How to Build A DIY Dolls House
A few years ago we took part in the ContiBoard Blogger Challenge. We had to design and build something for the home. My daughter is a real girly girl and loves playing with dolls. I decided I wanted to build our very own American Girl Doll House. Today I am resharing our DIY Dolls House. Enjoy!
The task was not easy. I did the designing and my husband built the house with my support. I could not physically take part but directed him in regards to measurements and building.
It took a lot of effort and was a real challenge as we had never built anything before. It was a little overwhelming at times but we persevered and all the hard work paid off at the end of the week when my husband tightened the last screw.
It was a labour of love and looks absolutely brilliant. My daughter is over the moon.
Today I’m going to share a step by step guide of how we built our American girls doll house using ContiBoard wood.
Step One – DIY Dolls House
I looked up images of dolls houses online and found a design I liked the look of. I then drew it on paper and work out the dimensions to figure out how much wood to order.
We ordered 3 x packs of two ContiBoard, 590mm by 2200mm and one pack of Conti edging tape. The board was delivered directly to our home.
There were four different colours we could have chosen. All my daughters furniture is white so we wet with Vanilla Ice to make the house match the existing furniture in the bedroom.
Step Two – DIY Dolls House
We took the first pack and sawed the two side pieces down to 1.6 meters. We then measured an triangle from 130 meter high using a set square. The lines were then sawed to create the triangle ends.
Step Three – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
Second we measured and cut out out the horizontal base and horizontal top piece. The base was 112cm long. The top piece was 108cm long. We then cut out the middle vertical piece of board at exactly 1 meter and two horizontal pieces for the middle of the house both 53cm each.
Step Four – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
Once we had all the pieces cut we had to plane and sand the edges to make them smooth before using a hot clothes Iron to melt the ContiBoard edging tape onto the edges that had been sawn.
Step Five – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
Due to the size of our dolls house, we decided to build in my daughter’s bedroom. My husband carried the wood upstairs and laid the base on the ground. He then placed the first panel of wood on the base and joined the two pieces using screw blocks.
We had the option of screw blocks or drilling holes for dowels. We preferred to use the blocks as it would take a lot more effort to drill holes into the wood at exact points. We chose white blocks and they are barely noticeable.
Step Six – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
Once the two vertical side panels were attached to the base, we added the middle vertical piece of ContiBoard screwing it down securely to the middle of the ContiBoard base.
We then screwed the top horizontal piece to the the two side and middle panels.
Step Seven – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
My daughter told us part way through the build that she really wanted a door between the middle rooms. We got a jigsaw tool and cut out a large door so the dolls will be able to walk through each room. Had we planned to do this originally, we would have cut out the door before the middle panel was screwed into place. Once the door wall created, we attached the final two pieces of ContiBoard.
Step Eight – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
Once the house had been built we needed to add a back and a roof. We used a piece of MDF wood for the back of the dolls house. We found two pieces of MDF marked down at a local DIY store for 50p each. My husband screwed the MDF board into place. We then measured and cut out a piece of MDF to fit across the back section of the roof. We decided to create a marginal roof for the front. Had we placed a full roof at the front, it would have enclosed the top play area too much. That is an option for others but this was the choice we made.
Step Ten – DIY DOLLS HOUSE
Once the house was finally completed we cleaned up the saw dust, blindfolded our daughter and showed her the final masterpiece.
Sylvia was delighted. My husband built the dolls house over a whole week and on the night it was completed my daughter did not want to go to bed.
Decorating The DIY Dolls House
Now we have built our American Dolls House and completed the ContiBoard Challenge, we plan to decorate the interiors. We have collected sample wallpaper and will be on the hunt for some carpets and flooring. We also plan to build some little beds and furniture and sew some blankets and bedding.
This week we also have just received some brand new Lottie Dolls to use in Sylvia’s American Girl Dolls House
I hope you enjoyed reading my post and seeing how we built our dream dolls house. Once the interiors are complete I write a further post to show you our fabulous designs.
It’s an exciting task and I am so glad we took part in the ContiBoard Blogger challenge!
Now to design the rooms! If this was your house how would you decorate it? I’d love to know. Please do leave your suggestions below.
Angela x
We were gifted the ContiBoard for the purpose of building the Dolls House.
Awww well done on your hubby for putting that together! My Dad made us a ‘hut’ down the bottom of the garden when we were kids; it suited us as we were more outdoorsy than a dolls house! x
Thanks. He ‘s done a brilliant job and i’m really pleased!
Wow! that’s amazing. I love doing DIY. Your daughter is beautiful I can tell she really loves it!
Thanks. I’m pleased you like it! Sylvia is over the moon!
Blimey this looks like a lot of work but worth it in the end! Sylvia looks SO happy! Well done to your hubby! 😉
I’d probably decorate it with some carpet/wallpaper samples.
It was hard work but cheaper than buying one in the shops…not sure you can get one this big in the uk. Sylvia loves it and went to help choose some wallpaper samples this week.
This looks absolutely fantastic! What an amazing job!
Thanks Angela. It was a good challenge and something well worth doing!
That looks like a tough job alright. It looks quite big too. If I would have space in the house this would be something I would live for my little girl later in life. I had a barbie house when I was small.
Yes it was tough but well worth it! We managed to squeeze it into the bedroom 🙂
What a lovely project and she looks really made up in picture 🙂 must have been a great feeling. Shows you what can be achieved at a fraction of the price when you put your mind to it. Plus it will mean so much more that its home made and all the love and effort that went into it. I love making DIY toys for Monkey xx
It does mean a lot as its home made. I hope she will treasure it more because her daddy made it for her!
Wow this is amazing! This might work well for My friend Cayla doll too perhaps! Thank you so much for sharing. Your little girl looks very pleased with her new dolls house, hehe. xx
Oh Sylvia is so happy with her new dolls house. She cant stop playing with it! Angela
This looks great, and brilliant you were able to design it rather than just buying what was available. Why’s it American though?
when I researched dolls houses. The big massive ones are called American doll houses due to size.
Wow what a task to take on! Well done you, it looks amazing!!! I used to have a Sindy house when I was little which was 4 storeys and omg I LOVED it, I got years of use out of that thing! xx
thanks Hayley. I never played with dolls as a child but I’m sure i would have loved this!
It looks fantastic! If you hadn’t said you’d made it yourself I would have assumed you’d bought it from somewhere like the Early Learning Centre!!
Louise x
Oh thanks. It was really hard work but I’m so pleased with my hubby.
I did not realize is was made by you until I read your post, you have fantastic DIY skills. I love it x
I’m pleased to hear all these lovely comments. The contiboard was the perfect choice to build it and it looks brilliant doesn’t it! i’m really pleased with my hubby!
My dad made me a doll’s house when I was your daughter’s age.he said he would build one for my daughters but never did.She’s a very lucky girl.
Lovely. You never forget the things your dad makes for you! Angela x
This is such a clever idea. I remember having a dolls house just like that when I was a child. Wallpaper samples are so cheap and it means that if your daughter gets bored of them, you can just re-wallpaper it to a new design 🙂
Yes…We can change the sample anytime and thats a great advantage! 🙂 Thee is also the option to put a brand new piece of MDF as we bought 2 pieces for 50 pence so if we needed to we could simply switch that as well!
great doll’s house! well done! awesome instructions too! 🙂 #AnythingGoes
Thanks. I was hoping the instructions would be easy to understand. Thanks for the feedback!
Wow! The dolls house is lovely. I can imagine that your daughter is over the moon with it! Xxx #HomeEtc
Thankyou Catherine. Sylvia is over the moon and so am I.
Aww looks fab, My husband would love to build a dolls house, I might have to use some of your tips and let him have a go. #HomeEtc
Thanks Caroline. Please do. I hope the instructions are easy enough to follow! good luck. Angela x
Wow I’m so jealous, this looks amazing!! I had a dolls house when I was little and loved it, although I did keep using it as a hamster playhouse 😉 X #HomeEtc
It is a brilliant Dolls house. We love it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Angela x
I’ve seen a pic of you doll’s house (I think it was on Instagram) but it’s not until seeing the pic with Sylvia sitting in front of the house that I realised how big it is! Big well done to you both 🙂
Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes
Debbie
Yes, it is huge but i think it was worth making a good quality big one which can fit in lots of dolls!
Angela xx
AMAZING JOB!!! He’s outdone himself! Just fabulous — and I bet Sylvia is THRILLED with it 🙂 I had a huge Sindy house when I was little — the same kind of size as the one you’ve built — and I LOVED it! Great job all — well done!! Thanks so much for linking up with us on #HomeEtc
oh thanks Caro. I’m glad you like it. I think this is a fab dolls house too and it just goes to show we can do anything we put our mind to.
Wow what a lovely house! So bespoke too 🙂 What a perfect place for all the dolls and toys! Thanks for linking up – loved this post. Jess xx
#HomeEtc
Thanks so much. It now has fairy lights on. When I’m feeling up to it, I will work on adding the wallpaper. Angela
Wow I’m impressed, I could just imagine the mess if my hubby tried to do this! He probably wouldn’t finish the job either!
Thanks. It was a mission but we got through! 🙂
This is excellent! I’m sure there will be fun in designing the interiors. It’s a great place to keep the dolls and accessories – a house is so much better than a shelving unit – and yet so like a shelving unit!!! Well done, and looking forward to seeing further posts.
Glad you liked it!