How to make a dollhouse replica of your house, looks like a very hard question for me to answer, to be honest.
On the one hand, I think you would need to have architectural skills and experience with making scale models and drawing DIY dollhouse building plans.
And then there is also the choice of which materials to use and have spatial awareness.
On the other hand, once you have those skills and a building plan ready, I think that you or I or anyone could give it a try. Maybe start off with something simple?
Anyway, I tried to do some research, as always, and this is what I came up with.
updated 10/12/23
How to Create a very basic scale model for a dollhhouse replica of your house?
Today, we are only going to explain how to create a very basic scale model, as it is really the work of professionals to be able to go any further than that.
This is one of the many ways to make a modern dollhouse and I think it is amazing!
To be clear: architects these days hardly create scale models anymore by hand, they use different kinds of software to create their houses and even 3D printing.
Only for movies and such, scale models are still used, although it looks like this art form is dying out as well 🙁
Anyway, a few basic steps if you want to create a scale model!
1. The materials that you could need to build a replica dollhouse are:
- a bottom plate
- scissors
- cardboard or wood or foam
- a pencil
- printed wallpaper or acrylic paint
- a (metal) ruler
- plexiglass or plastic sheets
- glue
- a crafting knife
- paper
- a scale calculator
- (balsa)wood
- a craft table saw
- and more..
2. Think thoroughly about what you are going to make!
Are you going to create a skyscraper, your home, or a museum?
And most of all, decide on how much smaller you are going to make your scale model or dollhouse and use an (online) scale converter to define the right measurements!
3. Make a sketch!
With the help of a sketch, you can make your scale model “visible”. This doesn’t need to be perfect, but it is important not just for yourself but also a possible buyer of the model.
I have explained a little bit about sketching a dollhouse in this article, but if you prefer to use an existing DIY dollhouse plan or even better: a real-life building plan of your home, you could totally use that!
If you don’t have building plans for the real size house, then you would need to measure everything about the house or ask the person that you are building the house for.
This would include all sides, doors, windows, porches, etc. Plus the height of the tallest points.
4. Choose your building materials!
Are you going to make a cardboard dollhouse, a wooden dollhouse, or maybe one from clay or even foam?
Modeling foam can be easily cut with a sharp crafting knife or Stanley knife and glued together with hobby glue.
5. Also decide the size of the bottom plate.
Before you build your dollhouse replica, you need to have a big enough bottom plate, on which you can already start to think about the surroundings.
Does the real size house have a garden with plants/trees/a patio, etc? If so, you need to factor those in the design of the bottom plate!
6. Cut out all the pieces for your dollhouse.
So, it is time to cut all the pieces that you need to assemble them into a small dollhouse, whether it be (balsa)wood ( sometimes you can just use a craft saw for this), foam (easily cut with a craft knife), or cardboard, etc..
If you use clay to build a scale model, this would require a sculpting course, I would guess.
7. Assemble your pieces!
Glue all the pieces together to form your replica dollhouse!
To glue wooden pieces, it is best to use regular fast-grabbing wood glue. For cardboard and foam, using grab-fast Tacky glue would also do the trick.
Beware to check out your building plans and sketches often.
Glue the roof together, but consider if you are going to glue it on the building or not.
Sometimes you prefer a scale model where you can lift the rooftop to see the details inside from above.
8. Install all windows and doors.
Before you install all windows and doors, make sure to paint them first. How to make dollhouse doors and windows, you can read about here.
9. Decorate the house.
The best order is:
- Install the dollhouses electricity
- Paint the walls or wallpaper them
- Install the floors. (it is better to do this after wallpapering)
- Decorate the outside walls
- add the rooftop
- decorate the garden/outside of the house
10. Add the details and finish up.
If you have an open-scale model replica, then of course you can add all the dollhouse furniture and lighting.
Adding other things is also possible, like a little model car if you have built a garage, or miniature street lights, animals, or even snow and a snowman.. 😉
Who Can Make A Custom Dollhouse To Look Like Your House?
I have found a number of people, able to replicate a real size house of your own choice into a dollhouse, or even into a picture frame, in all kinds of scales!
1. Custom buildings made from Lego!
“Benjis Bricks” creates a small replica of a house of your choice by using Legos!
Ben has over ten years of professional building experience creating custom artistic models for people around the world!
The process of building a lego replica takes about 6 weeks for him.
2. Get your own framed 3D Dimensional Clay House, Front Door House Replica
Not exactly a complete dollhouse, made by “fig and olive studio” but a replica of your house gets “framed” with a front view, made from clay.
This would be perfect as a marriage gift, for example!
3. A very small replica of your house!
“Forever Figurines” makes cute and very small replica ornaments, these look so much like in the pictures of the houses, it’s incredible!
All items are hand sculpted using polymer clay, hand painted using acrylic paints, and painted with a gloss finish.
Not only does this person replicate your house, but she can also replica your precious pet!
5. A customer miniature version of your house.
“The Bouncing Frogs” creates custom miniatures of your house or office and can have a winter coat.
The materials used are chipboard, card stock, latex paint, and other landscaping things like bottlebrush trees and glitter (snow).
This person seems to be able to make your custom houses into different scales and depending on that, the price can vary.
My Final Conclusion
I hope that I could help you find out how to make a dollhouse replica of your house or find out where to get your custom dollhouse replica made.
If you have any questions about this topic or any other comments, please feel free to leave them down below in the comment section.
You could also join my social media pages or Facebook group, and be welcome to share your work with the group!
I wish you happy crafting!
Kind regards
Lizzy
Hi everyone!
My name is Lizzy, and I am an amateur miniaturist obsessed with everything in the dollhouse and miniature world, ever since I was a teenager.
So far, I have created 2 dollhouse projects, a backyard shed and a miniature treehouse, tons of DIY dollhouse kits, and “hacked” some.
I also created a fairy garden, and lots of small and simple miniature projects on my YouTube channel. (mostly made from trash or everyday items).
I love to write as well about all things happening in the miniature world, hence the reason why I created this blog!
I wish you happy reading and crafting!
Lizzy
What an excellent idea, a Dollhouse replica of your own house. I had never encountered something like that and was pleasantly surprised at how someone could have such a great idea.
I am sure any girl would love to get the Dollhouse for Christmas. It would be hours of fun to play with.
I used to play with lego as a child and build some great things with my dad. It was fun all the way through winter when it was too cold to play outside.
Thank you for sharing a great article.
Elke
Hi Elke!
Thank you for the compliments, and yes, it sure is an excellent idea and would be a great gift to surprise someone for their wedding, birthday, etc, right?
I wish you happy crafting!
Kind regards,
Lizzy
This is a great guide on how to create a basic scale model. It can be really helpful for beginners who want to get started in this hobby. I definitely recommend reading through it if you’re interested in trying it out!
I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who would love to make a replica of their house, but don’t know where to start.
I think the best way to start is by finding some good online tutorials or watching some videos on how to make scale models. There are a lot of resources out there that can show you the basics, like how to measure and create proportional drawings.
After that, it’s all about picking the right materials and being patient while you build. It definitely takes some practice, but it’s definitely doable!
Hello there!
I already provided a little tutorial on how to build a scale model, but yes, of course, I’m sure that there are plenty of detailed tutorials out there 😉
I have written another tutorial on how to create a 3D scale model though, from Domestika. If you like to check it out?
I wish you happy crafting!
Kind regards
Lizzy