Choosing Colors for My Dollhouse Interior

Today we are finally tackling the interior of my Vermont Farmhouse Junior, yay! The exterior is completely finished and on the inside I have the walls and electrical wire covered using wall liner and primer. Before I do anything else in here, I need to decide what colors we are going for.

Starting with the hardwood floor stain

The first decision is which stain to use for the hardwood flooring. While I was at the store, I came across a few samples that looked like what I wanted on the cover, but I had no idea how the wood itself would react, so I decided to test every single one.

• Special Walnut by Minwax
• Special Walnut by Behr
• Early American by Minwax
• Dark Walnut by Varathane

I used a one by three inch swatch of the actual hardwood flooring I will be installing and kept application simple by dipping a paper towel into the stain and rubbing it onto the sample.

Lina Tip: Label the back of each swatch before you stain so you don’t forget which is which.

Narrowing it down

After everything dried, I did a quick review and I ruled out the Dark Walnut by Varathane right away. I just did not like how it applied and I especially did not like how it looked after the first coat. I want a stain that is simple and does not take much to get the look I am going for.

Comparing the two Minwax stains, Special Walnut and Early American. They are so close, yet fairly different. The Special Walnut is lighter with a more distressed look, while the Early American is a little more bold and vibrant. I put a seal over them so I could see exactly how they would look once completely finished. Against the sample swatches I picked up, I was still undecided. Ahh! They are all great options.

Bringing in paint samples

For even more reassurance, I pulled in paint samples left over from real projects around my house that I plan on using in my dollhouse. I got all of these from Home Depot. A couple are the Glidden brand, but I used Sherwin-Williams colors to get a color match. So depending on your budget, you could go with Glidden, or you could go with Sherwin-Williams. I do not have the exact Glidden color names, so I will speak to the Sherwin-Williams colors. If you want a more affordable option, you can ask your local paint supply store to color match Sherwin-Williams if they offer that service.

• Simple Stone by Sherwin-Williams, satin finish
• Meander by Sherwin-Williams, satin finish
• Wind Chill, a very light pastel blue
• Loft Light by Behr, satin finish
• Insightful Rose by Sherwin-Williams, matte finish

To make my own swatches, I took card stock paper, painted across it, then used my paper trimmer to cut everything into roughly two by three inch cards.

Adding the wallpaper inspiration

Here is where the magic happens. I have one sample of wallpaper that I got from a local wallpaper boutique near me in Metro Atlanta called Wallpaper and Stuff. If anyone is interested, they have a fabulous selection. In the back corner room they keep samples and rolls for as low as one dollar, which is exactly where I found this one.

The final choice

I laid out all of the paint sample swatches alongside the inspiration fabric and wallpaper. After putting it all together, I could finally see it. I am going with the Minwax Special Walnut!

Next up, we get to start actually bringing this interior to life.