Update: You can check out Part 2 of this project right here.
But let’s start at the beginning. When Sherry and I started talking about building a dollhouse for Clara, I was afraid. I know, I know – scared of a dollhouse? Get your laughs out. But that ominous word conjured up these elaborate images of perfectly crafted, to-scale replicas of Victorian mansions that seemed waaaaay beyond my skill / patience level. But once Sherry showed me some of her inspiration pictures on Pinterest (from Mousehouse, Natty Michelle and Under The Sycamore) my cold sweats dried up and I actually got a little excited. Yes, excited about a dollhouse. Now get those laughs out.
More accurately, those cold sweats turned into regular sweats since starting this project required a bit of basement cleaning first. Remember this mess?
I didn’t get rid of much of anything yet, but I did give it the ol’ “quick tidy” so I’d at least have a clean workspace to get a-dollhousing in. Here’s the “not-after-but-not-as-bad-as-the-before” result:
After giving myself a brief pat on the back for that, I moved on to dollhouse planning and material buying. Sherry loved the idea of priming/painting/decorating the dollhouse, so she called those parts of the task while leaving the entire design up to me except for very casually suggested a three-story house with seven rooms. After some thought I landed on something most similar to the Under The Sycamore’s version show above, except with a different room arrangement.
We decided on 1 x 8″ basic white wood as our building material. It was cheap and light, but sturdy and wide enough to make for easy play. We also opted for an 8″ room height on the first two floors and a sloped attic that’d go from 6″ to about 10.” So the finished dollhouse measures around 30″ tall and 30″ wide. Those 8 inches of room height with a sloped attic ceiling were a bit big for the scale of furniture that Sherry had found on eBay (more on that in her Part 2 post) but we wanted to err on the side of giving Clara plenty of room to move around rather than being sticklers for scale – and who doesn’t love a room with extra high ceilings?
My total for all of my building materials (just wood since I already had nails) was about $35 and I started off by cutting everything except the roof pieces to size, creating a box that was roughly 30″ wide and 24″ tall. I also cut the walls for my first two floors (not shown) to 8″ tall and used my table saw to shave a bit off the side so they were slightly narrower than the floors.
I wanted to affix the walls to the bottom and middle floors first, so I measured and marked where I wanted each divider to go. The two marks on the wood below represent each side of the wall board so I knew exactly where I wanted it to sit.
I’m usually a screw guy (that sounds weird, I realize) but I didn’t want Clara’s dollhouse to be riddled with screw holes and potentially split boards. So I opted instead to use a combination of wood glue and nails. I know lots of people swear by wood glue, but I just find it messy, time consuming and harder to reverse. But I put our differences aside and squeezed a line of it on each wall before putting in place. It actually worked really well.
I clamped two scrap pieces of wood (those two pieces of wood under the clamps weren’t part of the dollhouse, they were just pinching the perpendicular piece of wood to hold it up). This method helped keep things steady for a couple of minutes while the glue got a grip.
And since I’m impatient, I carefully tipped the whole thing over so I could drive a couple of nails into the wall board from the bottom. Now it’s hopefully more clear that the perpendicular piece of wood is the wall and the piece of wood on the bottom is the floor of the dollhouse (those two pieces of wood clamped above the base are just there to steady the wall I added while the glue dried and I banged in those nails).
So here’s what I was left with after putting up walls for the first two floors. I hadn’t tackled the third floor wall yet since I wanted to wait to finish the sloped roof to make sure my cut was accurate to a real roof, not my roughly sketched one. Oh and the first and second floors weren’t attached (hence them looking skewed in the pic below) – they were just both placed on the floor in a rough little layout of sorts.
Next I used the glue and nails method to affix the two sides, using another scrap board to help keep my corners at 90-degree angles. I also glued and nailed all of the walls into the floors above them.
One thing I didn’t point out earlier is that when I cut my side boards to length I actually did a slightly angled cut on the tops using my miter saw. The 15-degree choice was kind of an arbitrary “this looks like a nice shallow angle” decision, which I hoped would help my sloped roof rest evenly on the side boards.
I tried drawing some complex diagram of angles to figure out exactly how I needed to cut the peak of my roof, but I quickly realized how rough my 9th grade geometry was. So I figured I’d start with two 15-degree cuts butted up against each other and go from there. Luckily it worked out perfectly and I could scoff at Euclid as I glued the two pieces together.
Once my roof had dried enough I sat it in place to help measure the height of the center wall that would support it. Once that was cut (using two cuts of the miter saw to create a close-enough point at the tip) I glued and nailed it into place like the others.
With the roof also secured in place, this collection of boxes actually started to resemble a residence suitable for dolls.
But I still had to add a back side, which can be filed under the “two birds with one stone” column because I was able to take some thin plywood from my messy scrap pile (bird one) to make the back panel (bird two). I didn’t have a piece tall enough for the whole thing, but I was able to cut this one big piece so that the seam would be hidden behind the third floor board.
As for attaching it, you can probably guess the words about I’m about to type since I used the same method… I applied glue to the backside of the dollhouse frame, put the plywood down, and nailed it into place.
For the rest of the top I had to assemble a few scrap strips, which did create some seams. But we were already planning to caulk some other corners so it wasn’t a big deal to have a few other places to patch up before priming and painting it all to get a nice seamless end result.
Here’s the whole house after it was constructed. The last thing we wanted to do was affix the whole thing to a larger base to give it more stability. So this is a piece of 1 x 12″ that I cut to size and sanded so it had nice rounded edges.
A few more squirts of glue and swings of the hammer later, the construction phase of the d-o-l-l house (as we were calling it at this point to keep the secret from Little Miss Hears A Lot) was c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e.
It was actually surprisingly straightforward and took me about three hours in total (after about an hour of basement clearing out before I got down to business). And not that I’m gonna get all Victorian mansion on it, but it has given me the confidence to try to add some details like doors and windows (decorative, not functional) on the so-far blank backside at some point. But since all of this happened just a few days before Clara’s birthday, that’ll have to wait since the first priority was to get it all painted, decorated, and gifted by this past Monday (which was the bean’s big oh-two).
So Sherry will be back tomorrow with a giant breakdown of what she likes to call “the fun part.” You know, the priming, painting, furniture-ing, and decorating (there were too many pics/descriptions to squeeze it all into this post, but she’s working on it right now and can’t wait to share). Hilariously enough, I thought the fun part was building it, so I guess we’re a good pair. And in case you’re wondering, Clara is obsessed. As is Sherry. Even I want to play with it sometimes.
So it went over really well. And we all know that a happy wife/kiddo = a happy hubby. So… score! Has anyone else out there built a dollhouse? Or some other fun kid thing? Or been obsessed with hunting down eBay dollhouse furniture like the wife? Let’s chat… about dollhouses. Haha. Oh yeah, I’m man enough to say that.
Update: You can check out Part 2 of this project right here.
Update #2: We finally created this Shop Our House page to help you hunt down any furniture/accessories that you see in our house, along with all of our paint colors.
Melanie@MailboxJourney says
I can’t wait to see it!
Linda says
Sherry and Clara, you are such lucky women to be blessed with a man like John around the house. He is such a keeper!
YoungHouseLove says
Amen!!! We are very thankful.
xo,
s
Gina says
Adorable as usual!!!
Mary says
My husband surprised me with a Kaleidoscope House three years ago. I have spent a pretty penny on furnishings and am even considering having Paris Renfroe design a new kitchen. I love the blog http://minimodern.blogspot.com/ She is the YHL of the dollhouse movement. And, yes, there is a modern dollhouse movement. They are worth a fortune. Mini Modernista makes great furniture too.
YoungHouseLove says
Ok, that site is amaaaaaazing! I’m loving it!
xo,
s
Audrey says
That miniature blog is amazing. Why are we so in love with miniature?! I don’t think there’s a cure; I think the symptoms subside with minimal exposure miniatures (the less I see them, the less I want to be 2 again?).
And John did a great job on the build part of it – I like that it’s a little shallower, wider, and more spacious than usual. That seems like a good way to make it easier for more than one kid to use at a time.
Ainhoa@ALittleBite says
It looks great! What an awesome birthday present for Clara.
Julie R. says
Still dying for the proper after photo! It looks awesome, though no surprise!
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says
Can I just say that I think this is the sweetest thing ever?? John – you’re such a good dad!
I can’t wait to hear the painting/decorating half (I may be obsessed, too!)!
Donna says
He sure is! And Sherry’s a wonderful Mom. Clara will be able to pass all these great toys down to her children someday, and be able to say ” your grandparents made that “. That’s priceless.
Sus says
Looking at how complicated the process was for you I’m stunned again that my parents made me a house with a fully shingled roof, a flight of stairs (with railing!) and a working door!
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t that amazing?! I had one of those when I was little and I’m just in awe of the work that goes into them!
xo,
s
karla says
I’m in love. Good job, John!
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
It looks awesome! I can’t wait to see it all done!
Angela says
Adorable! I wanted to have my husband build one for our daughter but we never quite had the right spot for it. Now she’s out grown it. I hope Clara loves it forever!
Faith says
This is super-cute, and looks easy enough. My girls aren’t showing much interest in dolls, but I would LOVE to build them a dollhouse if they get there. I had my own custom one as a child; I loved that house to death.
Melissa says
That looks awesome! My dad built my brother a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer hide out when he was a kid (complete with sewer drain attachment for the turtles to skateboard through), and he built my sisters and I a huge dollhouse – all out of old wooden cash drawers from a retail store. I have so many fantastic memories of playing with those “dollhouses,” and I’m sure Clara will have just as many with your creation!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s amazing! What an awesome dad!
xo,
s
gina says
Aww perfect! I swear, yall ARE the perfect little family, and Clara is SOOOOOO LUCKY to have you guys as parents!
Love yall! Burger too!! xoxo
YoungHouseLove says
You should have seen Clara’s meltodown at a restaurant last night (we went out with my mom who was in town for her b-day). Epic. I’m pretty sure everyone was staring at us cringing.
xo,
s
Monika says
The cliffhanger = so unfair. What is the height of the dollhouse? For some reason I envisioned it much more miniature and then saw Clara in front of it, almost as tall as the dollhouse itself. Sometimes it’s so hard to get the scale on these things from pictures!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s about a 31″ x 31″ square with the base platform on it. Nice and big for Clara to move around in. Well, not actually climbing in it, but room for her arms and toys and stuff. Haha.
xo,
s
Pamela @ Pink Hammers & Sippy Cups says
This is awesome!! You guys really did a great job and I cannot wait to see how Sherry decorated it! I wish we had room in our house to make my daughter a play kitchen and a dollhouse :(
Shannon says
Love the dollhouse. My mom and stepdad built my sister and I a dollhouse when we were about 10 years old. Initially it was just plywood that my sister and I splattered with some pretty basic paint. Over the years my sister and I helped my stepdad to (wait for it…) carpet, lay down flooring in the kitchen, wallpaper, tile the bathroom, wire the structure so that there were functioning lights and a doorbell, add siding, install a window in the upstairs bedroom, and shingle the ceiling. The dollhouse was passed on to my nieces and will hopefully come back to me one day when we start our family. :) It’s been close to 25 years and the dollhouse still looks as good as ever. When we travelled, we’d pick up furniture or bits and bobs for the dollhouse (ceramic fixtures for the bathroom, cute kitchen things, miniature cuckoo clocks, etc). Love it! Have fun. I’m sure Clara will love the dollhouse for years to come.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s amaaaaazing! It sounds like an heirloom!
xo,
s
Lori says
Love the dollhouse! My parents gave me one when I was 12 that spurred a lifelong love of miniatures. I have a dollhouse kit – the dollhouse of my dreams – sitting out in the garage on my husband’s workbench that we’re going to put together. It was his gift to me for my 40th birthday in March. I cried tears of joy.
Anyway, just wanted to mention there’s a (very rare for you guys) typo in the post title :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s so sweet! Happy home-making!! And thanks for the typo tip- all fixed!
xo,
s
Erin says
Bulding? ;)
It is super cute. Can’t wait to see Sherry’s part of the post!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, all fixed! Thanks!
xo,
s
Sara says
This looks really awesome. You’ve inspired me to think that maybe I could build something like this for my little girl. Just wondering though- why no stairs?
YoungHouseLove says
We just thought Clara might not really play with them much at this age, and the idea of bigger rooms to move things around might be a better use of space. We can always add them later though!
xo,
s
Carly G says
It looks so good!!! Way to go guys!
p.s. I think you’re missing an ‘I’ in the title of the post.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Carly! Fixed!
xo,
s
Ashleigh says
Looks AMAZING….
Lori says
That picture is such a tease, but it looks sooo cute! And once again, John takes the difficult and makes it seem so easy! Great job!
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
I love that y’all put so much thought and time into Clara’s gifts. My husband and I were talking the other day and want to make out little girl’s gifts for her first birthday this year. One special handmade gift is way better than a bunch of store bought ones! Can’t wait to see the finished product of the d-o-l-l house.
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) says
Sooo cute! Great job, John! Can’t wait to see the interior design by Sherry. :)
Sarah says
I love the idea of making a dollhouse, instead of buying one! Totally want to make one for our little girl. What a special gift!
Anya says
The dollhouse looks great, and seems like a perfect size for Clara as she grows! I can’t wait to see what it looks like all decorated. Tomorrow’s post?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, can’t wait! Sizing pics and writing it up right now!
xo,
s
Nicole says
When I was a kid, my dad made me a dollhouse one year for Christmas. He made it to replicate our house, using scrap pieces of carpet and laminate flooring, and leftover paint to match each room of our real house. I loved that dollhouse, and to this day its still such a special memory!
Yours turned out beautiful, and I’m sure it will be just as special for Clara as she grows up!
I can’t wait to see “part 2″…great job, guys! :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweet! What a great dad!
xo,
s
Heather W says
How cute. I can’t wait to see the decorating phase. This is a true dollhouse story….. My Mom was driving down a street to go home and saw this big beautiful dollhouse sitting on the sidewalk that said needs good home. She immediately stopped and the gentleman told her he had built it for his daughters and they had outgrown it and didn’t want it anymore. He wanted it to go to a good home for a little girl to enjoy. My Mom told him she had a 6 year old granddaughter who would love it and he said take it. This dollhouse was amazing with front pillars and he had built a little front porch and shutters. He used tongue depressers that he cut to look like a shingled roof and everything. It had really high ceiling which was perfect for when she wanted to play with her barbies in it. My daughter is now 13 and is not interested anymore so, I am debating on keeping it for her to pass down or find another home with a little girl to now enjoy….
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s so sweet!!
xo,
s
Audra says
What a wonderful gift for Clara! I still have the dollhouse that my Dad built for me twenty years ago!
Lindsey @ arkadian belle woods says
OMG! I love it! So cool! I love all of these amazing toys you have created for Clara! So awesome to see parents do that and it’s nostalgic for me because my parents built a swing set and playhouse for me as a kid that I got to help design. Clara’s got the kkkkeeewwwlllest parents lol
But anywho …. speaking of dollhouses….I am a huge fan of dollhouse furniture and found a ton of wooden (unfinished) dollhouse furniture at Michael’s off of Brook Road yesterday for 99 cents!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Love that tip!
xo,
s
Susan says
My grandfather built us a Barbie Dream house complete with elevator – like the plastic store bought one except this was made of real wood. He was a carpenter by trade so it was just beautiful! he even drew in hardwood floors with nail heads. I wish I had a picture of it, but i can remember everydetail in my mind. I bet Clara loves it! Very fun!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so sweeeeet! Sounds awesome!
xo,
s
Amanda says
This is so adorable! I can’t wait to see all the inside details! I would love to make one for my daughter!! However I think this definitely falls into the category that my husband has deemed as “you-don’t-have-to-do-everything-those-Young-House-Love-people-do” projects. Ha!
Cassy says
Don’t worry. My husband has that category too! haha.
Charlotte @weekendssosweet says
First comes this great dollhouse and then comes….a treehouse!!! I Think that should be next :) my dad built one for me when I was little and it was the best!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha, that sounds awesome!
xo,
s
Lauren@FilingJointly says
OHMYGOSH yes a treehouse! Build a treehouse!
Then I can live vicariously through your blog.
I was a big fan of the movie Now And Then when I was younger and craved a treehouse with every fiber of my being. Although honestly I probably would have just sat in it reading books, the same thing I did in my actual house.
Never got my treehouse. And it wasn’t even because my dad couldn’t build a treehouse. Because he did build one. When I was 18. For my much much younger brother. Complete with a “No Girls Allowed” sign.
Seriously Dad?
Also, the dollhouse is awesome. Is it weird that I kind of want one for myself? I’m really excited for tomorrow’s post!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, come over and play with mine with me Lauren! Um… I mean Clara’s. Haha.
xo,
s
LauraC says
We are totally going to build a treehouse for the kids when they get older! We have one, perfect, gigantic Douglas Fir in our backyard. Can’t wait! It’s so fun to read everyone’s comments today. Talk about reliving our childhoods . . . ;-)
Carissa says
This is really cute. I love the Snow & Graham “wallpaper” in one of the rooms!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks! I used paper I had already, so it was all wrapping paper, decorative paper, and even some decorative tape in one room!
xo,
s
rhonda says
Perfect gift for a 2 year old girl! O the suspense, can’t wait to see it. Will that be this afternoon I hope :)?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s tomorrow morning’s post! Working on sizing pics and writing it today!
xo,
s
Melanie says
So cute. When I was about 12, my Dad and I built a dollhouse together. It was a kit, but it was a great father-daughter project. I built several more after that. I liked the building and decorating phase, but usually ended up giving the completed project to some other kid we knew. Fun times. :)
Wilani says
Wow! You guys really can do anything. Can’t wait for part 2!
Deanna says
John, I remember you writing a while back about sometimes feeling silly or insecure for being a stay-at-home dad who spends a lot of time on home stuff, and I just want to affirm you by saying it is so awesome that you can say “Let’s chat about dollhouses.” Not only are you an incredible gift to your ladies for being so accommodating to their needs and interests, it actually adds value to your character and makes you manly to invest in them, be self-sacrificing, and love them. And it will pay dividends. Great work on the dollhouse!
YoungHouseLove says
I totally agree! Love my hubby!
xo,
s
Larissa says
Oh my goodness this comment made me cry! So true!
The dollhouse is awesome. Can’t wait to see tomorrow!
Brynn says
Well said, Deanna! I agree as well.
Deanna says
:)
Brittany says
The phrase “happy wife, happy life!” is used often in our household!
You guys continue to inspire my husband and I to DIY future kid projects instead of buying something cheap from a big-box store! The preview pic looks beautiful and it will hopefully be in your family for years to come.
Robin @ our semi organic life says
Love it! How adorable!
Kay says
My dad is a mechanical engineer by trade, and turns wood by hobby. He made very elaborate wooden toys that I loved as a kid. Now I am a mom and I have passed them down to my kid. Clara is a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful daddy (and mommy too!)
YoungHouseLove says
Your dad sounds amazing too!
xo,
s
Jillian {Her Split Ends} says
sooooooo good! i’m loving it…is it weird to want one as an adult??!
Yeah!!
~ jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, no way. I was playing with it this morning.
xo,
s
Nicole Dube says
After waiting since Monday for the big reveal, you go and split this up into two posts!!!!!!
Cliffhanger = unfair!
;)
I look forward to the after pics!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- so sorry Nicole! It’s about 100 photos and a bunch of explanations about building/priming/painting/wallpapering/furniture-ing/decorating so we couldn’t squeeze it all into one! I’m working on sizing pics and writing Part 2 right now though! Can’t wait!
xo,
s
Allyn says
I’ve been so excited to see this dollhouse since you guys first mentioned it! I seriously think you should consider designing affordable childrens toy, like you once mentioned. We don’t have kids yet, but I would totally buy the kitchen set and this dollhouse. Can’t wait to see it all!
YoungHouseLove says
John and I were just talking about that this morning again. I think we’re going to pitch the idea to a few companies. What’s the worst that can happen? We’ll keep you guys posted. It’s completely our favorite thing to do!
xo,
s
Alison says
That would be so fantastic! You guys would be the new, even cooler, Melissa & Doug!
Meaghan @ lovelee honeybee says
If/when my children ever have a doll house I am totally playing with it after they go to sleep! I used to L-O-V-E making and decorating rooms for my Barbies out of shoe boxes, face clothes, and anything else I could find. Totally my idea of fun. Amazing project guys – I can’t wait to see Part II!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I totally woke up this morning and was all “I hope Clara asks me to play with her dollhouse before I have to get the blog post up” – sure enough it was her first request! Haha. So there was some dollhouse playing and now it’s back to blogging. Not a bad way to start the day…
xo,
s
Natalie Kilgore says
Thanks for the shout-out, guys! Great job on the dollhouse so far. I can’t WAIT to see how you guys decorate it — that’s always the best part about building a dollhouse. Good luck! XO
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! Thanks for inspiring us!
xo,
s
Karen says
I got my old dollhouse out of my mom’s attic and am “renovating” it for my daughter. I can’t wait to hear about the decorating – after I paint the trim I had to replace and do a few other fixes, I’m on to the decorating stage as well. Thank you for sharing!
LauraC says
I’ll start by saying I LOVE dollhouses and it’s on my lifelist to build one. Gonna happen someday – maybe sooner now than later!
I’ve always loved miniature things but my first fascination with dollhouses started at the home of my piano teacher when I was nine. She had an AMAZING, super tall (3-4ft maybe) dollhouse decorated down to the last detail (spilled flour on the table for baking, etc.). I loved staring at that thing! Then when I was in middle school, I got to “redecorate” my mom’s girlhood dollhouse. Her neighbor made it for her (complete with upholstered furniture) when she was growing up. Now my daughter gets to play with it. I love seeing the generations continue like that.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds amazing!!
xo,
s
Lauren says
i see a future career for you two. loving the kitchen AND dollhouse! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Lauren! We were just talking about how we love designing this stuff so much- we’re feeling brave right now so we might write a proposal and approach a few companies and see what happens. It’s worth a try, right?!
xo,
s
Kasey M. says
I have always wanted a dollhouse. It’s still on my bucket list at 24 so I can believe that Sherry’s loving it up as much as Clara!
Can’t wait to see the next post!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Kasey I wish you could come over and play with me. Haha.
xo,
s