How to Build a Dollhouse
Dollhouses have captivated children since the 17th century, when they were invented as playthings for the privileged. Today, kids still love them - and adults, who lavish even more care on the furnishings and appointments, do too.
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Things You'll Need
- Brushes
- Plywood
- Wood Glues
- Paints
- Scissors
- Paper And Pencils
- Yardsticks
- Saws
- Circular Saws
- Common Nails
- Hammers
- Keyhole Saw
- Rulers
- Sandpaper
- Variable-speed Drills
- Dollhouse Kits
Instructions
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1
Decide how you'll use the house. As a showcase for your treasured miniature collection? Or as a playhouse for your child's amusement? Deciding what the house is for will help you determine what to make it out of and how to make it.
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2
Decide on your scale. Most miniatures are on a 1/12 scale - in other words, 1 inch per real-life foot. Because this scale is so popular, a huge selection of furnishings and accessories is available in this size. But if the doll you're building for is 15 inches tall, a 1/12 scale won't get you anywhere.
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3
Decide on the size and shape of the house. The simplest possible house is a one-story, one-room cottage. The choices for the most elaborate are many - multistory concoctions ranging from a Victorian dripping with gingerbread to a Venetian palazzo.
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Start simply, however, unless you're an experienced carpenter.
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5
Gather paper and pencil and a ruler, and draw a pattern. For a simple cottage, you'll need a minimum of six pieces: the base, three walls (the fourth is open for play and display) and two roof pieces.
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6
Remember to mark holes for windows and a door, taking the scale into account.
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7
Buy wood - 3/4-inch plywood makes a nice, solid base, but 3/8-inch is fine for the walls and roof.
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8
Use your pattern pieces to mark the wood.
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9
Cut the wood. You can do this by hand, but a circular saw will save time and effort.
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10
Cut out the windows and doors. Whether you're cutting by hand or not, drilling holes in the corners of all the cutouts with an electric drill will make this easier.
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11
Sand all the edges smooth.
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12
Join the walls to the base and to each other with wood glue and nails, then do the same with the roof.
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13
Sand again over the nails.
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14
Paint if desired.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want something more elaborate than a simple cottage and aren't confident of your skills, try a kit. They come with all pieces precut (shingles and trims, siding, posts and rails, stairs) and some preassembled (windows, doors, shutters).
If you get tired or frustrated, take a break - remember, this is supposed to be fun.
Resources
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Comments
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this is alot of help I will keep this in mind.
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Jul 01, 2006
I drew my dollhouse using a 3D architectural program, the same one I used to draw my own home. This was pretty easy and it had option of meters or feet. -
Jul 01, 2006
I drew my dollhouse using a 3D architectural program, the same one I used to draw my own home. This was pretty easy and it had option of meters or feet.
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Jan 04, 2006
The most traditional dollhouse is 1/12 scale, so most dollhouse furniture and items are in that scale. The easy way to measure that is to remember that 1 inch = 1 foot. This also helps when drawing out plans, like one of the previous tips: 1 square = 1 inch = 1 foot.
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Jan 04, 2006
The most traditional dollhouse is 1/12 scale, so most dollhouse furniture and items are in that scale. The easy way to measure that is to remember that 1 inch = 1 foot. This also helps when drawing out plans, like one of the previous tips: 1 square = 1 inch = 1 foot.
