Building doll houses

Do your tiny dollies need a place which they can call home and where they can rest and relax and play and live? If not, then why not build a doll house for them. Doll houses are available at most toy shops but they are very expensive and fragile. Besides it is more fun to build your very own doll house according to your own preference. So start building one right away.



History



The earliest doll houses were made in Bavaria and Holland in the late 16th century and were more like cabinets than houses. In the 17th and 18th centuries, rich people used to have an exact replica of their own house, mansion or castle made. These were not considered doll houses but were placed prominently for all to see and admire.The most famous example of a doll house is the Queen Mary’s doll house which is on display at the Windsor Castle. Today collecting and building doll houses is considered a popular hobby.


Getting started



To make a doll house take as many empty shoe boxes as the number of stories you wish to make of your doll house. Now paste one box upon the other till the desired number of floors has been reached. It is better not to have more than three stories.Then divide each floor into two rooms by inserting a cardboard in between each shoe box. After that cut out the doors and the windows. For the doors, just cut out three sides so that you can also shut the door whenever your dolls need some privacy. Don’t forget to make the connecting doors which lead from one room to another.Apart from shoe boxes, you can also make the doll house with wood. In that case, it would be advisable to get help from a carpenter.


Decorating the exterior

The exterior can be painted or covered with a coloured paper. Or it can be decorated with tiny brown bricks that you can make by sticking brown paper cut into rectangles on to the wall.You can also make a boundary wall to enclose your doll house. Inside that wall, you can make a tiny flower garden or a car porch by odds and ends that you can find around the house and that can help to give your doll house a really homely look. Furnishing the house.First paint the rooms or stick some wrapping paper on the walls to look like wall paper. Next give the floors a tiled look or adorn them with pieces of carpet that you have at hand. Also make tiny curtains with tissue paper or any other piece of cloth and paste them above the windows.Now you are ready to add pieces of furniture to your house. You can make these with empty match boxes or cardboard or plasticine or even wood! Just use your imagination and create a match box crib for the nursery, a sturdy wooden chair for the dining room and a bowl of yummy fruit made with plasticine for the kitchen! Another idea is to buy tiny furniture and accessories from a toy shop to decorate your doll house.Once you have arranged everything according to your liking, just add the dolls and let the fun begin.

The magic of doll houses

The hobby of creating doll houses and furnishing them is very rewarding, imaginative and satisfying. Moreover, it is never-ending. You can always add one more piece of furniture or tiny accessory to your doll house.Doll houses have a timeless appeal and they will continue to fascinate all those who admire miniatures of all kinds!
(Saadia Daud)