Choosing A Dollhouse.........How Do I  Pick?

Choosing a dollhouse can be confusing and especially if you are a novice and new to the hobby.  Collecting dollhouse miniatures is a fun hobby for the beginning  youth, or the adult who loves to create and collect miniatures. Dollhouse miniatures can also be as expensive or inexpensive as your budget allows, from collecting inexpensive Fisher Price or dollar store furniture to designer artisan pieces that can go for as much as hundreds of dollars on ebay. With this hobby the sky is the limit...............though there may be some limitations on a collector's purse strings!

A little knowledge is most valuable when beginning to collect. To many collectors, a dollhouse is simply VERY overwhelming to collect for, decorate, assemble, and find space in their residence to display comfortably.  It might be wise to start out with a roombox, which gives a more central focus to items needed to decorate, and furnish, such as this author's example of her miniature scrapbook store.

When purchasing a dollhouse, many people do not normally have the funds available to purchase a fully finished dollhouse, so many collectors buy what is referred to as dollhouse kits. There are a wide variety, from American dollhouse companies such as Real Good Toys and Greenleaf and Corona dollhouse kits, to Olde English Dollhouse Company and Sid Cooke dollhouses, both of the latter two from across the ocean in the United Kingdom.

   Example of dollhouse from Olde English Dollhouse Com. This dollhouse and the table are both available in kit form.

 The Laurel & Primrose dollhouse kits by Corona Concepts. These are two dollhouse kits, one the Laurel, and one on the right, the Primrose that can be attached to create a larger dollhouse. They are available in kit form and fairly easy to assemble for the beginning collector on a tight budget.

If you as a collector decide on purchasing and assembling your own dollhouse kit, look first at the space where your dollhouse will be displayed. Will it remain there for visitors to admire, and be the central focus of your room? Always remember that the dollhouse you admire with fourteen rooms and is four feet wide may not be easy to remove from your apartment or small house after it is assembled! Many enthusiasts forget dimensions and this is a key factor when beginning--start small! Your collection of furniture, accessories, and dollhouses will grow with your passion for your hobby.

Another consideration to take into account is if you have very small children or pets such as cats or dogs that might damage your expensive miniatures. Small pieces meant for the enjoyment of adults can become a hazaard to small children and pets, and cause harm if swallowed.  Buying a dollhouse kit that has the ability to completely close shut like some of the English models is a consideration, or simply afixing a piece of plexiglass over the back opening of the dollhouse to prevent small pieces from falling out and small  fingers from exploring.

What does a collector need before assembling their kit? A wise investment is wood glue, Elmer's wood glue, or Weldebond or Tightbond, all excellent brands when assembling wood or luane dollhouse kits. A sharp exacto knife with changeable blades, sandpaper, and braces to hold the kit while the glue is drying are a must, as is a good tape measure or ruler.

Before assembling your kit, PLAN. This cannot be stressed enough for the beginner, or the collector who has built several dollhouses. Buy your wallpapers, trims, paints, and if electrifying, all of your wiring components that you will need.  Plan with your furniture where the light will go, over the sofa or beside the chair? Just as if you were decorating a full size house.  The better your plan on the mundane parts of decorating, or the hard work, as we miniaturists put it, the quicker and easier assembly of your small masterpiece will be.

Dollhouses are not just for children, they are for everyone. Many adult builders use dollhouses as a lesson in scale modeling.  Collectible miniatures can come in a wide variety of scales, which makes collecting easier for that person with limited space. The most popular scale amongst miniaturists is currently 1 inch scale, but there is a trend for smaller and smaller, such as 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch scale.  These scales allow a wide variety of fully furnished landscaped pieces to be displayed in a small living room or home with little worry of  running out of display space.  One of the perks of these smaller scales is they sometimes fit right into the hobby of model trains, and scale modeling.

Some popular dealers and sellers sell a wide variety of dollhouses and dollhouse kits on ebay.  Do a search in 'Dollhouse'  or 'Miniatures'  or the popular 'Dolls and Bears' catagory and a wide variety of ebay sellers and stores, not to mention dealers will become apparent in your search.  Ebay is a wonderful place to begin to search for a dollhouse or a dollhouse kit if functioning on a fixed budget for your hobby, and a wide range of International Guild of Miniature Artisans (known as IGMA in the Miniature collector's world) sell their wares and artisan pieces on ebay.  Many dealers who already have websites also sell their  retired stock on ebay at reduced prices, which is a wonderful starting point for the novice collector, or the collector looking for accessories to finish a scene inexpensively.

I hope you have found this advice on choosing a dollhouse kit helpful, and enjoyable. Remember--Creating Small things Brings BIG Smiles!