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This Kmart doll house was given a complete makeover with paint, varnish and Balsa wood.
The project
Hey everyone, thought I’d share a Kmart doll house I recently gave a makeover. I’ve attached some before and after pictures and a rundown of the process.
I started by staining all the wood trim and detail with Bondall Monocel clear varnish. I like to experiment with colours, so I made my own stain by adding a drop of oil-based black and red enamel paint to clear varnish.
To give the deck some character, I used a blade and ruler to carve lines into the wood. Once I applied the stain, the lines appeared darker giving it that “decking” look.
I painted all the window frames using the shade Norway Spruce by British Paints.
For the roof, I made tiles using 1.5mm Balsa wood that I cut into small strips.
I glued them onto the roof using Selleys Liquid Nails. I started from the bottom and worked my way up, cutting them to size as needed.
I made the planter boxes by cutting pieces of the Balsa wood to size and gluing together using the Liquid Nails. I then sanded and painted them to match the window seals and glued them on.
I cut up some thin strips of Balsa wood and glued to the front door to add some detail. I then varnished the door using clear varnish and painted a house number on the door using a toothpick and silver enamel paint. I made a little door mat from some scrap Jute fabric I had. And I cut up a bunch of artificial flowers I purchased from Bunnings and glued them into the planter boxes.
I later painted the roof in the shade Safari Suit by Taubmans.
I’ve done a few doll houses now, and I'm also currently working on a large one (Barbie sized), so I will share that once it’s finished.
Before and after
How to upcycle a doll house
Jess has also shared How to upcycle a doll house with the Bunnings Workshop community, which takes you through all the necessary steps, with a complete list of all the materials and tools you'll need.
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