DIY Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle

   Several years ago I walked into a secondhand store and fell in love with a GIANT old Victorian dollhouse. I had told myself I would revamp it for a little girl, or turn it into something fun for a little boy. When we found out about our son I decided to transform it into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his Harry Potter themed nursery. 

    The dollhouse had been stored in a dear friend's garage for several years, until we had a place to put it. (Thank you Myrna!) My uncle drove it down to our house and it BARELY fit through the doorway. I opted to leave it in our tiled entry for the transformation process. I only had a couple months until the baby came, so I started working on it right away. 

Before - the outside front

 

Before - the outside back (those doors have to go!)

  I believe that when this dollhouse was constructed it had been specially made to house... cats. It had extra large openings and large carpeted platforms.

Before - the inside

    My first task was demolition and clean-up. I made quick work of  removing the extra wood, windows doors, and carpet. I then disinfected and cleaned the whole thing  

So fresh and so clean.

Window boxes removed to be able to fit in the nursery door.

I kept all the spare parts just in case I needed them for anything later. 

    I started to prep the castle flooring using black foam boards with one paper side peeled off. I just used the tip of a pen to carve out the pattern freehand, and then rolled an aluminum foil ball over each piece to make it look more worn.

During...

Ready to install.

Installing the flooring.

Painting the flooring with black Mod Podge to make it strong.

Flooring on the front steps too. 

    I now needed to paint the entire castle inside and out a grey base color, it took 2-3 coats to cover everything. Then I could start on the fun details that would really make it Hogwarts. 

Completely painted grey.

Brick detail begins.

     I did a few Hogwarts-specific details like the mermaid stained glass, Hogwarts crest, and suits of armor to guard the front door. 

Permanent marker on plexiglass gives a great stained glass appearance.

Done with the outline.

Colored in with colored permanent markers.

3D printed Hogwarts crest.

3D printed suits of armor.

    The process of drawing ALL those little lines for the brick took forever. I did a quick black wash over the entire thing to make it appear aged, and then it was ready to install all the details. 

Cross-hatched windows.

Painted guards.

Working on the wash. The roof also has stone flooring for more play area.

    Now, at 37 weeks pregnant, I HAD to be done. I may or may not add a few more fun details as he gets older, but for now I love how it turned out. 

Here's the finished product: 

Husband lighting up the stained glass window.

Complete with Funko Pops and Hagrid's Hut!

    Little guy already loves to go over and grab Dobby and Hagrid in his castle. It's a hit! Make sure to check out my other Harry Potter nursery projects as well as the nursery itself. 

- Lizzy