Introduction: Wood Barbie Dollhouse

About: Passionate of DIY of any kind, I am not of the trade (I am developer in computing) but I am self-taught and I like to learn new things. I decided to share my creations with you through photos and videos. I do…

Hello everyone,
for my first article, I will introduce the making of a Barbie doll house for the 4th birthday of our daughter Colyne.

Sorry for my English, but I use a translator (I'm French)


Why ?
For christmas, we offered him a plastic and cardboard dollhouse.
Very disappointed with the quality and realism, I decided to make one myself. I will detail you the building.

Support :
1 hour video ! https://youtu.be/3ycFUePPHiA

(the subtitles are available in the video with translation))


Note :
The house is not finished, I have to finish electricity and create furniture and decoration pieces. Other videos coming ...

Characteristics :
- 8 rooms on 2 levels
- Appearance red bricks and tiles (classical in the North of France)
- Opens in 2 parts and moves easily thanks to wheels
- Opening windows and doors
- Lighting provided in all rooms (LED + Arduino )
- Scale : 1/6 - Dimensions: 80 x 50 cm and total height 104 cms
- Weight: approximately 34 kg
- Main: MDF ( Medium)

Tools :
- Circular saw
- Table saw
- Jigsaw
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Compact crosscut saw
- Router
- Glue gun
- Hand tools (hammer, files, saw, screwdriver, cutter, pliers, chisels ...)

Step 1: The Walls and the Structure

The house is built with MDF 6 and 10 mm. The schematic is available in the PDF.

The wood panels are cut with a circular saw

Step 2: Door Handle

I created reals mini door handles using a PVC angle "U", an aluminum tube, a threaded rod, nuts and a spring.

Schematic available in PDF.

Step 3: Windows, Door and Bay Window

For windows I used wooden sticks that I dug to be able to embed the glass (polycarbonate).
They are then mounted with hinges.

The bay glass slides in a U aluminum rail.

The entrance door gets 2 windows and the same handle as interior doors.

Step 4: Stairs

The central stringer stairs is made with MDF drops from 6 mm

Step 5: Assembly

The elements are glued and screwed together and casters are installed to facilitate movement.

Step 6: Roof

The roof structure is made from a wood pallet.

Step 7: Decoration

For decoration I recovered pieces of wallpaper and floor coating (laminate and vinyl).

Step 8: Shower

The shower is covered with mosaic and I added a glass shower wall.

Step 9: Chimney

The chimney is constructed from 6mm MDF (Plan in PDF)

Step 10: Vinyl Collage

The exterior is covered with self-adhesive paper (vinyl) imitating bricks and tiles.

I found a brick texture on Internet, I made repeatable (Software: GIMP), I repeated the pattern on the desired surface, I then sent the files to a print worker that creates vinyls.

Step 11: Finish

The main door is installed and sides of the house are connected with hinges

Here, the next step will be the creation of furniture (kitchen, beds ...)