Choosing the wallpaper is one of the most fun parts of decorating a dollhouse. There are loads of options to choose from, but my personal favourite is scrapbook paper.
Scrapbook paper is ideal for wallpapering dollhouses because it’s inexpensive, there are hundreds of different designs available and it’s often thicker than regular dollhouse paper, making it easier to glue and stick.
I transformed an IKEA FILSAT dollhouse with scrapbook paper and have also used it to wallpaper cardboard paper too, as it’s so inexpensive it’s great for covering quick cardboard projects.
Scrapbook paper usually comes in books which are either 12-inch x 12 inches (square shaped) or 8.5-inch x 11-inch (roughly A4 shaped).
Below I share why I believe scrapbook paper is ideal for wallpapering dollhouses (and why it might not always be!).
Scrapbook paper comes in multiple designs
I’ve found that specialist dollhouse wallpaper can be a little old fashioned when it comes to the design, which is why I’ve printed my own in the past.
But there are so many designs available for scrapbook paper, that if you want something modern or a little quirky, you’re bound to find what you’re looking for.
I used origami paper on this IKEA dollhouse. My son got a book of origami paper for his birthday so I pinched a few sheets to deck out this dollhouse’s interior. Although it’s not officially scrapbook paper, origami paper is very similar, although slightly thinner.
Using thin paper on a dollhouse like the IKEA FILSAT isn’t a problem as the surface is extremely smooth, so any lumps or bumps won’t show through. But if you’re re-wallpapering your dollhouse, this might be a problem, unless you remove every tiny piece of the existing wallpaper, otherwise any imperfections are going to show through.
In the origami book, there are 100 different designs to choose from, including these vibrant patterns below.
Scrapbook paper is inexpensive
Some sheets of specialist dollhouse wallpaper can be as much as £4 a sheet. And while this wallpaper is undoubtedly beautiful, perfectly to scale and thick and tough, it’s an expensive choice if you’re on a budget.
Scrapbook paper is much cheaper, and you can often pick it up in the craft section of charity shops, which is where I got this butterfly themed scrapbook paper from for my daughter’s cardboard dollhouse. As it’s so cheap, scrapbook paper is ideal for projects like this one, where kids can help cut and fit the wallpaper, without worrying about costly mistakes.
You can buy scrapbook paper from craft shops, specialist online scrapbooking shops like Papermaze in the UK, or from online shops like Amazon. Etsy is also a great place to pick up unique scrapbook paper, but make sure you check what you’re buying as some of the designs are for digital downloads. I’ve written about the pros and cons of downloadable and printable dollhouse wallpaper in my blog post How To Wallpaper A Dollhouse: Tips For Easy Decorating.
The paper I used in our IKEA dollhouse was from a book of 100 sheets that cost £8.99. You can pick up the Italian version from Amazon here (affiliate link), and obviously the language it’s written in won’t matter if you’re just using the designs for dollhouse wallpaper!
Scrapbook paper is the perfect thickness for dollhouse wallpaper
Wallpapering a dollhouse can be fiddly, especially if you’re applying the paper after it has been built. It’s much easier to get things wrong when using thin paper; it can tear, get stuck to itself and glue can show through once it’s stuck in place.
Using vinyl dollhouse wallpaper is one way to avoid this as it’s tough and is often self-adhesive, so you don’t need to worry about using too much glue. But, vinyl wallpaper can be expensive. Scrapbook paper is a cheaper alternative and, if you know the types available, you can choose the right one for your dollhouse.
The best type of scrapbook paper for dollhouse wallpaper is acid-free patterned paper. Patterned paper is highly decorative and sometime printed on both sides, giving you extra choice of patterns. It’s usually thicker than regular paper and sturdy enough to use with glue.
The other main type of scrapbook paper is cardstock. I’ve used cardstock to wallpaper a cardboard house before and it’s very easy to cut and fit into place because it’s so sturdy. The downside is that it can look a bit bulky when used on side walls where you can see the edge of the paper. Thicker paper can be harder to stick to the wall too, so you may need more glue, which could lead to patches showing through or soaking the paper, causing it to crumple.
While we’re talking about glue, and excellent alternative is to use double sided sticky tape (initially stuck to the paper and not the wall) to attach the wallpaper to the dollhouse.
The downsides of using scrapbook paper for dollhouse wallpaper
Although scrapbook paper is a great choice for dollhouses, it does have some downsides.
- Scrapbook paper sheets are small – scrapbook paper is usually a maximum of A4 size, so is only really suitable for wallpapering smaller dollhouses or feature walls. Small sheets also mean that it’s going to be difficult to match up seams, and in fact, there may only be one design per sheet, so the size can be very restrictive.
- Scrapbook paper isn’t designed to scale – specialist dollhouse paper is designed so it suits 1:12 or 1:24 scale, scrapbook paper isn’t, so it can be tricky to match the scale.
Scrapbook paper can also be used for flooring, if you choose tiled pattern, or not, depending on how colourful you can’t your dollhouse to be! For more help with choosing and using dollhouse wallpaper and alternatives, view the blog post How To Wallpaper A Dollhouse: Tips For Easy Decorating.