Simple Modern Doll House

Difficulty

Intermediate

Build your own modern dollhouse with free plans from Ana-White.com Cost was about $30 for materials. It's a joy to build and a joy to give!

A Blank Slate Dollhouse for Creative Play

This doll house is a blank slate to encourage creative play. Instead of following out the set things a store-bought playset does, let their imaginations bloom.

Rooms can be furnished and rearranged as a real house
Play with any doll, action figure or animal - my toddler is playing with ponies with it
Can be painted or stained any color
Beautiful and simple enough to leave in the living room

Save $200 by Building it Yourself

This dollhouse is inspired by this dollhouse costing $229. You can build your own all for around $30 in materials.

And building it is the fun part! This was a joy to build, building therapy I call it!

What About the Doll House Furniture?

The dollhouse furniture is all DIY made out of scrap wood pieces. I will be posting the plans in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned and save your scrap wood!

Video of Building this Modern Doll House

Please take a second to watch the build of this project - it goes together pretty easy.

The free plans for this dollhouse are below. Thank you for using my plans!

Dimensions

Modern dollhouse dimensions - sized for 1:12 scale dolls

Preparation

Shopping List

1 - 1/2" plywood panel, 2 feet x 4 feet in dimension

1 - 1/4" plywood panel, 1 foot x 2 feet in dimension

1-1/4" and 5/8" brad nails

Tools

Instructions

Step 1

From the 1/2" piece of plywood measuring 2 feet x 4 feet, rip into two strips that are each 7-1/2" wide x 48" long. Save the remaining strips (about 9" wide) for the roof panel. Rip using either a table saw, a circular saw with a straight edge, or have your home improvement store make the cuts for you.

Then cut from those pieces the following:

From the 7-1/2" wide rips:

2 @ 23" - floors
1 @ 8" - bottom floor interior wall
1 @ 13-3/4" - top end cut at 10 degrees off square, long point measurement (short outside wall)
1 @ 18" - top end cut at 10 degrees off square, long point measurement (long outside wall)
1 @ 7-1/2" - top end cut at 10 degrees off square, long point measurement (upper floor interior wall)

From the 9" wide strip

1 @ 25-3/4" - roof

For the back

1/4" plywood @ 12" x 24" (may not need to cut at all)

Step 2

Attach the bottom floor to the side walls, making sure the side walls are orientated correctly, so the top angles angle in the same direction.

Use 1-1/4" brad nails and wood glue.

Then set the bottom floor interior wall (shown in red in the diagram) inside the dollhouse and place the middle floor on top.

Attach with 1-1/4" brad nails. Repeat for the second side of the middle floor.

Step 3

Attach bottom floor interior wall centered on the two floors with 1-1/4" brad nails and wood glue.

Step 4

Center the roof on the exterior walls and attach with 1-1/4" brad nails and wood glue.

Step 5

Switch nails to 5/8" nails.

Apply glue to the back edges and place the 1/4" plywood on top.

Force the dollhouse walls square to the 1/4" plywood panel and nail on.

Cut holes out with a jigsaw. You'll need to use a drill and drill bit to start the jigsaw in the centers of the windows/doors. I used a Kreg Jig bit.

Step 6

Place the upstairs interior wall and nail and glue in place.

Finishing Instructions

Preparation Instructions

Sanding is a huge part of the success of this project. I sanded each piece before assembly. Then a filled holes with wood filler and sanded again using 120 grit sandpaper. Finally I did a fine sanding of 150 grit to make it super smooth.
Vacuum off sanding residue before finishing.

Finish Used

I used a combination of white paint and black paint for painting.
Clear coat over top is recommended for longer durability.

Project Type

Toys