I built my daughter a HUGE wooden dollhouse two Christmases ago. This Christmas she got lots of furnature and some dolls for it. She set it it up quite well on her own, to my surprise. I was pleased that she saw the utility of each room.
We're trying to set aside one night a week after our daily chores to work on the dollhouse. Last night we painted a few of the rooms. For those of you who don't know, dollhouses are VERY expensive to make nice. One can purchase portraits for the walls, wallpaper, and even carpets. I've got my eye on some nice "wooden" flooring for the kitchen. Doll furnature is outrageously expensive. Right now, she's got some less expensive plastic furnature until she gets a little older.
She chose a semi-sparkly deep green for the dining room. It's lovely, really. Think Christmas. The white trim on the windows is nice. The kitchen is a medium to light blue. She is a fabulous painter for a five year old! Her upstairs bathroom is white for now. I told her we may get some wall paper or paint a nice design on the walls.
When I gave her the house, I painted the entryway door red and the outside of the house a bright purple with a greyblue sponged on top. It sounds hideous, but its truly beautiful. Because the outside door is red, she wanted a room inside red. I told her the entryway might be a nice complement. The inside of the door is white and is strikingly lovely against the red with the white stairs.
We've a couple more rooms to paint. I painted an oriental rug at the top of the stairs using my paint markers and it's very nice. She's so excited about her project and we really get to talk during this time. What a precious project for us... but the real treat is the time with her.