Doll House Kits
Doll house kits and Doll Houses are available everywhere and for the newcomer it can be a bewildering experience.
Doll Houses and Dolls House collecting has grown into a worldwide phenomenon which shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
There are many ready built houses available and it maybe that this is a good route to follow if you want to do nothing apart from furnish and decorate your new dolls house. If you are a little more ambitious and looking for something more as a collector the best way forward may well be to build your own. Be warned however that once you start on this fascinating hobby you will almost certainly be hooked for life!
A good way to get started is to consider buying a dolls house kit. Most people will get started with dolls house making from either plans or patterns because of the immense satisfaction this hobby brings to the individual. Doll house kits are available from hundreds of suppliers and come in all shapes and sizes so first a little information on scale. There are two popular scales for a doll house kits these are twelfth and twenty-fourth. By far the most popular dolls house kit is the twelfth scale where one inch is equal to one foot. This gives a decent size house and makes the scale figures and furnishings easier to source. If space is an issue you could go for twenty forth scale but this is half the size of the more popular twelfth scale and you will find there is less choice for dolls house dolls, furniture and accessories.
Wooden doll houses and kits are more common unless you are talking about the mass produced plastic ‘Barbie’ type play houses aimed at children. Traditionally plywood has been around for ages and is probably more popular to the purist who will appreciate its texture and often really nice wood grains. It works well even when cut quite thinly as it has great strength and it can be used for quite intricate parts. Collector’s doll house kits are almost always made from plywood and these would usually not be considered as a children’s toy.
MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) is manufactured from reconstituted pine logs and is produced in flat uniform sheets. Not as strong as plywood size for size but it is easy to shape and paint and gives a bland uniform finish. Resistant to warping and moisture you will find many dolls house kits finished in this material.
These days doll house kits give the collector lots of choice and it’s just a matter of taste as to where you want to be. Themes include Victorian, Edwardian, Georgian, Tudor and Modern. Dolls house dolls and miniatures are available for all these periods so you are able to decorate and furnish your new dolls house kit in a sympathetic style. Everything from wall paper to carpets to electric lights are available, there is no limit to what you can do to make your dolls house as individual as you like. Even miniature floor tiles and wall tiles are available from specialist dolls house makers and there are artisans everywhere that will craft any special items you might require.
This doll house, shown in the video below, was constructed when Amy Miles was a child at the end of the 19th century. No doll house kits at the time this dollshouse would have been scratch built. It was lent to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1915 for an exhibition in the Children’s Room and was eventually given to the museum in 1921. Originally it had an artist’s studio above the bathroom on the right side of the house.
The dolls house was damaged in World War II (1939-1945), but pictures still survive showing the studio still intact. Most of the contents are sympathetic to the time and give a real flavour of what life was like at the time. A real house like this would have had to belong to an upper class family it even has a billiard table on the first floor. Modern gadgets such as a knife cleaner can be seen along with telephone and a new fangled carpet sweeper. The bathroom has a hot water heater but for such a large house there appears to be only one bedroom. A nursery and schoolroom complete the picture. Follow the link for more information on the Miss Miles Dolls House
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When it comes to populating your finished dolls house there are lots of choices. You can buy a ready made doll from the high street, select from a range of handmade dolls available, particularly on the internet, or commission your unique doll through a doll maker or artisan. Lastly you may try your hand at making your own.
Doll house kits have a massive following and many have become family heirlooms now worth thousands of dollars.
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