In part I, I introduced and covered some questions and
research on buying a 18” doll house. I
concluded that there are several buying options out there, however for many families on a budget,
building your own doll house might be a better choice. In this post-Part II-I will cover the
topic of planning to build your own. Including buying dollhouse plans, dimensions and space to build it. I share some sites you can visit to learn about having a dollhouse custom built for you if you don't feel comfortable using tools to make one yourself. There are lots of videos, articles, about this topic. So this will cover them in general. For more discussion and idea’s come join our
Facebook Group called American Girl
Play Doll Group. If you’re
interested you can come browse my Pinterest pages for links and idea’s as well American Girl Dolly Mamma
(Click the words for link to the page).
I update at least once a week with new finds so it would be worth
following me. Pinterest is a
treasure chest of AG or American Girl Doll ideas!
When considering a plan to build a 18” doll house you would need to
consider some basic questions such as the size and space you have to build
one. These dolls are 18” tall. A basic room to accommodate her bed, or her
or her furniture would need to be a minimum of 24” x 24”x 24”. That is 2 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet. Most doll houses can be four, six, or eight
rooms big. I share a basic cube in
this picture and this person is selling this basic cube for your doll
rooms with a price of $150 plus shipping. The materials you choose to build
it out of would determine your cost. Material costs can vary widely depending on where you live. My group on Facebook has provided many neat
handmade budget friendly options that I will share in my third blog post on AG
Dollhouses (Sign up to follow my blog to be notified when this is posted!)
 |
| Basic Cubby Room for AG Doll house room (Size 2 feet x 2 feet) |
Building a house in cubes can be good because you can build
it tall, stacking the cubes or wider depending on your space in your house to
store it. When considering building
your own dollhouse you would want a plan to start with. You can find and buy a doll house plan
online-there are a few I have found that have a good reputation. One shop on Etsy I found by searching 18”
dollhouse plans is called addielillian.
(Click the shop name to link you to her shop) Many free dollhouse plans can be found online-but you have to read the fine print to be sure the dimensions will fit your AG doll and furniture-many are for a 12" doll-like Barbie. You could modify these plans too-but be sure you have the measurements correct because wood and material is costly.
Addielillian shop plans center on the one room concept and cost $14.95 for a PDF file
you can download. Her description states that the actual doll houses with
several rooms becomes very heavy, difficult to move and is costly. This shop owner
states with her plans, you can build and add on rooms as you have time and
money. However to build these plans you
need tools (which she lists on her page with the plans) and I would say medium wood working experience. Each module is estimated to take 10-15 hours
and cost $100-$150 per room, depending on material cost in your area.
Single room module vs stacked image of
finished plan.
The shop only sells the doll house plan-and does not include
any of the dolls or furniture. You would
need to purchase all tools and wood material to put together yourself. Purchasing a doll house plan will involve the cost of purchasing well made plans. You need to have some experience using tools and skills to put
it together. Oh and the TIME to build it. But it can be very rewarding and create those magical memories for years to come!
If you’re not skilled in using power tools, you can hire a
custom dollhouse builder by ordering from them directly. The trick is finding one local to you. Most only build within a certain radius, or
deliver within a certain amount of miles from them. Many
offer to either build or sell you plans you can build it yourself. Due to the size customization is required to
fit your space-therefore it is important to decide where you’re going to place
the doll house and measure it out beforehand.
I list a few of the dollhouse designers I have found
with reputable reviews and experience, but you could search online locally
under your yellow pages for dollhouse maker’s or miniature stores to get leads
on these specialized woodworkers in your local area. One
that our group really liked is a site called Payne Street Doll Boutique,
they offer a custom built doll house and are working on the plans to sell for
you to build it yourself. They
specialize in all 18” doll house furniture and accessories as well. The company is located in Casa Grande, AZ
they have been building dollhouse furniture since 2009. The Dollhouse is relatively new release and
option for custom purchase. They list
their price as between $650-$750 per floor with $50.00 shipping per room.
 |
| Payne Street Doll House (Custom Made) |
I found a couple on Etsy as well-one such custom dollhouse builder shop is
called Rustic
Mountain Creations. The shop is based in North Carolina, his houses are built using 2 sections; specifications are built to your space! You can include for an additional charge a
fireplace, windows, or even a bunk bed.
The floors are pre-finished hardwood floors, walls are custom colored
per your specifications. The house has
2 attics for storage, and baseboards throughout as well; he will add your
child’s name for personal touch. The owner and creator of Rustic Mountain Creations Etsy shop, Ned Horner, has graciously offered to write a contribution to our blog fans to introduce
himself and his business with some insights on building your own
dollhouse. Please read and take some
time to go visit his pages for some inspiration. Thank you Ned for your insight! Please subscribe to Bloglovin to Follow my
blog for my next Dollhouse Series Post.
I will be sharing some group member’s creations on how they built their
AG Dollhouses in my next post!
 |
| Rustic Mountain Creation (Custom Made Dollhouse) |
After a long career
as a custom residential builder, 45+ years I retired. I am now able to what I
love best and that is to use my hands to construct beautiful items.
My home is in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, on top of a mountain with the Little Tennessee River flowing below with an excellent view from my deck.
Building AG doll house started when my six year old granddaughter received her first AG doll. Her doll, clothes and accessories were scattered throughout the house. I decided to build her a space that was just for AG dolls. Throughout the year she received four more dolls and many more items that were poorly constructed and not reasonably priced. That was when I added furnishing that were safe and withstand the wear and tear of a six year old.
The first thing that needs to be taken into consideration when starting a project is the space. Don't over build, leave room for the child to play. Then start to search for deals on material, nails, paint, flooring, etc.. Check with local salvage stores, flea markets, or yard sales before buying at a local home improvement store. That is where the biggest savings comes from, on your materials. I prefer birch plywood, but a cheaper wood could be used. Another way to save is size; your house can be constructed to fit your budget this way. I have built houses with eight, six and am now constructing a four room house, that I will post next week along with an AG Teddy Bear dining room table and chairs.
Make sure you have a diagram of what you want before you start construction, with height, width, depth, and size you want rooms. If you need help to figure material take diagram to a salesperson and they will gladly help you figure cost.
I prefer to build houses that are flush with a wall, this saves cost and space. The back does not have to be finished and also leaves space in room.
If you have any questions pertaining to this article, or would like to checkout my AG doll houses and accessories, feel free to contact me on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or just send me an email at chorner@wildblue.net, Rustic Mountain Creations"
My home is in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, on top of a mountain with the Little Tennessee River flowing below with an excellent view from my deck.
Building AG doll house started when my six year old granddaughter received her first AG doll. Her doll, clothes and accessories were scattered throughout the house. I decided to build her a space that was just for AG dolls. Throughout the year she received four more dolls and many more items that were poorly constructed and not reasonably priced. That was when I added furnishing that were safe and withstand the wear and tear of a six year old.
The first thing that needs to be taken into consideration when starting a project is the space. Don't over build, leave room for the child to play. Then start to search for deals on material, nails, paint, flooring, etc.. Check with local salvage stores, flea markets, or yard sales before buying at a local home improvement store. That is where the biggest savings comes from, on your materials. I prefer birch plywood, but a cheaper wood could be used. Another way to save is size; your house can be constructed to fit your budget this way. I have built houses with eight, six and am now constructing a four room house, that I will post next week along with an AG Teddy Bear dining room table and chairs.
Make sure you have a diagram of what you want before you start construction, with height, width, depth, and size you want rooms. If you need help to figure material take diagram to a salesperson and they will gladly help you figure cost.
I prefer to build houses that are flush with a wall, this saves cost and space. The back does not have to be finished and also leaves space in room.
If you have any questions pertaining to this article, or would like to checkout my AG doll houses and accessories, feel free to contact me on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or just send me an email at chorner@wildblue.net, Rustic Mountain Creations"
 |
| Rustic Mountain Creations (Custom Made Dollhouse) |
~Jasmyn
@--{---
'Helping to Create a Magical Memory'
No comments:
Post a Comment