dolls house source information general head to head wooden dolls house kit review

Choosing A Wooden Dolls House Kit

This article is written to accompany the Head To Head Dolls Wooden House Kit Review. It aims to provide some insight for a dolls house miniaturist who might like to try making their own dolls house but is unsure as to which kit might be right for them. There are so many wooden dolls house kits are the market it can be difficult knowing where to start. You might like to consider the following:-

Scale

Click here to read our article about the different dolls house scales. Some historical periods work well in a particular scale i.e. Tudor works well in 1/24th because they had so few possessions. This can make the larger 1/12th scale can look quite sparse. Equally, High Victorian style works best in 1/12th scale as it enable the observer to appreciate the detail of all the clutter.

Budget

A dolls house kit and it’s eventual contents can cost as much as you want them to. There is ar wide spectrum of styles, sizes and quality around and often it’s true that you get what you pay for. An experienced miniaturist might spend a considerable amount of money on one particular item of furniture, whilst a young girl might only have pocket money to play with and therefore prefer a simpler architectural style and a smaller house.

The following questions might help you to decide where your budget needs to be:-

Who is the dolls house for? Young girl? Family? Adult collector?
What size will the house be? If it’s a first house a small house is a good idea as you experiment with colour, style historical period and so on. If it’s a large house, the affluent nature of the family living in it may force you to splash out on the kind of style that a grand house offers.
Consider a small house that has optional extensions if you are unsure how big you want the house to be. This way you can extend as your collection grows. Add little at a time and your budget will stretch further.
Do you want your house to be lit? It’s much easier to light a house before adding any interior detail then trying to go back and hide wires after the rooms have been papered and furnished.
How Much Time Do I Want To Spend Assembling the wooden dolls house kit? Most kits assemble in a matter of hours, After this, a reasonable amount of time is still required to paint, paper, light and tile it. However a large house is going to take longer and require more ornate and detailed work than a smaller house.

Space And Location

Consider where your completed kit dolls house will live. If you think you are struggling for space consider making a vignette or room box. These are also ideal if you are interested in experimenting with a historical period, or setting but don’t want to complete multiple rooms in the same theme.

Front opening dolls houses or house on turntables occupy less space than houses with multiple openings. Tall thin, town terrace houses occupy less floor space than large country houses with wide, ostentatious frontages.

For further information you might like to look at our article Kit, Ready-Made or Self Build.

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