Last week I shared on my instagram stories that I used a nap-time to build a wooden dollhouse for my daughter! I had been searching and searching for the right one to buy for her. Ultimately I decided that I needed something so versatile and simple that I better just make it myself (instead of spending literally HUNDREDS of dollars on a dollhouse). Why are dollhouses so expensive?! This DIY wooden dollhouse dollhouse took me about two hours to make and cost me $27 including the screws! I need just one 8ft board, a platform piece, and some screws!
She uses her grimms peg people and schleich animals with this! The benefit to leaving this plain is that it becomes an open-ended toy and can be used as a barn, house, castle, etc per whatever figurine is being used.
Please note this post contains amazon affiliate links because I am an amazon affiliate (see full Amazon Affiliate disclosure at end of blog post).
Supply List
- 1x8x8 board
- 3 ft paint-grade pine board (mine cost me $7.78 and was 1ft x 3ft)
- 1-3/4 in flat head wood screws (amazon affiliate link)
- Miter saw or Circular saw that can make mitered cuts
Emme has these peg people (not an affiliate link) and I plan to buy these blanks from amazon and paint them to look like family members and other favorite “characters.” We also collect schleich animals, some of her favorites are this dog and puppy, and this horse who looks like Max from Tangled, lol (amazon affiliate links). You could really do any small figurines in here, to include calico critters, daniel tiger, bluey figurines, etc.
Cut list
I recommend looking at the image below when making your cuts to make sure you have it all correct! I sort of built and cut as I went since I was making this plan up from scratch and had to figure out all the angles and whatnot!
- Base (widest) board @ 28.5″ (or you can leave it full sized if you have the room and want more “yard” around the house.
1x8x8 Board:
- 21.5″ (second deck floor piece)
- 7″ (lower deck right wal)
- 7″ x 4.5″ (lower deck middle wall, I just made two cuts to make it skinnier)
- 13″ total with one 35 degree miter end cut (tall wall on left side)
- 5″ with one 15 degree end cut (top floor right wall)
- 7″ total with one 45 degree end cut (left roof piece)
- 15″ (Top roof piece)
The other fancy thing you can do is add some windows and doors to your side boards, which is easiest to do before you assemble. I used 1-1/4 in circular drill bit to cut a window in my top floor, and used a circular saw and dremel diamond bit to carve out arched doorways on two floors. If you have a jigsaw, that will do the job, too. I just grabbed some of her animals to make sure the arches would be wide enough tall enough for them to squeeze through.
Assembly instructions
Okay don’t forget to reference the drawing I made, because otherwise this DIY wooden dollhouse explanation is gunna weird. LOL. I don’t have sketchup otherwise I’d just give you all some sweet free PDF plans. Basically, you are making some normal cuts, then some angled/mitered cuts and if you choose, adding windows and doors. Go ahead and sand everything before you assemble so it is easier. I rounded off my corners and edges with my ryobi orbital sander since it is a toy.
Work from the ground up! I used a countersink drill bit and these wood screws because they are easier to fill than pocket holes, and faster to assemble. The kreg jig is great but time consuming. Pre-drill your holes so that you don’t split your wood. If you need a great drill recommendation, I am OBSESSED with the Ryobi one+ brushless compact drill. To assemble to base, I basically clamped by wood to the end of a work table and worked from underneath which was a little wonky but worked. Here is an image showing what I mean. I also used wood glue anywhere I was attaching peices.
Attach all these lower deck “walls” by lining them up 22.25″ apart, and 1″ from the edge of your base. Use a square to make sure you screw them in correctly and check your distance by laying your second deck floor on top!
From there, you can lay your second deck “floor” piece down, and screw down into the middle and right walls. Screw from the side of the tall piece into the end of the floor to secure it there. Sorry I did not take photos or video of me doing this step! I was rushing to get it done before Emme woke up from her nap.
Next attach the second floor 5″ wall piece. I placed mine 6 inches from the edge of the second floor so I had a sort of balcony.
Last, attach your shorter roof piece first, then the 15″ piece. pre-drilling countersink holes everywhere. I just drilled in at an angle where I had mitered edges.
Finished product
The other thing you could obviously add to your DIY wooden dollhouse is a back piece of plywood to maybe one or both floors, but for now I opted out of that in case emme wants to play with it on the ground and use both sides. From here you can customize it however you want with paint and stain! I am going to put a clear coat on my “floors” and roof and probably paint all the wall pieces. You can see where I still need to fill in my countersunk screws. I love how it looks unfinished because it matches Emme’s Melissa and Doug block set perfectly!
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