the floor underneath painted white to avoid clashing with the light-colored tiles, although light gray would also have worked.
Even though the tiles are peel-and-stick, I apply tacky glue to each one. It’s important not to lift all the tiles at once and place them together on the floor. Doing so would make it look like one large tile with grid cuts. Instead, lift each tile individually to create a more varied appearance, as if they are miniature tiles with distinct designs.
Keep the lines straight as you work from the front to the back of the dollhouse. Don’t worry; these tiles are quite forgiving. Any cuts should be made toward the walls so they can be hidden later with floor trim. You’ll notice that the edges of the tile sheets have extra edging. These should not be used on the floor because they will disrupt the grid pattern at such a small scale.
I left out the doors because I’m unsure if I will use the kit’s interior doors. I’m looking for six-panel doors similar to those in my house that will fit the custom measurements of the openings. Sometimes you can find doors that require minimal trimming to fit. I don’t need functional doors; I just want them to have panels, so I’ll likely fix them in place if I find suitable options. Doors typically come with thresholds, which creates a gap between flooring at door openings. If I can’t find fitting doors, I’ll use the dollhouse doors and place them in the gap between floors, creating an optical illusion that makes it appear as though the door is sitting on top of the floors. For working doors, it’s essential to join both floors so that the door sits on top rather than in between them.
This type of front-opening dollhouse cannot have floor and wall edge trims, as they would prevent the panels from closing properly. Since my decor differs from that of my Gloucester Dollhouse, I can’t use fabric trim either. Instead, I applied some stucco texture to the edges to match the walls and ceilings and painted the floor edges a similar color to blend them in better.
