Come And Play With Us: Doll House Plans
Doll houses seem to be perennially popular in the United States, as well as around the world. It might interest you to know that doll houses, which serve to fascinate and entertain children at play, were for much of their history a form of recreation for adults! In fact, hundreds of years ago doll houses were actually "off limits" to children, as the cost of acquiring the doll house and its necessary furnishings made them too expensive to be used as children's toys.
Before purchasing any doll house plans, you should become familiar with the concept of "scaling." All doll houses are constructed to scale -- that means that they are replicas of actual houses and furnishings, but reduced in size. One of the most common scaling is three quarter scale. Doll house plans that are drawn to three quarter scale mean that three quarters of an inch in the dollhouse represents 1 foot.
You will find, however, that doll house plans representing structures from other countries may be drawn to another scale. For example, German doll houses may use a 1/10th scale (10 inches equal 1 inch of doll house space). Other popular scales for dollhouse plans are at the 1/12th, 1/24th, 1/48 and the 1/6th scale.
What to Look for in Good Doll House Plans What should you look for when purchasing doll house plans? The first thing to examine is the scale of the dollhouse. You need to have some idea of how big the finished doll house will be -- you don't want to end up with a doll house that is too big for the room where it will be kept. Another thing to look for is a complete materials list. Better quality doll house plans will include a complete list of all of the materials needed to actually construct the doll house. This will be invaluable when it comes time to purchase the materials from your doll house supplier or hobby shop. Of course good doll house plans will have drawings and diagrams that can be easily read. The construction blueprints included with your doll house plans should show the various structures from different angles. The doll house plans should also show the inside dimensions, including the proper placement of inside flooring and also windows and doors. As well, better doll house plans will also give you step-by-step construction instructions -- what you are looking for here is detailed information within the doll house plans themselves as to what is to be constructed, and at what stage. When looking to purchase doll house plans, I generally try to purchase plans that also include several different photographs as well as drawings/blueprints. The photographs can show the doll house in various stages of construction, viewed from several different angles -- as well as the finished project.
| 
