1. DOLLS’ HOUSES

2. Our daughter with her dolls’ house, furnished from my wife’s childhood collection

3. SCALE Normal scale is 1/12th of full size 1 ft becomes 1 inch or
300 mm become 25 mm

4. MATERIALS Medium-density fibre board (mdf)
Overhead transparency for windows
Piano hinges
Corrugated cardboard, wallpaper

5. TOOLS Scroll saw Jigsaw Mini table saw Router (table) Lathe
Drum sander

6. PROXXON TOOLS
Mini drill
Mini table saw

7. Mini shaper
Mini thicknesser

8. Triton extension table

9. DECISIONS
the number of rooms (lounge, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom(s));
access (3-sided with open back, 4-sided with removable front panels, 4-sided with hinged front panels);
staircase; portico; balconies or decks; fireplace(s) and chimneys;

10. opening windows, pelmets and curtain rods; lighting;
roof (flat, corrugated, tiled);
floors (plain, tiled or wooden planks);
interior doors (doorways only, opening doors, French windows);
interior walls (painted or wall papered);

11. exterior walls (painted or brick or stone effect);
garage or other outbuildings.
colour scheme

12. PRICING This is the most difficult part.
Costs of materials are easy to assess but the time taken in the intricate construction can never be charged at a realistic rate.
So, as always, it boils down to what the buyer is prepared to pay!
A million Rand real house does not scale down to a 1/12th dolls’ house anywhere near R83 000!

13. Furniture
Magnificent scale furniture is made by Koekoe Jonker and Brian Edwards (Port Alfred). These are really collector’s pieces.
For the rougher handling of children, Suzi-Q has lower price sets made in China.

14. A simple 4-roomed house

15. The interior – with furniture

16. Another version of a 4-roomed house

17. 6-roomed house

18. Interior view

19. Top of the range - Mansion

20. FEATURES Eight rooms Garage (with tip-up door) Staircase
Lighting (by transformer)
Simulated flooring
Cornices, skirting boards, curtain rails
Tiled roof

21. Interior views

22. Lighting

23. The entrance and balcony

24. More interiors

25. Restoration of rustic house

26. Furnished interior

27. Settler cottage – from Cross Street

28. My replication

30. Interior views

31. More interiors

32. Open-plan house

33. FEATURES Simultaneous access for several children
Some moveable pieces (staircase & balcony)
Moveable partitions to define rooms
Parts of the roof can be removed

34. The moveable staircase (with storeroom)

35. Backview (with moveable partitions)

36. Moveable entrance & balcony

37. Construction details

40. Georgian house – under construction

41. Completed

42. Hallway & Kitchen

43. Ground floor & Upper Room

44. Attic Rooms

46. Village shop

48. Shop interior

49. More interior views

50. Queen Mary’s dolls’ house in Windsor Castle (www. royalcollection. org
Queen Mary’s dolls’ house in Windsor Castle (