Flooring for Dolls Houses

Examples of commercially produced flooring papers for dolls houses 

There are so many different ways to make flooring for your dolls house. What you choose may depend on the style and era of the house, the materials you have on hand and your level of skill in making minis. Here are some ideas for this important part of miniature interior decorating.

• floor papers: as you can see from the photograph these come in several patterns and shades. You might choose light or dark floorboards, parquet flooring in various patterns, or flagstone or brick effects.
• tiles: miniature supplies shops sell a variety of black and white tiled flooring paper in different patterns and a slightly thicker, plasticised tile sheet. Or you can make your own by cutting out squares of black and white paper and sticking them to a cardboard floor template.

Black and white tiled flooring in a dolls house bathroom 

• flagstones: use Formica samples in a limestone or slate look from a kitchen design shop. Cut them into squares of about 2 inches. Glue to a cardboard template of the room's floor. When dry, rub over with Polyfilla so it gets into the cracks as grout. Wipe the excess off with a damp cloth. Fit the floor into the dolls house room.

Flagstone floors suit a Tudor dolls house

• another way to make a stone floor is using cardboard, cut into tiles and glued down. Then you can paint them grey and mottle lighter and darker greys randomly over the floor to simulate stone.
• terracotta tiles: this is where terracotta-coloured Das, an air drying modelling clay, is perfect. Roll out to a size slightly larger than the dimensions of the floor. This will allow for the clay shrinking as it dries. When partially dry, incise with lines in a tile pattern. Cut to fit the room when completely dry.
• wooden floorboards: there are several ways of making these:

1. You need a steady hand for this, an ability to rule straight lines (a talent I am sadly lacking!) a steel ruler and a very sharp craft knife. It is also easier to do this before the dolls house is constructed. Rule lines to correspond with floorboards directly onto the dolls house floors. Use the ruler and knife to groove them. Stain or paint. When dry, you can make 'nail holes' with a sharp pencil at the junctions of the floorboards.
2. Glue wooden ice block sticks or tongue depressors side by side onto a cardboard template of the floor. Sand really well. Stain or paint. Cover with baking paper and weigh down with tins e.g. baked beans! to make sure the floor dries flat and doesn't buckle. Varnish or rub with beeswax for a shiny look.
3. Cut thin wood into planks and lay on a template of the floor. Finish as for #2. For my Tudor house I used balsa wood strips stained with shoe polish. (Note: floorboards in the 16th century were wider than today).

Wooden floorboards in a Tudor dolls house

The final touches will be when you lay down rugs or carpet squares to give the rooms a 'lived in' look. I hope this post has given you some ideas for your own dolls house or room box.