Grandpa Lee's Miniatures
How to cover interior surfaces Now that most of the structural and electrical work is done except for installing doors, windows and trim, we can start to think about the aesthetics of our house. In many important ways we are nearing the end, but in terms of total hours required to complete this house we're still only about half way there. So, this is probably a good time for a few words of encouragement. Look at the bright side. As we begin interior decoration you'll have the fun of selecting color schemes and will soon be able to visualize the end product. Take a little break if you like, but a lot of tedious work remains so don't get discouraged or careless in your haste to finally get it done.
Paper or paint? If you decide on the simpler option of just painting all inside surfaces understand that rooms lacking the patterns and texture of paper always seem sterile. Even after several coats, all joints, imperfections, and electrical tapes remain forever clearly visible. This makes for a strong argument in favor of papering. Still, some areas are just too much fuss to paper; particularly "dead spots" in attics, dormers, recessed rooms, towers and the like. Some of these awkward places can be made paper friendly by adding false walls or ceilings while other smaller openings can simply be papered over, but in many cases your best bet for problems of this type is simply to paint. Hopefully, you anticipated the need to end up painting these areas early on and did so before assembly, but if not, pick a harmonizing color and sponge, brush, or wipe on the paint of your choosing before doing anything else. These minor areas are usually not the most readily seen so any reasonably good job should do fine. Nor do you have to be to particularly neat as adjacent paper and trim will eventually cover most borderline irregularities. But be careful around finished floors. A quick damp sponge wipe will fix dribbles if you catch them quick enough, so stay alert for runs until you're sure the paint has set up sufficiently, and remember, even a doll house should look like it's being lived in so don't fret about a few minor imperfections here and there; they'll even give the place a more natural look. Assuming you agree that wallpapering is probably the best overall option you may have already decided on a color scheme and are now ready to select matching wallpaper. But first you have to carefully consider pattern, scale, size, source and quality.
So what about the paper? There are a few special things about dollhouse (and even regular) wallpaper to keep in mind. First there's the matter of scale. Above all else all patterns must be scaled to the house. Sometimes paper for full sized rooms can be found that meets doll house requirements, and if so, it will be stronger, easier to work and is often prepasted. Buying small sheets designed for doll houses from a craft store on the other hand offers a much more appropriate selection. Doll house paper is usually of lesser quality than "real" paper and a lot more expensive per unit of area, but it is still usually less expensive than a full roll of "real" paper in overall cost and there won't be a lot left over to eventually discard. Unfortunately, such economy can also work against you as most doll house coverings come with just two or at the most three sheets which is barely enough to cover a fair sized room; especially when you consider the unavoidable waste necessary in matching the patterns at every overlap. There's no room for error if you mess up a sheet. However, when applied with care, wallpaper designed specifically for doll houses may be the best bet for the casual hobbyist.
How about surface preparation? Another thing you need to remember about wallpaper, painting or any other thin covering is that they do not mask imperfections on the underlying surface. Therefore, scrape away or sand down all glue lumps, joint humps, etc. on all hard surfaces and remove all debris. Know too, that flat as they may seem, you will still be able to faintly detect remaining imperfections, joints, splices and electrical tape outlines even after wallpaper is applied. You may even be able to see through some paper requiring a rough inside primer coat of masking color applied to the
walls before covering. Another peculiarity about hard surface particle board is that it sometimes seems a bit waxy and is otherwise often hard to "wet". Paper doesn't like to stick to dry or slick surfaces, so a prep coat of paste, a light sanding or sizing might be required to insure a good bond. Hint To make your job easier take the time to flatten all paper and carpeting received in tightly wound rolls by putting it under a weighted flat surface for a day or so. This will minimize spring back while you're trying to work it. Once it's happy being flat you're ready to more easily measure, cut and apply. A few simple tools such as a ruler or gauge, pencil, sponge, water tray, razor knife and scissors are about all the basic tools you'll need to complete this job.
Odd rooms To their credit-sort of, many newer kits have octagon shaped towers, multi gabled upper floors and other such odd room configurations designed for added curb appeal; all of which makes it extremely difficult to layout an accurate covering pattern for those times when paint is not the desired
option. A neat trick here is to press tissue paper into the far corners of these odd areas making a pattern that is easily transferable to the final wallpaper or floor covering. Just make sure you trace out this pattern on the final covering right side up and top side up for proper pattern alignment, and when appropriate include extended tabs to wrap around inside corners. If in doubt, test your pattern fit on a piece of ordinary stationery marked "up" on what will be the exposed surface before committing to the real thing and as always, remember that practice makes perfect. The white attic panel below was made from the tissue template shown here.
Let's cut already! Most booklets advise applying dollhouse wallpaper just as you would "real" wallpaper, by oversizing a bit and then trimming after it's applied and dried in place. I have found it easier to cut a pattern exactly matching the profile of the wall or ceiling but about 1/8" undersize all around except for back walls which should have 1/2" wraparounds facing towards the open side of each room. This wrap around is required because you almost never put vertical wood trim on interior vertical corners. This allows the patterns at these junctures to be overlapped properly and to appear continuous. Any little exposed strip you may see around the top and bottom edges of all walls will be covered later by wood moldings and trim. If you do not intend to apply ceiling trim then wall coverings must similarly turn a short way onto the ceiling, or visa versa, to avoid any uncovered areas once the walls are covered Do not pre cut door or window openings. It's unnecessary to attempt to do so at this time and very easy to mess up. All such openings are easily trimmed out perfectly with a razor knife after the paper is applied and dried. When laying out your patterns draw cut lines on the glue side to avoid the risk of seeing residual pencil lines on the finished surface later. Draw an 'up' arrow on the paste side to remind you of proper orientation, and again, be careful to match all patterns at the overlap and keep everything square.
Wet is good We're almost ready to paste, but first both surfaces must be thoroughly moistened for proper bonding. An old paint roller tray works well for totally wetting "real" wallpaper which is tough
enough to be fully immersed. Hobby craft paper is not nor is it usually prepasted, so when using hobby paper only sponge the entire back generously and apply regular water based wallpaper paste or mucilage. Don't worry about wetting unplugged electrical tape or splices; they will be fine again once dried. Hint Keep your hands and work surfaces clean, and if you find it helpful, it's OK to lay the house on its side, back or even upside down while covering the interior. However, in the event of a serious boo-boo, such as major remaining bubbles, upside down patterns, or the need for electrical repairs you can almost always remove properly applied wallpaper by resoaking it thoroughly with a water saturated sponge and gently peeling. If you're careful enough you might even be able to save this paper for reuse, but most likely not.
So let's put some on Once ceiling paper is cut and everything properly moistened, gingerly place it into position as accurately as possible. Very gently reposition it only if necessary to eliminate major wrinkles or bubbles. Otherwise nurse small bubbles out to the edges from the center but do not overwork or rub vigorously because wet paper is easily damaged. Do interior facing walls next in the same way with short overlaps facing out, then side walls, being careful to match up all patterns at the rear vertical corners. An old credit card is handy for creasing inside corners, but again, wet paper is easily torn so use a light touch. If the panel you're applying is already bonding to an adjacent wall as well it is almost
sure to tear if you attempt to force it into a tight corner.
Dry up Almost all wallpaper shrinks dramatically as it dries so all minor bubbles should completely disappear as those in the photo above did upon drying. Gently sponge off most excess paste and water, but don't worry about a little residue on the finished side because these adhesives are formulated not to leave stains.
Carpets and tile Once the wallpaper is on we can cover all unfinished floors. Fabric carpets are cut to size (notice the ID gauge used at an inside corner where it's hard to read a scale) and secured with fabric glue. Weights shown in the foreground of the right hand room keep the fabric stretched and flat until the adhesive
dries. Plastic kitchen and bathroom "tile" floors are
applied in much the same way, but I find that double face tape works well in holding these relatively stiff materials, and can be more easily removed if remodeling is called for at some later date.
Final touch up Just a few chores remain before we start to add trim. They may look open but that's light shining through paper covered doors and windows. We've got to trim out all these openings (and a few remaining edges) with a razor knife, and, boila! We're done with all inside surfaces!
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Grandpa Lee