How to Design and Build a Paper Model House

Designing and building your first paper model house is a creative and rewarding activity. It can be done using only a few simple, easy-to-find tools. Once you have completed your first 3-D model, there is a feeling of accomplishment that makes you want to do more. Paper model houses can be simple and built in less than an hour, while complex ones with minute detail can take hours or days to complete. Once you have started, there are endless possibilities to this addictive, yet inexpensive, hobby.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Pen or thin marker
• Color pencil
• Ruler
• Protractor
• Paper
• Water-based white glue
• Scissor
• Hobby knife

How to Design and Build a Paper Model House

1. Obtain all the tools necessary to build your 3-D model. Any local hobby shop or even convenience store sells everything you need.

2. Draw the dimensions of the house, with a pencil, on a flat piece of paper. For a simple house, make the sides about half as long as the length. Use a ruler to measure and also draw straight lines.

3. Continue drawing out the height of the house. For an angled roof, use a protractor to measure a 45-degree angle on the short sides of the model, mark the top of the triangle, and draw its sides.

4. Draw small tabs on the sides of the triangles drawn in Step 3 and on one side of the drawing, so that you will have an invisible tab to glue on the inside of the model.

5. Draw windows and details. Use a pen or thin marker to show detail borders and then color the drawing.

6. Measure the sides of the triangle you drew in Step 3 and draw a box twice as wide as one side, and as long as the house. Draw a line down the middle and color.

7. Cut the pieces using a scissor, or with a small hobby knife if you are comfortable doing so.

8. Lightly scratch along the lines for the sides and tabs, with a scissor edge, knife, or something with a straight edge, so that the paper will fold more easily. This is called scoring

9. Fold the pieces by hand or by bending the paper around a straight-edged object. All of the tabs should be folded now too.

10. Apply glue to the tab and place the opposite side over it. Hold it together until dry. With water-based, white glue this doesn’t take very long.

11. Apply glue to the roof tabs and place the roof on top. The house should be large enough to place your fingers through the bottom and press down the tabs. You can also use toothpicks or the pencil to press the tabs down.

Tips & Warnings

• If this is you first paper model house, then it is best to size it to fit on one sheet of paper. Using standard 8½ by 11 inch paper, this will yield a house of around 3 by 2 inches. For a larger house than will fit, you can make the sides separately, but this will require cutting and gluing more pieces. Larger paper can also be purchased.

• Although any paper can be used, paper with 64 lb. thickness is the best since it is sturdy enough for your model to last and not too thick that bending it will damage the paper.

• Once you have completed your first paper model house, you can put it anywhere for people to see and admire your creation.

• If you’re going to use a knife, be sure to use caution so you are not injured. If you are young, obtain permission and help from a parent or guardian.