Crafty Customer Learns How To Build a Dollhouse

Hi there, can I help you?

Yes please, I want to build a doll house.

Well, you've come to the right place. Why do you want to build a dollhouse?

What difference does that make?

The why is very important to the how?

Say what?

Ok, I had someone in this morning who thought he wanted to build a doll house but what he really wanted was a cheap way of getting his daughter a dolls house. He thought that building it himself would be the cheapest option.

...and wouldn't it be?

Well, not necessarily. He had no craft skills whatsoever and his attempts may have ended up costing him money. He took my advice and bought a really nice well looked after second hand dolls house which his daughter would be proud of and for about the same money that building would have cost him and it was already furnished!!

Sounds like you give fair advice. ...but I am quite handy and I want to have a go at building one.

Who are you building it for?

Does it matter?

Yes it could affect the way you build it. For instance if you're building it as a showpiece for yourself then you will want it to be a good example of workmanship and you will take care in getting the scale correct, the furniture and furnishings, the wallpaper, the lighting, the outside finish and so on. You will want to make everything as perfect as you can. If, on the other hand, you're making it as a child's toy you may be less concerned with the finish and more concerned with robustness. You may make it to a larger scale to allow for Sindy and Barbie dolls rather than scale furniture.

Tell me more about scale.

Well the most common scale for a doll house is 1:12 because in that scale you can buy a lot of ready made furniture and fittings, which will obviously be better when you come to the final finish.

I was never good at math.

To put it simply if you want your ceiling in proportion to your own house and your house has 12ft high ceilings then your doll house ceiling would be 12inch high. So 1in in the dolls house is equivalent to 1ft in a normal house. How good are your craft skills?

Why?

Well if you're comfortable with craft work then you can start with sheet plywood mark it out according to your pattern and build from there, but if you're uncomfortable starting from scratch there are many dollhouse kits available which are relatively simple to put together and don't need much fiddly work to complete.

I think I'll be ok with the craft side but you mentioned a pattern.

Yes, it's essential to have a pattern. Again it's up to you and your skill sets, but there are many doll house designs and plans available for you to use as a basis for your build. Or you can design it yourself, keeping in mind the scale and the usage. Draw it out on paper and transfer this to your plywood sheet. Don't forget to keep your door and window sizes to scale. You can buy doors and windows and you should bear this in mind when marking your pattern.

What about the finish?

Just like your own home you can furnish it from the stores. You can buy doll house wallpaper, dollhouse lighting, furniture, kitchen equipment, beds, and all the other doll house supplies and accessories that you can think of.

Where do I start?

The best way to start is by browsing the store to see what exactly is available from ready made dolls houses, through doll house kits and dollhouse plans, to furniture and accessories.

How much will it all cost?

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you browse around.

Click here to browse our dollhouse store.