Wooden Dollhouses

The House that Jack Build Wooden Dollhouses

2010-05-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

As I clear away old toys from my children's playroom, I feel a little sad. Most of the toys are not really recyclable, and they didn’t last long either. I remember purchasing them with excitement and the look of excitement the kids had when they first played with them. Soon, most of the toys joined the other toys in the land of misused or abandoned toys.

I am also reviewing my offerings in my stores for the 2010-2011 selling season. I am cleaning house there too. The world does not need any more cheap plastic, electronic, faux wood or otherwise disposable, temporary toys! My family and I went on a tour of the House of Seven Gables in Salem MA last fall, and I was amazed at the beautiful furnishings, the gleaming woods and rich fabrics that have endured the test of time. They are heirlooms. That is what good lasting toys should be as well.

That is what a nice wooden dollhouse should be. An heirloom is lovingly past from one generation to next, sometimes remodeled, but always enduring and endearing. I see some of my favorite manufacturers starting to see this need too, and I am thrilled!

In 2010, Melissa and Doug, one of my all time favorite toy manufacturers released their newly acquired line of dollhouses called, “The House that Jack Built.”

Each beautiful dollhouse is natural, unpainted wood, ready to assemble, shingle, and decorate by its owner’s family. There are enchanted Victorians, classic colonials, and warm cottages to choose from. The dollhouses are crafted from 3/8” plywood and are 1:12 scale, to fit 6 inch dolls. They take some time to complete. They are not for a quick last minute gift-giving idea! These dollhouse are heirloom quality and say “with Love” from the gift giver to the recipient.

These houses have what it takes to look and feel like a house you could just live in yourself. They are available in many sizes and styles to suite every miniature enthusiast. The grand dame of the line is the Lady Anna

followed closely by Holly Ann, and Katherine Victorian dollhouses.

Details include oval pane windows in the tower and a window’s peak walk. The Katherine has hinged doors that open to reveal 6 rooms and 2 additional attic rooms. The Katherine is 37” x 31” x 20” when assembled.

For a city dwelling, consider the Mansard townhouse, reminscient of the classic Bostonian brownstones! This townhouse features 4 floors of spacious living in a 23” x 40” x 14” wide.

If your dolls prefer a country home, you may consider a large country colonial like the one the TV classic family, the Walton’s lived in! The appropriately named “walton” includes a covered front porch and 3 floors of living space including the attic. John Boy would be proud. Others in this style include the Lisa Kay with a double front porch on the 1st and 2nd floor and French doors.

For a simpler look, try the moderate Lit Bit or Aunt Ellie, or Cassie.

Have a vacation getaway home in mind? You may consider the smaller sea or lakeside abode, the cute gingerbread cottages: Christy’s cottage, Kotton Kandy ( keep Hansel and Gretel away!) or the Mary Jo.

Whatever your choice, you will not be disappointed in your “House that Jack Built” dollhouse. You can find these fine dollhouses on Amazon.com

You may prefer other dollhouse retailers specializing in dollhouse miniatures:

Eco Dollhouses Environmentally Friendly Wooden Dollhouses

2009-07-13T04:41:00.000-07:00

Think about environment from the very start by selecting an environmentally friendly wooden dollhouse for your little ones that also teaches about the environment, and conservation. these beautiful modern wooden dollhouses are a delight for young and old!
Eco Dollhouse

SmartGear (Wonderworld) is an advocate of protecting the environment. The Eco Dollhouse is part of Wonderworld's(SmartGear Toys) new collection of products to educate children about importance of recycling, saving energy and prtotecting our environment.

This modern dollhouse features all hardwood quality construction. It has water-based nontoxic paints and lacquers.

The multi-colored wood dollhouse comes with furniture and a 3 member doll family. This dollhouse measures 21.26 w x 23.23 l x 19.69 h in inches.

This dollhouse teaches through play about recycling, planting trees, solar panels and energy, conserving energy by riding your bike instead of riding a car, and collecting rain water. Lots of play value at home or in your classroom!

Plan Toys is another company well worth yout time and money! Their wooden toys are superior. They have been doing the right thing by the environment long before it became cool to Be Green!

Plan Toys have real world functionality to encourages creative play. They are "Committed To Minimizing Our Impact On The Environment" Plan Toys has a few Envrionmentally friendly Eco dollhouses to offer.

Eco Home

Plan Eco Home is the dollhouse of the future! "Wind turbine, solar panels, and a living roof are the clean energy sources used in the Plan Eco Home. There is even an electric scooter instead of a car! This set includes the house, two dolls, an electric scooter, and furniture for two rooms. This wonderful set is crafted from recycled, natural rubber wood, dyed with vegetable and soy dyes, and assembled in an earth-friendly process."

This dollhouse is a good starter home for younger children. For older children and even adult collectors of modern dollhouses, PlanToys The Green Dollhouse is beautiful!

Green Dollhouse

This dollhouse features a stylish open concept modern design. "The Green Dollhouse is an amazing, energy conscious inspiration. The energy efficient design includes a wind turbine, a solar cell panel, and an electric inverter for generating electricity, a rain barrel for collecting rain. There is also a biofacade, which uses the natural cycle of plant growth to provide shading, and a blind that can adjust to the amount of sunlight and air circulation. Recycling bins are also included with the house. This beautiful dollhouse is crafted from recycled, natural rubber wood, dyed with vegetable and soy dyes, and assembled in an earth-friendly process."

New Video Kidkraft Savannah Dollhouse

2009-02-06T07:54:00.001-08:00

Kidkraft has released a great video showing the many features of this lovely dollhouse!

Watch the Kidkraft Savannah Dollhouse Video on YouTube.com

The reviews for this dollhouse have been excellent as well. You can see all the reviews it has received on Amazon.com IT has 5/5 stars!

Amazon.com Reviews for Kidkraft Savannah Dollhouse

Cherry Hill PlayKraft Dollhouse

2008-10-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

New Cherry Hill Wooden Dollhouse Collection by Kidkraft

Beautiful and Bright this new dollhouse from Kidkraft comes with furniture and more sets are available to expand your decor. This dollhouse is on a swivel for quick and easy access to any room at any time and by mulitple children. This dollhouse is brightly decorated in fun eye catching colors that also depict typical home scenes. The furniture is block style but with a new update look with splashes of color and some unique designs.

This is more of a child's play dollhouse than a collector's piece. Some of the furniture can definitely find their way into modern collector dollhouses. The lime green, hot pinks would add a nice splash of color to modern frame dollhouse too!

The Cherry Hill dollhouse is part of a new line for Kidkraft called Playkraft. This line includes min play sets which can be added to the Cherry Hill dollhouse. The play sets include a ballet dance studio, ice cream parlor, and more.

The boys counter part to the the Cherry Hill collection is the Playkraft town line including new cool interactive wood train sets and town play sets.

Kidkraft Dollhouse Cottage 2008 Review

2008-07-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Kidkraft Cottage Dollhouse Review

Pretty in white and pink, the Cottage Doll House from KidKraft is a perfect first real wooden dollhouse. Featuring a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, this sturdy house is sure to provide little girls with hours of fun and imaginative play. There are 3 levels with charming touches like flower boxes and scalloped trim.

The dollhouse has a Kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, and sitting room. It includes 15 pieces of furniture and a smiling family of 4 dolls. The cottage dollhouse is constructed of environmentally sound rubberwood.

It is very easy to assemble! Allow 15 minutes. The directions are excellent, as usual for Kidkraft! The only tool required is a small phillips head screw driver. The pieces are pre-drilled and line up perfectly. The dollhouse is finished in a high gloss, wipe clean paint.

An interesting note is this same dollhouse is also available under the Little Tree label, made by Kidkraft for Target Dept stores.

Where can you find a good price for this dollhouse? Try ebay:

Kidkraft Cottage Dollhouse on eBay

Or Amazon.com for the best prices:

Kidkraft Cottage Dollhouse Review

Wooden Dollhouse Bookshelf

2008-06-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

In my post, How to Build a Wooden Dollhouse I provide some examples of cool bookshelves that can easily double as a durable and stylish wooden dollhouse.

There are also some excellent wooden dollhouse bookshelves available on the market for a reasonable price.

The best is Guidecraft's Dollhouse Bookshelf:

This sturdy bookshelf is solid wood, and does double duty as an attractive dollhouse, complete with window cut-outs, and storage unit. The dimensions are 47”H x 43 1/2”W x12"D", Weight: 84 lbs. this does require adult assembly. Assembly is very straightforward!

If used as a dollhouse, this would fit 1:12 inch scale dolls, or dolls up to 10 inches doll. My girls also use their bookshelves as a home for their Little Ponies, and Littlest Petshop critters!

Another good choice is by Kidkraft

The Kidkraft Dollhouse Bookshelf is wooden, or made of MDF.

The Kidkraft Dollhouse Bookshelf is brightly detailed in pink, yellow, and violet pastels. It features a flip-top hidden shelf or roof. This lovely choice is also for doll up to 10 inches in height, meaning a bit to tight quarters for Barbie and friends.

The dollhouse bookcase has three subdivided shelves with room not only for books, but for plush animals, dolls, and jewelry boxes too. Plus, the little door on the lower shelf opens to reveal a hidden cubby-hole for all sorts of treasure.

There are four cut-out windows that add to the house-like look and feel of the bookcase, and provide your little one's dolls with excellent views. The dimensions are 30"L x 13.5"W x 40"H, weight 31 lbs.

You can fidn the best deals for this dollhouse bookcase on eBay because there are alot of sellers offering the same item!

Kidkraft Wooden Bookshelf

There are other similar options available. I have found a cute dollhouse bookshelf at Target, and other department stores. However, the display models on the shelf show that lots of wear and tear. I woudl not recommend them because simple nicks and bumps in the wood reveal the ugly MDF underneath.

For a variety of choices, check-out eBay:

Kidkraft Releases Updated Savannah Wooden Dollhouse Playscale for Barbies

2008-05-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

Kidkraft has released an updated version of the Savannah Dollhouse:

This classic dollhouse has brightly detailed four floors of fun with classic wood furnishings. All wooden furniture is included and is designed with perfect style, size and fit for this Fashion Doll Sized (Playscale 1:6) Dollhouse.

The Savannah Dollhouse is more of a Victorian style home for fashion dolls. The house is designed with the classic style found among the stately homes of Savannah, Georgia. The artwork throughout depicts typical house scenes such as staircases, plants, curtains, bookcases and more. This dollhouse is a nice dfferent option to the typical pink, pink and more pink Barbie dollhouses!

How to Build a Miniature Wooden Dollhouse Discovery Channel Video

2008-04-09T06:49:00.000-07:00

How It's Made Video - Wooden Dollhouses

"How It's Made" was a show featuring how heirloom quality wooden dollhouses in 1:!2 inche scale are made. The process is fascinating. You can see the quality and hand-craft care that goes into a quality wooden dollhouse. They are architectural works of art.

Collectors can spend a fortune on these highly detailed dollhouses!

You can see why most 1:12 inch scale dollhouses are recommended for older children 8 years and up. They are works of art that cannot be completely appreciated by a younger child.

How It's Made Video - Wooden Dollhouses

Guidecraft Modern Wooden Dollhouse Furniture

2008-04-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Guidecraft Modern Wooden Dollhouse Furniture

This year, guidecraft released its new version of the 41 piece solid wood dollhouse furniture set for 1:12 dollhouses. This new version features smooth pieces in natural with primary color accents. The furniture set works well with most children's wooden dollhouses. However,this cute set is a bit too contemporary to complement Guidecraft's own Victorian dollhouse.

The dollhouse furniture is solid wood, heirloom quality featuring 6 complete rooms of furniture. High Quality Pieces that are fun to play with and and will last. Safe non-toxic finishes.

The 41 pieces are block-style. they includes beds, tables, chairs, mattresses, sofa, TV, rugs, lamps, and a flower box. There are 3 bedroom sets, one master bedroom, one with a double bed, and one kids bunk bed bedroom set, living room, bathroom, and kitchen/dining combination.

This set will provide hours of fun for decorating and redecorating your dollhouse! The manufacturer recommends this dollhouse furniture set for ages 6 years and up.

You can read more about this dollhouse furniture set here:

Guidecraft Wood Dollhouse 41 pc Complete Furniture Set

Featured by A Modern Renaissance Furniture Toys Creative Kid Pleaces and Inspiring Home Spaces

Guidecraft Modern Wooden Dollhouse Furniture

Wooden Dollhouse Miniature Accessories

2008-03-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wooden Dollhouse Accessories

So your dollhouse is furnished. Your doll family has moved in. Now what do they do? Accessorize!

For small children, dollhouse accessories just seem to get lost. I keep collecting tiny bottles, pillows, and mini foods all over our home. I have to admit to occassionally redecorating the kids' dollhouses at night and setting up own mini scenes. Having kids gives me an excuse to play with toys!

However, children from ages 7 or 8 and up, and adults too enjoy decorating their dollhouse with tiny accessories. Making accessories from craft store items is alot of fun too.

As an authorized retailer for Melissa & Doug, and a Mom of 6 yr old triplets and a 4 yr old, I am very partial to Melissa & Doug wooden toys. Their Victorian Dollhouse collection is beautiful! The wooden dollhouse accessories are perfect! You will not be disappointed if you select one of these reasonable priced dollhouse accessories kits. There are 6 sets available to complement each room of furniture: Kitchen, Dining Room, Bedroom, Living Room, Nursery, and Bathroom accessory sets.

So get a couple of these and now your doll family can prepare meals, decorate their walls, and their doll babies will have toys of their own to play with!

I have also found some cute collectible miniatures on eBay. I love the mini accessories from this seller, Handcrafted Wooden Miniature Accessories

You can also have alot of fun in your local craft supply store like Michael's, Joann Fabrics, or AC Moore. Mini beads make great food like items. Mini bows, and party favors are great too. We have used the mini baby bottles for our dollhouse doll babies. Yes they usually come in a package of 5 or more, but we use all of them eventually. Buy a variety of items and make little gift bags of dollhouse accessories for little girls you know have dollhouses or your favorite wooden dollhouse collector.

Some craft suggestions for your accessory kit: baby bottles, beads arranged into a tiny bowl, mini bows, 3D scrapbook stickers can serve as wall art. Mini baby bottles, teddy bears, duckies, etc come in variety packs for party favors, scrapbooking and other crafts. Check out the wooden miniatures made to embellish wood boxes and wood projects. One of my daughter loves ladybugs, and I found a packet of 4 tiny wood ladybugs for her. They have moved into her dollhouse.

I really enjoy getting the mini Christmas tree ornaments after Christmas! The tiny Christmas ornaments made for the 2 ft and smaller Christmas trees come in great selection and themes.

You can find everything from tiny pots and pans, to little toys. Another decorating idea is use mini ribbon roses arranged in a mini vase to create a lovely housewarming gift for your doll family.

We got a huge collection of miniature playfood from Playmobil that we use with our dollhouses as well as our Playmobil Supermarket set. Playmobil miniature accessories are so exact and cute! Alot of those miniatures come as part of the rather expensive Playmobil playsets. If you are just looking for accessories for your dollhouse, you can purchase many add-on accessories sets like the food set!

Whether you purchase or make your own dollhouse miniature accessories from craft store finds, accessorizing a wooden dollhouse can provide hours of fun for a child or adult. You can even redecorate for the seasons. Just watch your step if you have younger kids. Stepping on a tiny little cup is not fun. And if a tiny bottle goes missing, try the vacuum cleaner bag. It will probably be there along with some Barbie shoes and Legos!

Wooden Dollhouse Accessories

Wood Barbie Doll Furniture, Handcrafted

2008-03-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Wood Barbie Doll Furniture, Handcrafted
As much as I love wooden dollhouses, my girls' Barbie dollhouse still has plastic furniture. The Kidkraft dollhouses I sell in my stores come with nice wooden furniture. However finding nice wooden dollhouse furniture separately for 1:6 inch scale dolls like Barbie, is not easy.

I found a few nice items on eBay:

Here is one seller that makes handcrafted wood Barbie beds to scale in Queen or Twin size, complete with the bedding!

Barbie Size Furniture Handcrafted Wood Bed

This other seller makes beautiful upholstered furniture, chaise loungers, beds, rugs, and accessories in fabulous fabrics to fit Barbie, Silkstone, Bratz and other fashion dolls.

Barbie Size Upholstered Furniture

Now start with a nice solid wood dollhouse and decorate with quality handcrafted Barbie furniture and you will truly have a work of art. Maybe the kids shouldn't play with this stuff. Its too nice!

Wood Barbie Doll Furniture, Handcrafted

Modern Wooden Barbie Dollhouse on eBay!

2008-03-08T12:37:00.001-08:00

Modern Wooden Barbie Dollhouse

I was searching for Barbie dollhouse on eBay. I found this gorgeous wooden Barbie Size Dollhouse on auction! This Barbie sized dollhouse is a work of art!

This is a meticulously handmade 1:6 scale modern dollhouse, fully furnished, beautifully decorated! The best part of this dollhouse is the artist uses green building products like sustainable woods. She also uses low or no VOC paint! Barbie can live in a high style modern home that is environmentally friendly too!

All the Barbie dollhouse furniture is plastic and by Mattel but it suites the house perfectly!

Houses by Miss Schumetta. She will have her website up and running soon!

Check this out!

Modern Wooden Barbie Dollhouse with Furniture

Modern Wooden Barbie Dollhouse

How to Buy a Wooden Dollhouse for Kids

2008-02-27T17:41:00.000-08:00

How to Buy a Toy Wooden Dollhouse

The purpose of this guide is to help you select a sturdy and fun wooden dollhouse (1:12 inch scale that is intended for dolls approximately 5-6 inches tall). A dollhouse can provide years of enjoyment for both girls and boys.

As a toy retailer and Mom of 6 year triplets and a 4 year old, I have had the fun task of assembling many dollhouses, as well as the very fun task of playing with them!

I purchased the first wooden dollhouse (My First Dollhouse by Plan Toys) for my children prior to becoming a retailer of dollhouses. I couldn’t wait until Christmas morning to see the looks on my little ones faces when they saw what Santa had for them! My anticipation and excitement was replaced with disappointment as my fantasy of Christmas morning was replaced with the reality of 4 kids trying to get access to the dollhouse, fighting over the dolls, and the collapse of the dollhouse roof!

In our home, the dolls and doll house furniture are played with more than the dollhouses.( we have 4 currently. My home is kind of an QA lab for toys!) The actual playing usually involves taking all the furniture out of the house and using building blocks to make their own dollhouses on the floor!

What to look for in a Dollhouse:

1. EASY Access for multiple children to play together.

An A-frame dollhouse such as the one I had purchased by Plan Toys, look great. However, access to the rooms can be tricky, even though the sides are open. This style dollhouse is a nice option for one or two children. We removed the sliding doors on our Plan Toys A-frame, to open up the dollhouse in the front.

Open Dollhouses

Open front dollhouses work much better! Children can see all the rooms at once. These style dollhouses are usually finished like the front of a real house on one side or are flat, intended to rest against a wall. the play side is open with all rooms exposed.

Guidecraft Victorian Dollhouse

KidKraft Victorian Swivel Dollhouse

This swivel dollhouse model offers 360 degrees of play. This is a nice smaller dollhouse that comes completely furnished!

Folding Dollhouse

A folding dollhouse looks like a real house from all sides when folded closed. This dollhouse will have 2 hinged doors or panels that then open up to reveal the interior rooms of the dollhouse. An example of this style dollhouse is the Melissa & Doug Fold and Go Dollhouse ($49.99 free ship)

2. Sturdy, Quality Construction

Look for a solid wood dollhouse, with sturdy floors that won’t bow or bend. Ensure the dollhouse has a large enough footprint to not tip over easily. If the dollhouse is finished, ensure the walls are painted with non-toxic finishes, or are laminated. The dollhouse should be free of splinters and be thick enough to not crack into sharp splinters!

3. Style

Select a simple natural finish dollhouse. Children will add their imaginations. Although fully decorated and brightly painted dollhouses look pretty at first glance, they are not always intended for young children to play with them. They may not be the best choice if you have both boys and girls, and you want to encourage cooperative play. A simpler dollhouse will allow children to use their own imagination to design and redesign. They can even draw their own little pictures to hang on the dollhouse walls. A natural finish dollhouse can later be revisited by an older child who decides they want to paint or decorate the house and have the skill set to do so!

4. Full Warranty

Always purchase a product with a FULL Warranty against shipment damage or product defects. Look for and ask for a warranty that if something is damaged, the manufacturer or retailer will replace the item or provide parts in a timely manner. Select a known quality manufacturer of children's wooden toys like Kidkraft dollhouse, Guidecraft, Small World Toys, Plan Toys and Selecta.

5. Size

A large dollhouse will need a place of honor in a playroom, family room, or bedroom. To access all the rooms easily, the dollhouse should be placed on a kids sized table or other low table ( like a coffee table). If you leave the dollhouse on the floor, accessing the 1st floor rooms can be difficult. The children may not play with that level. The dollhouse should sit approximately 12-20 inches off the floor.

A smaller dollhouse can be portable which is a better option when purchasing a dollhouse for a younger child, one child, or if you don't have alot of space. A small dollhouse like the Kidkraft Swivel Victorian Dollhouse, is also a greater starter dollhouse!

6. Price
A quality wooden dollhouse for 5-6 inch sized dolls (not fashion size 11.5 inch dolls) dollhouse, from a well-known trustworthy manufacturer average between $50-$180. This does not always include furniture.

Fancier Victorian style dollhouses with detailed furnishings can start at $150-$400. These dollhouse are intended for children ages 8 years and up who appreciate their collectibles and will care for them.

7. Assembly
Most dollhouse need some assembly. Ensure you are purchasing a toy dollhouse, not a collectible dollhouse kit that requires you to act as general contractor and builder, building the house from flat sheets of ¼ thick plywood!

Always purchase and assemble the dollhouse long in advance to giving the dollhouse as a gift. The last thing you want to be doing the night before a birthday party or Christmas eve, is assemble a dollhouse!

Selecting Dollhouse Furniture

Dollhouse furniture sets can be found by the room, as complete sets, or included with the dollhouse.

Guidecraft Complete Set of Wooden Furniture

Solid wood furniture is great and sturdy, but always examine the pieces carefully for splinters and weak glue points.

Plastic furniture should be the molded plastic kind, not the thin breakable kind.

Summary

If you want a quick and easy dollhouse for a gift, go with the furnished all in one styles. If you want to create a unique dollhouse, start with an unfurnished dollhouse, purchase a doll family or individual doll family members. Purchase either a complete set of dollhouse furniture or room by room. Always inspect every piece when you receive your dollhouse. Check for splintered wood, and weak glue points. Assemble the dollhouse in advance .. just in case! Most of all, don’t be disappointed if the pleasure younger children get out of the dollhouse involve playing with the dollhouse pieces separately, on the kitchen table, while the dollhouse may only have a few dust bunnies as residents.

How to Buy a Wooden Dollhouse for Kids

Build Your Own Wooden Dollhouse

2008-02-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

How to Build Your Own Wooden Dollhouse

Make your own wooden dollhouse with no woodworking skills.

I love decorating and creating. Somehow though my talents do not carry over to woodworking. When I see dollhouse plans involving cutting wood, sanding, nailing and staining, I lose interest! I purchased a dollhouse furniture kit once from Overstock.com. It arrived in flat sheets of wood. I needed to pop out the pieces, assemble, and sand… I resold it on eBay!

There are so many cool wooden bookshelves out there that can be easily converted into a doll display case diorama style or a sturdy wooden dollhouse for kids to play with. I loved using the shelves of my bookcase as a Barbie townhouse when I was a kid. (I really wanted the Barbie Dream House) but my bookshelf served my dolls and me just fine!

Most of the fun with a dollhouse is in the creating and decorating. The ready-made dollhouses are a blast! However, even with my own children, I have noticed they enjoy making homes on the bookshelves or on the floor rather than playing within the dollhouses. They take all the furniture out of the dollhouses and use in their own creations.

A dollhouse bookshelf will offer more playing space so the dolls can actually move around their home.

You can build your own Barbie dollhouse from a pre-assembled kit if you have the time and skills, or you can use an existing pre-made piece of furniture like a wood bookshelf or storage cubes.

1. Purchase a ready-made dollhouse bookshelf(usually these are not big enough for Barbies though)Guidecraft has some wonderful dollhouse style bookshelves: dollhouse bookshelf

2. Purchase a wood adjustable shelf bookshelf so you can adjust the shelves to give a Barbie doll some head room ( 14 inches is a good shelf height)

3. Purchase a RTA (ready to assemble) solid wood unfinished bookshelf or storage cabinet.

3. Purchase a bunch of storage cube units (cubby) and arrange as you wish to create your own style dollhouse.

Decorating Your Dollhouse

Paint on windows or print pictures of windows on sticker or label paper and stick on the dollhouse. If you want to try some minor woodworking or have someone who can do it for you, or cut out windows and doorways.

Stairs – Stairs are tricky. That is the first thing my kids notice about their dollhouses. How do the dolls get upstairs? We have glued wood blocks accordion style. I have not figured stairs out completely yet. You may want to purchase those ready-made from a dollhouse supply store.

Use carpet reminants & wallpaper scraps

Wall hangings. Make your own wall decorations with images printed from the computer and mounted on small pieces of wood. Kids can draw their own artwork. You can scan into the computer and reduce it to a dollhouse size picture.

Felt scraps and fabric scraps make great blankets, towels, and table linens

Silk or fabric miniature flowers can be arranged in small part favor size cups, vases etc. Party supply stores have great party favor sized stuff that works great for dollhouses.

Here is a great link to a cool Barbie size wooden dollhouse made with a bonde bookcase from Ikea. I found this on ikeahacker.blogspot.com

Now that is cool dollhouse!

Doll Family for 1:12 Scale Wooden Dollhouse

2008-02-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

Dollhouse Doll Family
There are some cute doll family choices for your 1:12 scale wooden dollhouse. These dollhouses may include:

* Melissa and Doug Victorian Wooden Dollhouse
* Guidecraft Victorian Wooden Dollhouse
* Ryan's Room (Small World Toys) Home Is Where The Heart Is Wooden Dollhouse
* Ryan's Room (Small World Toys) Home Again,Home Again-A-Frame Wooden Dollhouse
* B-Bel Extreme Home Makeover Edition Dollhouse

Doll Family Options:

1. B-Bel Designer Doll Family
Includes: Mom, Dad, Daughter, Twin (Fraternal) Babies, Dog, & a Cat. Plastic doll family with moveable joints and some removeable clothing.

2. Aztec Minatures Modern Doll Family

Includes: Mom, Dad, Daughter, Baby, and many other family members can be purchased separately. Dolls are soft poseable vinyl with removeable clothes.

3. Melissa and Doug Victorian Doll Family
This doll family has a Mom, Dad, Toddler Girl, and Baby. The dolls are porcelain with soft poseable bodies.

4. Fisher Price Loving Dollhouse Doll Family

These all plastic dolls have moveable joints. They are a good-lookin' bunch. They can be purchased as sets of 2 dolls, or as a family in either Causasian or African American.

Wooden Doll Families for your Wooden Dollhouse

There are also wooden dolls for your dollhouse. These dolls still fit in the 1:12 inch scale furniture but are smaller. The tallest doll is just under 5 inches. All these doll families are very similar with the same construction. They are jointed, fully poseable figures, with rubberwood heads and limbs.
Wooden Doll Families

Melissa and Doug Happy Doll Family

Plan Toys Doll Family

Ryan's Room Doll Family

The dolls are easy to handle for little fingers. They sit well in the chairs and other wooden dollhouse furniture. They are well balanced enough with large flat bottom feet that allow them to stand easily. They have real fabric ( not removeable clothing), simple painted features, and yarn hair. They are available in many different ethnic families.

Dollhouse Doll Family

Barbie Doll House Size vs Miniature Dollhouse Size

2008-02-13T04:05:00.000-08:00

Barbie Doll Size vs Miniature Dollhouse Size

Dollhouse size is usually described in terms of scale. The scale is inches to feet measurements, meaning if a doll is 5 ½ inches doll, the scale for her would be 1:12 (1 inch = 12 inches in reality). This is the 1” (inch) scale. The 1 “ scale is the most popular dollhouse scale, and is also referred to as 1:12 or 1/1 ratio.

A Barbie size doll or fashion doll requires a 1:6 (2/1 ratio) scale home. A 1:6 scale home means 1” = 6” real to life size. This is also called a playscale size dollhouse. A Playscale dollhouse is usually a giant 3 story wooden dollhouse. Since Barbie is approximately 11 inches tall, a true to life size Barbie would be 66 inches tall or an average 5 ft 5 inches tall girl ( Doesn’t Barbie seem taller than that??? )

There are other dollhouse scales: 1:24 (1/2 ratio) scale (1/2" = 1 foot); 1:48 (¼”) scale (1/4" = 1 foot). The tiniest scale in dollhouse miniatures is 1:144 (1/12”) scale (1/12" - 1 foot). The miniature dollhouses are wooden dollhouses, and tend to be collector items.

There are two types of dollhouses in the industry: miniature and toy dollhouses. Miniatures are meticulously made exactly to scale. Everything in the dollhouse matches the scale. The exactness to scale affects price.

Toy dollhouses are for playing! They do not necessarily follow the scale. For example, the wall art in a Barbie dollhouse most likely is not to scale. The couch measurements if extrapolated to real life would be a jumbo sized couch! The dollhouse furniture is usually slightly bigger to allow for little hands to play easier. Know that toy dollhouses are not made to scale.

The most popular miniature toy dollhouses are 1:12 scale, meant for 5-6 inch tall dolls. The Dad doll is usually the tallest at 6 inches. The dollhouses are usually 2 ft tall. The better dollhouses are wooden dollhouses but there are a few plastic ones I would recommend for younger children.

Kidkraft Veranda Swivel Wooden Dollhouse includes furniture and a doll family(5 inch tallest dolls)

Guidecraft’s Victorian Dollhouse (6 inch tallest dolls)
Melissa and Doug Victorian Wooden Dollhouse (6 inch tallest dolls)
B-Bel Dollhouse Decorator and Extreme Makeover Home Edition dollhouses (plastic and fiberboard dollhouse, plastic furniture, with 6 inch tallest dolls)

Ryan's Room Wooden Dollhouses Ryan’s Room Wooden dollhouses ( less than 5 inch tallest dolls)

Plan Toys Wooden Dollhouses Plan Toys wooden dollhouses ( less than 5 inch tallest dolls

Fisher Price Loving Family Dollhouse Fisher Price Loving Family dollhouses ( 6 inch tallest doll) This is an all plastic dollhouse. The quality is great. The furniture which is sold separately, is adorable and sturdy. The only negative I can think of for this dollhouse is that there is more furniture available than can possibly fit in the dollhouse. Read the reviews on this one. Noone is disappointed!

The other popular toy dollhouses are playscale 1:6 scale meant for 11-12 inch tall fashion dolls. This is a Barbie size dollhouse. These dolls include Barbie and friends, Disney Princess fashion dolls, Hannah Montana and friends dolls, Bratz dolls, and other fashion dolls.

Find a Barbie dollhouse or Giant 3 Wooden Dollhouse.

Other toy dollhouses fit figurine size dolls, 3-4 inch or smaller. They do not follow the scale. They include take along wooden dollhouses like Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Dollhouse.

In summary, here is a Dollhouse Scale Chart you can use as a quick guide to dollhouse scale.

Dollhouse Scale Chart

Doll Size	Scale	Scale Ratio	Description
11-12 inch doll	1:6	2/1	1 inch = 1/2 foot or 6 inches
5-6 inch doll	1:12	1/1	1 inch = 1 foot or 12 inches
3-4 inch doll	1:24	1/2	1/2 inch ( 0.50) = 1 foot
1-2 inch doll	1:48	1/4	1/4 inch (0.25) = 1 foot
less than 1 inch doll	1:144	1/12	1/12 inch = 1 foot

Barbie Doll Size vs Miniature Dollhouse Size

Kidkraft's New Barbie Sized Interactive Glamour Dollhouse

2008-02-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

Kidkraft Wooden Dollhouse

Kidkraft released two new giant 3 - 4 Story Wooden Dollhouses that are Barbie size or playscale dollhouses with lights and sounds! The Kidkraft Glamour wooden dollhouse has brightly detailed four floors of fun and realistic lights and sounds. This wooden dollhouse is beautiful! ~ A dream come true for any young girl!

FEATURES:

* All wood construction (solid rubberwood frame, wood and melanine surfaces)

* All wooden dollhouse furniture is included and is designed with perfect style, size and fit for this fashion wooden dollhouse.

* Bright colors and stylish designs depict typical house scenes such as staircases, plants, curtains, bookcases and more!

* Four floors of play include living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

* There's even a sizzling stove, light-up vanity, light up chandeliers, flushing toilet, and playing piano!

* Requires assembly. Dimensions: 32-1/2" x 13-1/2" x 51" (W x D x H)

Kidkraft Glamour Wooden Dollhouse

Kidkraft's giant Interactive Wooden Dollhouse features all the same lights and sounds as the Glamour wooden dollhouse but with a more subdued color palette.

Kidkraft Interactive Wooden Dollhouse

Barbie Doll Size and Wooden Dollhouse Size

A Modern Renaissance
Creative Kid Spaces ~ Inspiring Home Places

Finding a Barbie Size Dollhouse

2007-09-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

Barbie Dollhouse

This guide should help you find a suitable habitat for a stylish doll like Barbie, Disney Princess or the Bratz Dolls that is also suitable for your child and your home.

Barbie tend to spread her clothes, shoes and accessories all over a little girl's home. Maybe if she had a home of her own, she could be a little more organized?

Santa brought my girls a huge Barbie size dollhouse last year. However, after assembling our huge plastic dollhouse, and dusting it every week, I am less pleased with it! I wish we had the flat back bookcase style Barbie wooden dollhouse that offers more options! Our Step2 Fashion Place plastic dollhouse takes up ALOT of space and store very little. The dollhouse is sturdy, can be used indoors and outdoors but the footprint is huge!

The PROS of a giant plastic dollhouse: Sturdy, virtually indestructible. The drawbacks: very little space in the rooms for doll furniture. The stairs in the middle design makes deep, narrow rooms in the first floor. Our Fashion Place dollhouse is too big for the play space offered.

The better options for a Barbie doll size is a wooden dollhouse like the wooden styles offered by Kidkraft Dollhouse.

Kidkraft Fashion Dollhouse and Savannah Dollhouse

Kidkraft offers great playscale Barbie size wooden dollhouses, and is released a 3rd style, the Glamour Dollhouse, complete with lights and sounds in time for the holiday season 2007. Kidkraft also manufactures the townhouse style and country style dollhouses sold at ToysRUs under the Imaginarium name brand. Barbie, Bratz, and other 11.5 inch fashion dolls would be right at home at any of Kidkraft’s sturdy wooden dollhouses.

The Fashion Dollhouse is bright, modern, and trendy. This is the choice of a fashionable Bratz doll or a modern Barbie The 14 piece solid wood furniture is brightly painted wood in natural with pinks, neon green, and purple accents.

Kidkraft Fashion Dollhouse Fits Barbie, Bratz, and other 11.5 inch Dolls.

The Savannah dollhouse is a beautiful Victorian style dollhouse with rich realistic styled wood furniture, complete with a deep cherry dining room set. This dollhouse also includes a porch swing and a canopy bed in its 14 piece solid wood furniture set. The approximate size is 32.5 inches x 13.5 inches x 51 inches H.

Both dollhouses are constructed of sturdy wood frames, and MDF board backs and sides. They are designed to be placed up against a wall. When not used by dolls, they can also serve for other storage space. The 14 pc furniture set included is all the furniture that would fit comfortably in these dollhouses. All rooms are easily accessed. They are beautifully decorated and look great! However Barbie will still need to keep her Barbie suitcase for all her clothes!

Need a more spacious solution? Try the giant 3-story wooden dollhouse!

Giant 3-Story Dollhouse

This is a huge dollhouse designed to fit up against a wall. Many dolls can party in this house! However, the biggest drawback for this one, is construction. Although the frame is solid wood (rubberwood) the walls and sides are laminated melanine board. They can bow out of shape and have form and fit issues. The floors can also bow even when they are not heavily loaded.

Some of the nice features include swiveling stairs that can easily be repositioned and out of the way, to help dolls get from floor to floor. This dollhouse measures 39 inches x 15 inches D x 56 inches H, about half a foot wider than the Kidkraft dollhouses, and a few inches taller. The dollhouse furniture has to be purchased separately for these type of dollhouses. Furniture sets are usually all plastic construction and sold in complete sets.

For sturdier furniture, purchase Barbie or other brand name in individual sets, bedroom vanity, kitchen, living room ,etc. For example, the Barbie Play All Day Kitchen Set was a big winner for us. (We use it in our huge Step 2 dollhouse) Usually, these sets come with a lot of little accessories, dishes, etc, which the kids love!

Looking for a solid wooden dollhouse that you can personalize? Try the Quickbuild Barbie size dollhouses offered by Real Good Toys in Vermont.

Quickbuild Dollhouse by Real Good Toys. These are cabinet grade dollhouses! Made of cabinet grade MDF. they assembly quickly with a screwdriver and white glue. This dollhouse is also great if you are a doll collector and would like a display case for your 11.5 inch fashion dolls! The dollhouse is a classic style, All you have to do is screw and peg ( glue) the house together, then decorate! This dollhouse measure 52 inchesH x 26 inches W x 22 inches D. This one is a narrower. It does have 7 easy access rooms. This is heirloom quality.

Barbie Size Dollhouse Buying Guide

1. Measure your space and make sure the dollhouse will fit.

2. If you are selecting a model without furniture, ensure you also find furniture to fit at the same time. Many times the furniture sells out faster than the dollhouses and it harder to find!

3. Always read the reviews! Many other parents, grandparents and family friends have purchased the dollhouse you may be considering. See what their experiences were regarding value for the money, easy assembly, durability over some time, and playtime.

4. Ensure the dollhouse comes with a warranty against any defects, and the seller will help you get replacement parts if needed.

5. Always open and inspect all parts when you receive it. Check the parts list to ensure you have everything, and no parts are damaged.

6. Don't wait to assemble the night before you are to give the dollhouse as a gift. Although assembly may seem pretty straightforward, there is always that one missing screw or the panels that don't fit quite right. Reliable manufacturers like Kidkraft offer full customer support and will assist you in getting any part or screw you lose or are missing. However, they won't be there for you at midnight on Christmas Eve!

The best part is the look on the little girl's face when she sees the dollhouse for the first time.

You can find a nice selection of reasonably priced wooden dollhouses that fit Barbie and Barbie size dolls on eBay:

Barbie Dollhouse

Wooden Dollhouse

2007-08-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

Wooden Dollhouse
Welcome to my Wooden Dollhouses Blog. Here you will learn about the different types of 1:12 inch scale toy wooden dollhouses and 1:6 playscale Barbie or fashion doll sized dollhouses. I provide how to guides for selecting the right dollhouse for you or someone special! How to guides for building your own dollhouse, customizing, and fun toys, dolls, and dollhouse links.

You may visit my online store, A Modern Renaissance at www.amodernrenaissance.com

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at anytime at support@amodernrenaissance.com.

Thank You, and I hope you find the information I share with you useful and fun!