How to Build a Dollhouse at Home

Whether you’re hoping to dazzle a special little girl or you want to develop a rewarding hobby, building a dollhouse can prove to be quite an adventure. To do the job right, you will have to do some serious planning and you can expect to put in a fair amount of work. When all is said and done, however, you will enjoy a creation that can provide endless hours of fun and even become a cherished family heirloom.

Creating a dollhouse from the ground up is very much like building a real home. While you might not have to pull building permits to get the job done, you will need to follow a fairly set process to enjoy a finished project that will stand the test of time. Some of the basic steps involved in building a dollhouse include:

Determine the purpose for the house – It’s important to decide whether the house will be used as a child’s play toy or to display a personal collection of antique miniatures. This can have an impact on the style of the house and the materials you use to construct it.

Find or create the plans – Just like a real builder, you’ll need blueprints to get started with your project. To select or create prints that will work to make your dream house reality, you’ll want to determine the scale, the style of house you want and its shape. Scale is commonly set at 1 ½, with one inch equaling one foot in the real world. Consider the size furniture and dolls you might want to use to guide your decision on the scale.

Create the patterns and buy the supplies – If you’re building from a kit or using pre-made plans, you’ll have patterns for cutting your wood already in place. If not, you’ll need to draw these out yourself. Having the right patterns drawn can help you cut your wood pieces to correctly fit the design. The supplies you might need will include such things as hand tools, saws, paint, brushes, wood, glue and so on.

Begin the building process – It is often best to build a dollhouse by cutting all the pieces first. This will help you make the actual “construction” go faster by enabling you to put the house together in much the same manner a jigsaw puzzle would fit together. Don’t forget to cut your holes for windows and doors. Once you’ve cut all your pieces, affix them together, starting with the ground floor and walls. Work out from there just like a real builder would do.

Put on the finishing touches – Once you have your walls, floors, doors and windows in place, your dollhouse will be almost completed. To turn your house into a “home,” you will need some finishing touches. These might include wallpaper or paint for the walls, tiles or “shingles” for the roof, light fixtures and other homey touches.

Building a dollhouse from scratch will take some time and effort, but it can pay off by quickly becoming a beloved toy or a cherished display. Put some thought and creativity into the process and your finished house, even if it comes from a plan, will be a one-of-a-kind treasure.

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