Victorian Dollhouse Makeover — Hausmatter (2024)

At first I wanted to preserve all the work my parents put into this house (and that 90s wallpaper that was actually a part of my real-life childhood home!), but it is in need of repair. It was loved on for many years and it’s time to modernize it, yet remain true to it’s Victorian styling.

So after spending some time diving into the world of dollhouse miniatures online, I am quite glad this is a small (ish) project. You guys, I had no idea what folks were doing with dollhouses these days; Laying real hard wood floors? Grouting mini porcelain tiles? Installing electrical wiring throughout? Oh my. Well, let me just say, I am not doing all THAT. I will admit, this has turned in to more of a project for me though, as I won’t be ready to hand it off to my 4 year old just yet, especially after all the work I have planned. I imagine using this on top of her dresser as a sort of night light until she’s old enough to play with it carefully.

Before

I have to restrain my color and pattern mixing in real life, but one thing is for sure, I will be letting it rip in this project. After all, it is a dollhouse!

So what do I have planned? Let’s just say I will be somewhere in the middle between doing nothing and going all out. Once you start this process though, it’s so easy to get carried away with all the little details. And it REALLY starts to add up cost-wise, so I’ve set myself a budget not to exceed!!

I’ll mostly be cutting corners and pinching pennies in the following areas:

• window treatments - my Mother made mine, so I am going to take a stab at it

• flooring - I’m using peel and stick

• wallpaper - I’m purchasing designs you can print. I’m a little nervous about using computer paper so I’m going to have them professionally printed at a local print shop on heavyweight, gloss paper.

• props and styling pieces - I am more interested in the fixed elements. I am not intending for this to be a real-life diorama packed to the gills with $6 toilet paper rolls and other such things I will likely lose in 5 seconds. I’m going to go kind of minimal in the accessories (I say that now 🙄)

The areas I will be splurging/spending more time are:

• vintage furniture - oh yes, I can’t resist - it’s all so yummy!

• wood trim - this will make all the difference in creating a polished look at the floor and wall seams

• lighting - LED battery operated so I can enjoy the glow without wiring the entire thing like a mad woman

• the kitchen furnace - This is a key element to the era, so I want to find something with realistic features. I will be hunting down something that is accurate style-wise yet will fit in this very tiny kitchen.

The kitchen is teeny tiny, even for dollhouse standards so my options are somewhat limited. I don't feel the need to go full Victorian in the rest of the house, but I would like to stay kind of true in the kitchen.

The Inspiration

A quick look back in time

At first I was bummed about not being able to fit a modern kitchen in this space, but upon doing some research into Victorian kitchens, I quickly realized (duh), they did not have all our current conveniences. An iron stove, and a utility sink like this are the only appliances you would find during this era.

Fast forward to today and I am finding loads of inspiration from a resurgence of this time period in the design world! Penny tiled floors, floor to ceiling subway tile, ceiling panels…all make such a pretty canvas in a Victorian kitchen. I will definitely be keeping it timeless with a black and white look.

That black trim really pops against the white in this gorgeous kitchen:

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