How to Build a Barbie House

Most Barbie houses on the market are too small to hold all of Barbie's furniture and accessories. By building your own house, you can make it as large as needed, decorate it as you wish, and make that Barbie collector very happy.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brushes
• Bookcases
• Cardboard
• Carpets
• Glues
• Paints
• Wallpaper
• Cardboard
• Saws Or Knife

1. Decide how large you want your house to be. How many rooms and floors do you need?

2. Buy a plastic bookcase that has as many floors as you need. You can take a shelf off and set it beside your house to create an adjoining floor.

3. Assemble the bookcase according to its directions.

4. Purchase thin indoor/outdoor carpeting. You won't need more than a yard. Cut the carpet to fit your floors and glue it down.

5. Cut cardboard or thin wood to create back and side walls for your house.

6. Make interior walls from cardboard or thin wood.

7. Wallpaper both sides of the interior walls and one side of the back and side walls. Use leftover wallpaper scraps you have or that you find at a wall cover store. You can also purchase rolls of wallpaper.

8. Cover the outside of the back and side walls with shelf paper or paint them.

9. Cut out window and door holes.

10. Attach cardboard walls to the bookcase using glue. Attach wood walls to the bookcase using wood screws. Wedge in the cardboard or wood for the interior walls.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the shelves of your bookcase are tall enough for Barbie to stand up in.
• Buy enough shelving that there will be room for all of Barbie's furniture.
• Make rooms small for bathrooms, medium-size for bedrooms and large for the kitchen and living room.
• Use wallpaper appropriate for the type of room you're creating.
• Make windows and doors large enough to accommodate Barbie's size.
• Be certain you have a place in your house where the Barbie house will fit.

[jenstewart]

on 7/4/2009 Great information! if you want more information check out www.crazyforbarbie.com or www.crazyforbarbieblog.com
lots of good information on building barbie dollhouses

on 12/8/2005 My father used the "bookcase" technique to build a Barbie house for me many years ago. Now I'm renovating it for my daughter! In his original plan he made a closet in the bedroom, using paneling for the sliding doors and trim on either side to keep them on track. He cut a length of wire (it looks to be from a wire hanger) for the rod.