Designing a Dollhouse Part 2 - Plans and Early Construction

Construction has begun on my first dollhouse design, so I thought I'd share a few photos of the house in its current state, and talk a bit about the house plans and the early phase of construction.


One of the first things I had to do once I finished my rough sketches of the house was draw up plans. Since I had a rough model in foam core, this process went fairly quickly. My plan was to get the exterior of the house, floors, and roof cut out and roughly assembled, and then work on the interior walls and smaller exterior pieces. These are some fairly large, square pieces, so I would be able to cut and assemble quickly. I felt that this approach would give me one more chance to make big changes in the overall design, without wasting a lot of time or wood.

Once I had my plans drawn, it was time to measure. I took a lot of time with this part, to make sure that everything will fit properly, and is perfectly square.

Measuring and Cutting

I was well armed with squares. Keeping the pieces of the house perfectly square will save me a lot of headaches later, so I measured carefully, and used my L-square and carpenter's square.

I am always short on space, and on power tools. The pieces for the house had to be cut using a jig saw. While this saw is both small and inexpensive, it is not the most accurate tool I could have chosen, so I took some extra precautions to make sure my cuts would be as straight as possible.

Once I had all my lines measured out, I clamped my metal ruler to my wood to create a straight guide for the saw. The ruler is clamped at the correct distance for the blade of the saw to hit the line, while the foot of the saw rides against the ruler.

The front and side walls have been permanently attatched with glue and nails, and the supports for the flooring are in, as well. The floors, roof, and interior walls are still unattatched, which allows me to move or remove them for the time being. Since I still have to cut the openings for the windows, I want to be able to slide all the interior pieces out of the way. I'll attach them permanently once all the cutting is done. I'm pretty proud that all this stuff is staying in place without any help, which means I've got a good, snug fit for everything.

Designing a Doll House Part 1