With the interior of the dollhouse complete, it's time to focus on the exterior. As I mentioned in previous posts, the original paint job was poorly done and used the wrong type of paint, so I decided to repaint it.
I started by changing the roof color to a more realistic gray, which contrasts nicely with the rest of the house. I wanted to maintain the original color scheme as much as possible to avoid making it obvious that the dollhouse had been painted after assembly and multiple times. The original scheme was pleasant, so keeping it was not an issue. I selected a green and blue that closely matched the originals and used acrylic flat paint. The previous gloss paint highlighted all the imperfections, so flat paint is definitely the better choice. Repainting the dollhouse was not difficult, but it's easier to do this before assembly. You will need brushes of various sizes for proper application.
Start with the walls, then move on to the components and trim. Expect to do a lot of touch-ups for a polished look, so patience is key. For details like sconces and roof flashing, a metallic permanent marker is great for touch-ups. I chose not to remove the porch sconces because they are charming and removing them could damage the front wall. After touching them up with a gold marker, they look as good as new. I also used a silver marker for the porch roof flashing. Avoid using metallic paints on these parts, as they won’t adhere well and can peel off over time, creating a thick layer that detracts from their detail.
To add more contrast, I painted the window frames and front door accents white since they were previously all one color. I repaired the broken porch railing, which had been installed incorrectly. To fix this, I added strip wood to straighten the top handrails and filled in gaps with spackling compound. This was an easy way to correct the railings without replacing them entirely.
A coat of flat white paint helped conceal most of the earlier mistakes. There were several issues with how the porch railings were finished. The gloss paint used was inappropriate for dollhouses; it dried too thickly on these delicate parts, making flaws more noticeable. Additionally, wood putty was unnecessarily used between the "rails" and posts. This putty dries hard like plastic and cannot be sanded, resulting in unsightly blobs between the posts. Fortunately, the new flat paint covers most of these errors. Keep these mistakes in mind when assembling your own dollhouse to avoid similar issues.
Finally, I removed a faulty electrical box and covered its hole in the foundation with a round furniture felt pad that fit perfectly.
