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Input sought on constructing dollhouse from specific floor plan


Jake

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Good Afternoon,

This is my first post to this forum, and I want to start by thanking anyone who is up for providing some input to me on this question.

I am looking to build a detailed 1:12 dollhouse specifically modeled on the house we are raising our daughters in. I have the house mapped out and have included a rough sketch of the floorplan. It is a traditional 5 over 4 colonial and I'd like to construct the dollhouse with an identical floorplan.

I realize most dollhouses are built being only one room "deep" so that all rooms can be accessed, and under such a design, only one exterior wall (usually the back or front) needs to be open to allow kids to play with it. But because this house plan is two rooms deep (or more) on both floors, it will not work for me to construct the dollhouse with only an open back or open front; both sides require access.  But I don't want to build the entire thing with only the end (left / right) walls and no walls on the front or back at all, since those walls carry significant and identifiable exterior detail that I'd like to include in the final construction. 

So the question becomes: do I make hinged walls that open on the front and on the back -- hinged along the corners of the dollhouse and opening somewhere near the midline, or do I construct it with some other method of creating interior access?  It will be approximately 44" wide by 28" deep, so if I hinge the front and back walls and have them open (like big french doors, basically), those exterior wall/doors will be approximately 22" wide by 20" high...pretty big overall, but is that doable? Or will that be a pain for my daughters to play in?  If so, what are some other creative options on how to build this true-to-life house, but still have it be accessible for play by my daughters? 

I'm leaning toward leaving much of the BACK wall open -- not building a wall at all, and then making the front wall complete and detailed, but split down the middle, hinges on the corners, and have it open like french doors.  Thoughts? 

5ac68250c23eb_DHFloorplan.thumb.JPG.a185

Thank you again for any input you all may have.  I really appreciate it. 

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Depending on the exterior design, another option would be to hinge the front and back panels under the roof overhang or the ground. That might give your daughters an included play table. 

If you go with the "french door" option, I would probably go with one panel that opens living room and foyer/hall and the 3rd bedroom, and the other one library - sort of a 1/3 to 2/3 division of the panels. You could always cover the seam with a gutter downpipe or so. 

Third option could be to hinge the roof. That would give you complete access to the 2nd floor (two wings front and back), and you would only have to make front and back panels that open for the first floor. I like that option in regards to stability and to avoid the hinged panels being too heavy and possibly tearing lose. 

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One of our members suggests having a removable front to be taken off for play and used as a dust cover for the rest of the time, Doors can be heavy (especially if the doors are MDF) and might have a tendency to tip the house forward if it is not balanced properly or bolted down. Make sure that the room you are placing it in has enough clearance to open the front and rear doors. 

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Welcome! I love dollhouses that are two rooms deep. I can think of a few options:

Have the house open in the back and hinged in the front, the way you described. This gives access to both layers of rooms, however you can't place it against the wall (since the back needs to be accessible). You could also hinge the sides or portions of the sides. The Thornhill is a discontinued Federal style house that's fully enclosed with hinged panels on all sides, maybe this will give you ideas for what you could do with your Colonial.

 H9001Open.JPG.de372b726aa26a0ad7278ba4c4

Another option is to have the sides open, with the front and back non-opening. I'm building a dollhouse like this right now. You'd have to streamline your layout a bit to make all the rooms accessible - get rid of the bedroom closets, the master bathroom, and maybe the bathroom next to the kitchen. Your hall and stairway would be hard to reach but you'll be able to see them (my house is like that, too). Or you could do open walls and also a hinged panel in the center front, like on the Thornhill, to access the staircase.

victorianna-side1.jpg.159d7f9f398083eca4victorianna-side2.jpg.b1d11f0190e22810de

 

Oh, a third option - don't hinge the front at all but have it be a fully removable piece held on with magnets or some other mechanism. So it would be completely removed for play (leaving an open front, open back, and enclosed sides) and then put back on when the dollhouse isn't being used. You're talking about a large house, so that might be inconvenient for your daughters, but on the other hand the colonial doesn't have a super fancy front so there wouldn't be a lot of gingerbread and stuff to worry about damaging when the front comes off and goes back on.

 

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Hi, Jake.  My first thought when I saw your layout was why not build the house in two halves that could fit together when not being played with  You would have the front (or back) and side walls and the middle open for the girls to play with.  And you would want dolls to represent family members, I suppose (holy Nightmares and Geezenstacks!).

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I thought that a similar thought  Holly, put the back half and the front half on piano hinges at one side so when open the back and front would be side by side, front on the left and back one right,    or split the front into 2 pieces down the middle  and hinged   so  that when opened it would be half a front extreme left, back in the middle and the other half front to the right

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Wow - thank you all for such fantastic input; I greatly appreciate it. 

I have indeed thought about just having the back closed so it could be against a wall, but given the shape, even with open sides, I fear that it would make it rather difficult and un-enjoyable to get to much of the back half, including the kitchen and bedrooms. 

The removable panels idea is indeed intriguing - and I like the magnets idea for them - thank you very much for that idea. And ditto on the "split the entire house in half" idea -- so it could be pulled apart for play.  I've seen a couple like that and it isn't a bad idea. Given we live in Kansas, it'd probably simulate a tornado nicely. :)

I may try a small MDF mockup (maybe 1:24 scale) to see how practical it all feels when it's together and so I could play around with all these options - hinged panels, removable panels, open walls, etc...

Thank you all again - you've given me some great ideas to work with.  

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What about making all four exterior walls removable panels? When I was young I had a dollhouse that was open on all four sides, which made it very easy to play with. I don't have any pictures, but it was similar to this: https://www.ourfamilyunit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dollhouse-big-1.jpg

(Although, now that I'm thinking about it, if all four panels were removable, how would they attach to the house?)

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Great ideas - thank you! 

The 1/4" birch plywood I see at the store seems so wavy and not very flat -- is it difficult to use or will it eventually stay flat? 

Also - in terms of the real thing -- the 1:12-scale version I plan to build -- I was thinking the base (and perhaps the second-floor floor surface) would be 1/2" plywood... for strength and durability. What type of wood and what thickness do people make the walls out of, generally? 

(I do a lot of woodworking -- furniture and other projects -- so I have lots of good tools; table saw, band saw, etc...) 

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If you have a Michael’s near you they have beautiful birch plywood. But it only comes in 24” widths.  Hold each piece up and check for straight pieces. Store them flat once home.  Lowe’s and HD sell cabinet grade birch plywood, again only buy the straight pieces. For this house I would recommend 3/8” birch ply. 

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3/8" birch ply is exactly what I was thinking of - thank you! 

I plan to use a router to cut a dado in the bottom floor panel and the second story floor (first floor ceiling) to receive the walls to help solidify everything...

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2 hours ago, Jake said:

3/8" birch ply is exactly what I was thinking of - thank you! 

I plan to use a router to cut a dado in the bottom floor panel and the second story floor (first floor ceiling) to receive the walls to help solidify everything...

Perfect!

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On 4/7/2018, 6:51:19, grazhina said:

I used magnets to hold my removable panels in place. Worked very well for me.

I was thinking of doing this but wasn't sure if it was a thing. Glad to hear that it works.

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