Redoing a dollhouse means that you’ll get lessons in doing lots of different home renovation projects, including adding new flooring.
When I started taking my dollhouse apart I pulled out a few different kinds of floor materials, and as I’m putting more in I thought I’d do a roundup of different things that you could use for miniature flooring.
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Flooring options made for a dollhouse scale.
There are a lot of options that are actual flooring (not printable) that are designed specifically for different dollhouse scales. They’re can be printed, or made from real wood, tile, vinyl, and other materials that you can use to give your dollhouse a realistic look without worrying about matching scale.
They might be peel-and-stick, too, which makes them pretty easy to attach to the house itself.
Check to see if you can cut pre-designed flooring with scissors or if you’ll need a tool like a Dremel or a saw to cut the pieces to size, since that can make a difference in your planning.
You can find them on Etsy here: Dollhouse flooring
Real flooring options for your dollhouse.
You can use actual solid floor materials that you get from a regular home improvement store, or that you have left over from your own projects. If you go this route you’ll need to try to get designs or patterns that are on the smaller side, or use solid colors.
You might also be able to use samples if stores offer those, but don’t go in and take a lot. Make sure to ask if it’s okay if you take more than one piece. Some companies don’t mind but it’s not cool to just grab a ton of it.
I found a bunch of wood and linoleum samples at a local craft supply resale shop, so that was a real score!
Vinyl or linoleum tiles
Vinyl and linoleum tiles are good options for dollhouse floors because they’re usually pretty thin and easy to cut.
A lot of vinyl tiles are also peel-and-stick, so they’ll be simple to install.
You can also use samples to cut up if you can find them.
Ceramic tiles
You can get small 1″ ceramic tiles that would translate to 1′ tiles in a 1:12 dollhouse. Adding them to a dollhouse bathroom or kitchen can give it a touch of realism, and you can use regular grout to fill in the spaces between the tiles.
The only thing to watch out for here is that tiles can be pretty thick, so floors that are covered with real tiles might end up making the dollhouse have different levels of flooring.
If that isn’t a problem for you it’s not a big deal, but if you want everything to be level, it’s something to think about.
Wood flooring
You can buy wood flooring to use in your dollhouse, but the scale might be too big. Depending on the thickness of the flooring and the width of the room you’re working on, you might have to do some maneuvering to make a piece of real hardwood flooring work.
I mentioned the bag of linoleum samples that I found during my dollhouse supply haul, and I also found a bunch of wood veneer samples there. I can use those to cut up in smaller pieces and then piece them together to create a floor that looks like wood tiles.
Laminate flooring
Laminate flooring might be a good option if you have some that’s left over from a home improvement project, but you might have trouble finding small amounts on its own. Most laminate flooring is sold in large boxes, but you might be able to get some samples and use those.
This can also be hard to cut and thicker than you expect, so it might not be the best option.
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Printables that look like flooring.
One simple thing that you can use for dollhouse flooring is a printable design that you can print at home and use.
You can buy a lot of designs on Etsy here: Dollhouse printable flooring
Printables give you a lot of options, and they’re easy to use. You might want to seal the paper by spraying them with an artist’s clear coat spray, but that isn’t totally necessary.
Printables are also easy to cut to fit into a room, and they can be printed on regular paper or on cardstock if you want something heavier, then glued into the house.
Contact paper and shelf liner.
Contact paper and shelf liners come in a wide variety of patterns, and they’re easy to cut to size and fit into a dollhouse.
Just be careful not to get something that has a pattern that’s so big it doesn’t look right in your dollhouse. Look for patterns that are smaller and that would make sense in a small space.
Scrapbook paper.
Scrapbook paper or cardstock is a good choice to put in a dollhouse because there are so many patterns available.
Wallpaper samples.
Wallpaper samples can be used as flooring, either in a full sheet or to cut up to make into small tiles.
Wallpaper is usually thicker than regular paper, so it’s sturdy and easy to work with.
You can also get it in textured versions, so you can put it on the floor to mimic the look of carpeting.
Miniature carpets and carpeting.
Speaking of carpeting, you can always do wall-to-wall carpet in your dollhouse.
Textured craft foam
I found this textured craft foam that worked perfectly for throw rugs with a slight pile texture.
Mini area rugs
There are pre-made area rugs that can be purchased (check them out on Etsy) or you can make your own mini area rugs using a kit.
Janet Granger sells detailed kits to make miniature carpets and other needlepoint accessories on her website here: Dollhouse needlepoint
You can also make rugs by printing them and attaching the images to lightweight cardstock, but you won’t have the realistic texture, so it’s a tradeoff.
Carpet samples
Samples of real carpet are another way to make dollhouse flooring. You can also buy a single carpet square from a company like Flor, which will give you a continuous piece of carpet for a room that’s larger than a regular sample size.
Fabric
There are so many different types of fabric, including upholstery fabric that’s textured like fur or leather, you should be able to find something that looks like carpeting if that’s what you want to do in your dollhouse.
You can attach the fabric to a piece of cardstock that fits the room, and then place it inside the room for a patterned look.
Painted flooring for a high-end look.
Hand-painted or stenciled flooring is a high-end look for your dollhouse, and you can do it on a flat or a paneled floor. If you want to freehand the painting you can paint flowers or vines, or you can use a stencil if you’re not sure of your own painting ability.
There are small stencils that are used for smaller projects so the scale of them will be better than stencils that are used for painting a real wall. The smaller ones are usually found in the wood crafts section in craft stores.
Paper tiles or marquetry.
Cutting up paper or cardstock to make different shapes is a good way to make small tiles, or to create marquetry patterns that you can use as a center medallion on a dollhouse floor.
You can glue the pieces onto a piece of cardboard that fits the room, then seal the glued-on pieces with a sealer like Mod Podge that will level out and fill in any cracks. Using a matte or glossy sealer will give you a different look, depending on what you’re going for.
Stickers.
Using stickers, either puffy or flat, is a simple way to create a “tiled” floor. Stick them to a piece of heavy cardstock that’s cut to the size of the room the piece will go in, and create a pattern.
I have some shiny diamond stickers that I’m going to use (potentially) to make a glitzy floor in the flamingo bathroom of my dollhouse. It won’t be flat, but it’s for looks, so it’s going to work!
Non-traditional flooring options.
I mentioned the gnome room in my dollhouse, and I used some moss and plastic flowers for the wallpaper in that room. You could also use things like pebbles, artificial moss, bamboo skewers, cut-up matchsticks, or other found objects as flooring for the interior or exterior of your dollhouse.
I’ve seen floors that were made with tiny matchstick pieces in the shape of herringbone patterns, and they looked really good even though they probably took forever! (Or maybe because they took forever.)
Craft supplies that are scaled smaller.
Some craft supplies that are intended for other things can be used for dollhouse flooring materials.
Tiles
You can get small glass tiles that are used for mosaics and use those as dollhouse tile floors. Since they come in a lot of colors they can be used to add a pretty custom floor to a bathroom, entryway, or kitchen.
Beads
Take a look in the bead section of the craft store and see if you can find any that are flat enough to glue onto a backing board. Or get a bunch of tiny seed beads and glue them to a board to create a flat floor that has a lot of color and sparkle.
Buttons
Use buttons that don’t have a shank on the back and glue them to a board to create flooring. I have some interesting flat buttons that would work really well as interesting tiles, and filling in around them with grout or caulk to level the floor off would look good.
Popsicle sticks
People have used craft sticks or popsicle sticks to create some really impressive wood flooring. They can be cut so that the ends are flat and look like wood planks, then arranged in different patterns.
You can paint them or stain them with regular wood stain, thinned-out acrylic or watercolor paint, or something like tea or coffee.
Coloring them before you put the floor pattern together will give you the option of using “planks” that are slightly different in color, so it will add variety to the look of your flooring.
Felt sheets
You can get sheets of felt that have patterns, or that are solid colors, and those would work well for flooring in a dollhouse. It can mimic the look of a carpet, or you can seal it with Mod Podge to make it look more like a solid surface.
Upcycled materials.
Using recycled materials is a fun way to reuse things and show your creativity. It can turn into an ongoing challenge to try to figure out what you can make with something instead of throwing it away.
Egg cartons
Both paper and foam egg cartons (or other grocery store packaging) can be cut up and used to make tiles or stones. The textured paper cartons can be painted to mimic the look of stone walkways, and you can use a small ball tool to press textures into the foam cartons.
Placemats
Placemats are a good size to cut into shape and put into a room in a dollhouse. Depending on what they’re made from, they can also be used to make window treatments.
There are almost unlimited ideas about what you can do with dollhouse flooring. It can be realistic or have a texture that’s just there for looks. The important thing is to have fun and be creative while you’re doing it!