I started work on the floors today; I was lucky in that the wood was good quality and the same colour on each floor so I have decided to stain them with the Sandolin that I used on my decking! It's a natural colour with only a hint of stain and contains restorers and preservatives; as Lily's wood can be quite dry (sitting under a bed for 7 years will do that..) I wanted to try and do it some good as well as decorate.
I'm pleased with the results, the grain has come up beautifully - a coat of varnish and they should shine! I have also decided not to try and create floorboards, something I was very keen on before my dollhouse hiatus. I spent hours researching how to score floorboards, but when I looked closely at the wood before I started to stain, the grain was long and wide (especially on the ground floor) and I think it would have looked odd squeezed into 12 scale floorboards. I will instead concentrate on getting beautiful, shining floors which I think will be just as effective. Now I'm going to finish the rest of the wallpapering; I want to do it all, whilst the walls can be laid flat and the patterns matched as accurately as possible. Then I need to start painting the coving and skirting; again, I think it will be easier to cut and prep for installation before the walls are put together - it's going to be a busy week! 
