The most popular scale for dollhouses is 1" scale, also sometimes called 1/12 scale. This means that one inch equals one foot.

In other words, if an object is six feet long in real life (a couch, for example), it would be six inches long in 1" scale.

There are also other scales - 1/2" scale (1/2" = 1 foot); 1/4" scale (1/4" = 1 foot). The tiniest scale in dollhouse miniatures is 1/144" scale (1/12" - 1 foot).

One Swedish dollhouse manufacturer (Lundby) makes minis in 3/4" scale (3/4" = 1 foot), which is a bit unusual.

People sometimes ask if 1" scale miniatures can be used for Barbies. Barbies are about 11" high which is about 1/6 scale compared to a 1" scale dollhouse lady, who would be about 5" - 5 1/2" high just like real-life ladies are about 5 feet - 5 1/2 feet high.

Some Barbie collectors do use 1" scale miniatures for their scenes even though they're not really made for that scale.