DIY Mouse House
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I discovered the world of Maileg Mice at the most magical place on earth (Disneyland, or specifically SugarBoo + Co in Downtown Disney) and haven’t looked back. I dove headfirst into renovating 2 vintage dollhouses for the mice to live in. The project took over my imagination, house and life for a full 3 months and I learned so much about the wonderful world of miniatures. A quick note about the mice (or any animal inhabiting a doll house): You are looking for the adults to be 6” and the kids to be smaller (Little Sister/Brother and baby mice). Unfortunately, the Maileg rat and some others are too large.
If you have a smaller child who likes to play rough, see my post HERE for ideas on a more indestructible mouse house for toddlers;)
Renovating a vintage dollhouse is a huge undertaking and all of the decor is a lot of time and money. Think about and decide what house size and budget works for you.
Midway through the project my cousin sent me Kelle Hampton’s Hedgehog house and I SO related to what she shared:
“How much did this cost? I admit, dollhousing isn’t cheap, especially considering that everything you buy is for a house inhabited by characters who are not real. I had to remind myself of that several times when I found myself getting bent out of shape about an air bubble in the wallpaper or a slightly crooked picture frame. CALM DOWN, YOU DON’T ACTUALLY LIVE HERE. However, given the costs of actually renovating a real house, dollhousing is ridiculously inexpensive which makes up for half of the weird satisfaction of it all. I mean, you can have the kitchen of your dreams for $30! If you add everything up–even the $2 here and there–yes, it can be a lot. But I do look at this as a childhood investment–something we will hopefully save for years to come and pass on to grandkids.”
My living room table looked like this for 3 months. Growing up, my parents referred to this as “Traci Trails.”
I chose to renovate 2 vintage dollhouses that I found on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace (see the renovation of my dream house house here). If I could give you my biggest piece of advice, it would be to start with a Dollhouse in good working condition, that only needs decor (NOT construction). As one of the houses was a gift for my niece, Poppy, I wanted to go on an especially low budget so I could spend more on furnishing. BIG MISTAKE.
This $25 Craigslist home was a bit of a doll “money pit,” that required a new roof, new support beams, a new exterior paint job, and tens of hours of work to get it in good condition. Put in the extra $ upfront and you will save time and money in the long haul.
Repainting the exterior ended up being a lot more work than I had anticipated, but I do love the pink color I chose!
The roof was 3 full days of work to remove all the shingles, hand pain the new shingles with wood stain, and glue on.
It’s much more cost and time effective to start with a solid home. Here are some options for a simple home to start with if you don’t want to go big victorian/vintage:
See My Post HERE for ideas on making a mouse house for the toddler crowd
The Ikea FLISAT dollhouse is a great option at $34.99 if you like the natural wood look
Wayfair has some nice options including this home for $64.99 at the time of publishing.
Now for the fun part: Decorating! I found a lot of inspiration from Anthropologie. It was really overwhelming to plot out the rooms and themes, but start with what room is what (bathroom, bedroom, etc). If you are looking to mostly purchase furniture, Etsy is a great place to search. I also found some furniture at The Dollar Tree and some at Daiso (Japanese Dollar store). A note about furniture: if you have a standard sized dollhouse, you are looking for 1/12 scale. Maileg has a ton of adorable furniture, but some that I ordered was too big for my homes. Pay attention to the size before you order (although they have hassle free and money free returns that made it super easy).
The Dollar Tree had a Dresser and Desk that were great options for $1!
This amazing furniture set was around $30 from Etsy. I split it up into the 2 houses.
I basically decided these homes were going to be my dream homes, so I was willing to put in extra work and money. My friend, Adrienne, is ridiculously talented and actually MADE these exact replicas of my ultimate-dream-fantasy ($3000) bed from Anthropologie. Get a load of this!
My friend used my dream-bed as inspiration for the mouse house (see below for the miniature replica).
The most amazing tiny bed replica made by my friend Adrienne! The dresser, desk and chair are from The Dollar Store. Art Print by Rylee and Cru. Lamp made with FIMO clay, styrofoam and canvas. Wallpaper was a sample I had left over from The Odells. I made the Snoo replica with styrofoam, floral wire, and a plastic cup.
You would be surprised to see how creative some miniaturists get, and they use regular household items like ping-pong balls, socks, and jewelry to make furnishings. If you are not such a crafty-type, I would recommend checking out sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or EBay for used Dollhouse Furniture lots. You can get a great deal on a large collection of furniture! Here is a video that takes you step-by step through making a sectional using foam board, fabric and fabric glue. Mine didn’t turn out quite a ‘professional’ as I would have liked, so I may replace our sectional over time. I used tiny scraps of fabric and cotton balls for pillows. You can easily e-mail (or DM) an artist to ask if you can print their pieces in miniature. I got the green light from artists like Rylee and Cru, Lauren Marttila photography, Britt Bass Turner, and Copper Corners to make tiny replicas of their art. Rifle Paper Company did not give permission to print tiny. I used popsicle sticks to frame some of them and (much easier) tiny frames from Hobby Lobby.
Beach photo from Lauren Marttila Photography. Sofa and coffee table from Etsy. “Gouda Vibes Only” print from SmallFunShop on Etsy. Fireplace from Etsy. Rug from Maileg. Books from MiniShacks on Etsy.
Hardcore Toilet from Amazon. Bathtub (soap Dispenser) I spray painted from Amazon. Floral Print from Rylee and Cru. I made curtains, threaded them through a painted bamboo skewer and hot glued plastic beads on the end. They are attached to the wall with “mini screw eye pins.” I hot-glued down the little items, like the book on the popsicle stick bathtub shelf and the towel stack to the tub.
Hanging Swing from Daiso (Japanese Dollar Store). The Painted rug was a simple DIY I did with paint, a ruler and Sharpies. I painted a few coats of clear finish over it. Mouse is Maileg. Pillow made with scrap of fabric and cotton balls.
A Satisfied Customer! I love that we can “build’ her mouse family collection for future holidays and birthdays.
Here she is in all her glory!!
Inspiration on Instagram:
If you make your own mouse (or doll) house, please tag me on Instagram (@PoppieLady) so I can see all your miniature glory! As I said, it can be as simple or as decadent as you would like it to be (from a toddler home to a… well if I’m honest I’m a full grown woman who is enjoying mouse housing.
Most of all, HAVE FUN!!!
XOXO, TLC