Doll’s houses can be expensive to buy. With the year we are all having why not save a few quid and make your own in time for Christmas. I remember the Barbie House my mum bought me as a child one Christmas, it cost an absolute fortune. To make a doll’s house you will need wood, wood glue and masking tape. Spending a bit of time and having some patience you can soon create something to be really proud of. In terms of tools, you will need saws, nail gun, sandpaper, wood clamp and a tape measure. It is something you can do with your child’s input or just surprise them for Christmas.

Design Your Dolls House

Before gluing pieces of wood together make sure you have sketched out your design. Decide on the scale of your doll’s house then work out the dimensions. A popular scale is usually 1/12^th which links back to the imperial measuring system. So, one inch of the doll house translates to one foot in a real house. This scale seems to be the most widely available when it comes to accessories/decorating your doll’s house.

However, you also need to consider the characters the children might like to play with in their new doll’s house. If its barbie dolls (11.5” height) you will need to look at a scale of 1:6 for a larger house, Lottie dolls are slightly smaller 7.5” if you have those. For Playmobil characters they usually recommend a scale of 1:24. So basically, don’t dive into building without enough thought first. Ideally get some ideas from your child too about what elements they would love to see in their dream doll’s house, although don’t give the game away if the present is a surprise gift!

Building Your Doll’s House

There are lots of tutorials online. I also found this blog post about how to build a DIY dollhouse useful. You can make your job easier choosing to leave off bays and doors and going for a simpler build. Usually, staircases are the most challenging so start out with a less complicated doll’s house design to begin with and progress from there as your confidence grows. You will notice that the doll’s house in the article I included didn’t even have stairs. But you know what your child won’t miss them. They will just love playing with their doll’s house.

Customising Your Doll’s House

Stick and Go Crafts stock adhesive dolls house wallpaper and coverings which will soon transform your DIY doll’s house into something very luxurious. It’s amazing what products they stock, everything from coving and skirting to stick on roof tiles. They work in a 1/12^th scale so that might be something to consider when first doing your dimensions.

Adding Furniture

This would be my favourite part. There is a novelty about buying everything in miniature. Alongside furniture you can even get teeny food. There seems so much more choice now.

Lighting

Don’t forget to add lighting. You can even get realistic looking fires with flickering LED lights.

Lacking Confidence

If your worried about your ability to make a doll’s house from scratch, you can simplify things. You can buy custom doors and windows and porch kits. Then just slot them on rather than craft your own.

Good luck with your project. If you have already built one I would love to hear how you got on.