How to Paint a Plastic Dollhouse to look Haunted - Doing It-Projects with CSBergman

Plastic Victorian dollhouse from Goodwill.

For my first dollhouse project, I found this plastic dollhouse at the local Goodwill store. I like the Victorian style and thought it might make a nice haunted mansion for Halloween.

First off, I peeled off all of the stickers. Then I chose a paint that would work for a good base coat. I chose Rust-Oleum’s 2x ultra matte, in a dark gray. Their 2x paints are formatted to bond to plastics, as well as many other materials. I followed the instructions on the can.

Rust-Oleum’s 2x paints will bond with plastic and many other materials. I chose a nice dark gray.

I put on a good base coat.

First coat in progress. The matte paint will lose its gloss as it dries.

Next, after the paint has dried overnight, I dug into my acrylics. I chose a mixture of Cerulean blue and Mars Black for the shingles. I eventually switched to Payne’s Gray instead of the black. I used the black (or payne’s gray, which is a very dark gray) in a more watery mixture to paint in the cracks of the shingles. Then I used the cerulean blue on a drier brush to brush over the raised portions, in a way that left the dark areas in the cracks undisturbed. This layering made the shingles stand out more.

A mixture of Cerulean Blue and Payne’s Gray (and some black) was brushed on the shingles to bring out more of the texture.

Next, I took a mixture of Deep Magenta and Payne’s gray to work on the siding.

Deep Magenta and Payne’s Gray were used for the siding.

I brushed them on much like I did with the shingles, using a more watery brush for the payne’s gray on the siding first, to fill in the cracks, then going over it again with the magenta, using a drier brush so it wouldn’t reach into the cracks.

The siding is very dark, with hints of magenta, to give it a weathered appearance.

I added a little dark green to the bushes and a few of the shingles, to make it appear mossy. I also added a little cerulean blue to the flowers on the side of the house. Any colors you want will do, but to keep the appearance haunted-ish, I would recommend keeping the colors muted with dark gray or black.

I’m rather pleased with the results thus far. I will probably get some sort of clear coat to spray over the paint when I am finished with it, to protect against scratches. I will post more on this project as I go! Enjoy!