I had seen others do it. You take a doll house, old, used usually or even a Playskool playhouse, and repurpose them as a Halloween Haunted House, painting and staging them to look distinctly different from their overly cheerful origins.
And this year, I had the need to do my own.
First, there was trying to find one I could afford that had the right look. They were either too expensive, too small, or too ugly. Then I came across this one on Etsy. A castle! Smallish, plastic, perfect!
The Addams Family wouldn’t be caught dead here, but with a little finessing, they’d be dying to move in.
And so I began. The first thing was to get black matte spray paint that would work on plastic (very important) and cover it, all the nooks and crannies, both inside and out. And already it begins to look the part. (Right now it’s wet, but will dry a matte/satin sheen.
Next step was to drill a hole through the tower so the mini-battery-powered lights would fit through to illuminate those windows and then roll up the rest of the light string to fit in the first and second floors. These particular lights can be purple, white, or orange. But I like the setting where it pulses purple…like a heartbeat. Bwa-ha-ha!
All was well. So the next step was to paint in the vines and poison flowers.
I painted a board black as a base, masking off first the footprint of the house, and set all the main objects I wanted to have in place; light posts, fence, and house, and marked where they should be. I still kept the house footprint masked but hot glued down all the rest. Because I was going to add some “gravel” to the rest of ground area.
That requires wood glue to be brushed down in a thin layer before sprinkling the fake “gravel” with a spoon and smoothing the excess down with my finger so it could be one even layer. I glued down the wires too that will run under the house when it’s all set into place. (I know that someday those light posts won’t light anymore, but that’s fine. They still look good even if they won’t light.)
SPECIAL TIP: I’d like to point out below how very helpful a book light can be when doing this kind of project. I don’t have project lighting in my dining room. It’s more ambient, but I needed to see details to paint and do all the other delicate bits of work. It’s flexible, lightweight, and easy to maneuver where you want it. Handy!
Here’s a top view of what the platform looks like when I removed the house painter’s tape mask and glued down all the “gravel” (no idea what the material really is. Seeds? Tiny rocks?) The wires are glued down under it and some of those seams will be covered with gravestones and sphagnum moss.
Nearly finished. It just needs ghosts, bats, and pumpkins. Then it will sit in my front window, facing the living room so we can enjoy it. I had hoped I could get something bigger to face it outside, but bigger is far more expensive.
And finally, the Reveal! Cool, eh? If you know of someone with an old doll house they don’t want anymore, it’s a pretty easy project to do. I got all the little details from either Etsy or Michael’s. Fun stuff!
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I absolutely adore this!
It was so fun. One afternoon…after I had gotten all the parts and pieces.
So cool! You took a pink princess castile and made it into the Addams Family mansion. I love the little gargoyles standing guard and ghosts peeking from the graveyard.
And I would have loved that as a kid. Not with folks, but with animals that talked. 😁
You did a fantastic job on this!!
I have a small wood dollhouse that I bought at Michaels and I was trying to figure out what to do with it. Thank you for this brilliant idea Jeri! Your house reminded me of a tv show which I loved as a child, “The Munster Family”
We watched the Munsters too! Have fun with your project.
I love it!!!
Love This!
Love it – Lily and Herman would feel right at home. The lighter lampposts really add to the atmosphere.
I just love miniature things like this.