- Play and display are the two main types of doll houses. A play doll house needs to be sturdy, safe and use big pieces that a child can easily grasp. It should have large rooms that are easily accessible. A display doll house needs to be delicate, intricate and use tiny pieces that all match the same scale size ratio. It can contain small rooms and hard-to-reach areas.
- If you're making your own doll house from scratch, the size ratio can be anything you desire. You can make the house big enough for a Barbie doll or small enough for a miniature doll. Just remember to keep the size ratio the same throughout the house. If you're making a doll house from a kit, you're going to need to choose between 1/12 and 1/24 scale. 1/12 is one-twelfth real size and 1/24 is one-twenty fourth real size. 1/24 is used for display purposes only and is considered too small for children to play with.
- First, build the house structure, complete with roof if desired. Use a light but sturdy material to build with, such as quality plywood, and a strong glue. Paint the outside of the house, then the inside and let dry. Carefully add any wallpaper and let dry. Add any flooring, such as carpet, and let dry. Finish up any details, such as adding curtain rods, and decorate as desired.
Though you can build a doll house from scratch, it is much easier to use kits and/or blueprints. You can find a variety of DIY doll house kits and/or blueprints at most craft stores, some toy stores and any doll house online store. A basic doll house kit comes with pre-cut plywood pieces and instructions. Fancier kits can include plastic or glass windows, paints, brushes, shingles, paneling and much more. Blueprints are detailed instructions and diagrams that show you how to prepare and create your own doll house from scratch. - A child's doll house should be decorated with large, non-breakable items that can be easily manipulated by small hands. Small items, such as pictures or dishes, should be glued to a surface, such as a wall or counter, to prevent them from getting lost or ending up in a young child's mouth. A display doll house should be decorated with everything, from furniture to fixtures, in the same scale size. Everything should be loose and natural for easy rearranging. You can decorate down to the tiniest detail, including removable, individual forks in the silverware chest.
If you don't want to spend a fortune on doll house furnishings, but still desire a fancy look, get creative. Spray some metal bottle caps with gold paint to create gilded serving dishes. Use gold permanent marker to add gilded detail to furniture. Cover tacky chair and bed fabrics with fancy scrap materials. Buy some fancy scrap wallpaper at a thrift store to use on the doll house walls. Use lovely beads as doorknobs or multi-colored beads in a painted bottle cap as a bowl of fruit.
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