The IKEA dollhouse is such a great option for starting out your Maileg collection, the price point is obviously a huge plus; but more than that it also works really well for both scales of dollhouse furniture and the natural wood finish complements the Maileg beautifully.

Adding wallpaper is an absolute must for me; I really think it improves the overall look of the dollhouse (especially as it doesn't have doors on the front) and this can be done in a variety of ways; I have seen people paint their own (so cute if you have the time and skills!), another very popular option is to use some of the Maileg gift wrap as wallpaper.

Or if you are looking for an easier option (like me) then places like etsy have lots of pre cut wallpaper patterns for you to choose from. I got my dollhouse wallpaper from a gorgeous shop called Felix and Iris and her papers come with foam pads in the right places to hide that pesky lip at the back of the dollhouse; making the whole thing look much neater and pleasing to the eye!

Her listings also allow you to create a totally bespoke order with different patterns in the various rooms - I highly recommend trusting her with your new Maileg Ikea dollhouse interior design! (Not paid or an Ad by the way - just a very happy repeat customer)

So now the walls are decorated, it's on to the furniture! The beauty of this dollhouse being that you don't even need to stick to one Maileg scale if you don't want to. In my latest YouTube video I show you 3 set ups in this dolls house -

1. Mouse Size 2. Miniature Size 3. Mixed Maileg Sizes.

Personally I LOVE to mix the sizes in this dolls house, and I also love mixing the maileg friends that live there too. Some maileg mice with maileg bunny lodgers?! How adorable!

You can also choose miniature Maileg furniture and use it with a mouse family; I love using upturned buckets, suitcases, or stools for the mice to stand on to reach the top shelf of the miniature fridge, or the miniature kitchen sink. I think it really adds to the whimsy.

Once you have filled your dollhouse with furniture be sure not to forget the accessories. Rugs, shelves & mirrors really make all the difference when it comes to your imaginative play feeling real (or your display looking next level!)

I would say the quickest win in your dollhouse set up is adding rugs - they are less than £10 and add so much to your miniature rooms. 

And never underestimate your Maileg packaging for its potential to be used as framed art on the walls, pretend televisions, little books for the mice - so many opportunities to add some extra whimsy to your set up for free!

If you want to see me create some of these set ups; I have uploaded a new YouTube video over on our channel showing you just that, it should help you figure out what Maileg sizes you would like for your dollhouse and just be a relaxing 10 minutes out of your day!!

You may have seen people extending their IKEA dollhouses too; and I will be explaining some cool ways you can do that in a new video and blog post soon - watch this space.