Victorian Dollhouse Plans And How To Build A Victorian Dollhouse From Scratch? (2024)

I do think that I have talked a lot so far about Victorian dollhouses, but I realized that there was still something missing: Victorian dollhouse plans and how to build one yourself 😉

Although I wasn’t too sure if writing a new blog post on this topic would be worthwhile, I still think that people might find this useful, so here we go!

Updated 06/07/2023

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But First: What Is The Victorian Style Again?

The Victorian style was all about that old-world charm and lavishness.

It was the most popular architectural and design trend during Queen Victoria’s reign in the 19th century.

Picture those grand, ornate buildings with intricate details, like fancy carvings, beautiful stained glass windows, and elegant ironwork.

Victorian houses often had multiple floors, steep roofs, and bay windows that added to their distinctive character.

Inside, rooms were decorated with rich colors, luxurious fabrics, and plenty of decorative touches.

It was a time when people loved to show off their wealth and create homes that exuded opulence and beauty. So, think of the Victorian style as a celebration of intricate craftsmanship and a touch of grandeur.

The scale of a Victorian dollhouse (kit) is mostly on a scale of 1:24 or even smaller, but there are larger-scale homes of 1:12.

How To Build A Victorian Dollhouse from scratch?

1. Use Victorian Dollhouse Plans And Go From There.

You could totally do the research yourself on how to design and build a Victorian dollhouse and examine the style and get a wider comprehension of it plus come up with ideas.

If you can handle creating your own building plans, even better for you, and if you know which power tools to use, then I wish you all the luck with that, and please, do take pictures of it and show it off on social media so I can admire it, haha!

But don’t forget to determine dimensions and measurements and make sure to be able to fit all ornaments and such.

But there is “a but”. This kind of style is an architectural style that gets quite complicated for beginners.

So I did some research on where to get Victorian dollhouse plans and make it a bit easier for you.

1. Repair Manuals PDF– Victorian Dollhouse Plans

This store has 29 Victorian House Plans in the form of an E-book with PDF files. Click on the picture below or here for more info.

This store also has sewing plans for Victorian dresses, you might want to use them to sew Victorian miniature clothes?

2. Melody Jane Victorian dollhouse plans.

Here you can get your own dollhouse plans to build your own 1:12 Victorian mansion basem*nt.

3. Boutique Hobby– Plenty of doll house plans

Boutique Hobby is selling 150 Victorian house DIY plans, perspective views, and floor plans.

4. TbThreadsCo

In this Etsy store, you can get a paperback booklet with a guide to assembling and decorating die-cut dollhouse kits by Sandy Thomas from 1985. Of course, it includes Victorian dollhouses.

5. FashionDollPlace– Victorian dollhouse plans in a PDF

This is something peculiar, as the pdf file sold in this store contains instructions with charted color graphs to guide you along a stitching journey for a pattern to stitch a Victorian dollhouse. I haven’t seen anything like this before!

6. William T. Comstock

A paperback book of Victorian domestic architectural plans and details: 734 Scale Drawings of Doorways, Windows, Staircases, Moldings, Cornices, and Other Elements from William T. Comstock.

Also available on Kindle.

Victorian Domestic Architectural Plans and Details: 734 Scale Drawings

Buy Now →

Check out more details and prices in the link above

8. A. J. Bicknell & Co

A paperback of Victorian architectural details by A.J. Bicknell & Co: Designs for over 700 Stairs, mantels, doors, windows, cornices, porches, and other decorative elements.

Victorian Architectural Details: Designs for Over 700 Stairs, Mantels, Doors, Windows, Cornices, Porches, ..

See Also

25 Vintage Paper Dolls (Printable)! - The Graphics Fairy %Victorian Dollhouse Makeover — Hausmatter

Buy Now →

Check out more details and prices in the link above

2. You Can Use Victorian Dollhouse kits.

Building a Victorian dollhouse can be quite “simple”, yet take a very long time though, compared to using dollhouse kits.

This would be the quickest way, but maybe not the most “rewarding”, for some people. I can imagine that you prefer to create something completely from scratch.

Anyway, if you do choose a kit, which is something I would do honestly for this style, it is just a matter of following the instructions of the manual and most brands should be quite easy to do.

But let’s dive a little deeper into this with a few reviews on Victorian dollhouse kits:

Shop number 1: HartsDesireMinis

Makes:

Kind of too much to mention, but of course: miniature Victorian dollhouse kits, this time in Quarter Inch scale.

Some more info:

– Quarter Inch Scale St. Beckham Gothic Victorian

• these are complete kits, meaning that it includes everything needed to finish the interior and exterior of the house, including wallpaper, baseboards, cove molding, and trims for the edges of the walls and floors, and two staircases.
  

• laser cut out of 1/8” birch plywood

• Also included: landscaping materials; grass, bushes, foliage for window boxes and vines, & flowers.

• step by step instructions
  

Place(s) To Buy: Etsy

Price : 220,00$

Overall Rank: on 3745 sales

The Good And The Bad :

The good:

– These Victorian dollhouse kits have everything you need to finish the whole house, except for the tools, paint, and glue. Like really éverything you see in the picture(s).

– Very good price for a complete kit!

– A very impressive kit and much work has gone into it, with lots of details.

– Last but not least each ¼” house kit comes with a piece of felt for the bottom of the base in order to avoid scratching the service it is displayed on.

– returns and exchanges accepted

The bad:

– some pieces are very fragile and break easily.

My Final Opinion :

If you are looking for a miniature Victorian dollhouse kit that is completely finished and looking great then this shop is thé place to be!

Shop number 2: GoldRushBay.

Makes:

Model homes.

Some more info:

Nob Hill’ House 1:87 French Empire Victorian style.

It is a representation of the largest Gold Rush Bay Victorian house yet, standing at a little over 8 inches tall and 6 inches by 6 inches at the base.

Handmade.

Made of white plastic (PLA) and is hollow on the inside.

Place(s) To Buy: Etsy

Overall Rank: on 173 sales

The Good And The Bad :

The good:

– very affordable dollhouse kits

– very reactive seller

– looks very detailed and it is paintable

The bad:

– you would have to like the fact that it is made from white plastic and not wood, but ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.

– very cheap dollhouse kit

– very reactive seller

– looks very detailed and it is paintable

My Final Opinion :

Personally, I would prefer Victorian dollhouse kits made from wood, but on the other hand are these quite affordable?

Check out more prices and details here.

Let’s look at one more DIY home kit:

Shop number 3: 3DLasercraft.

Makes:

One miniature Victorian dollhouse kit and laser-cut trains, cars, (motor) bikes, tractors, airplanes, and more.

Some more info:

– This Victorian and wooden-style dollhouse is handmade.

– Dimensions : 375(h)x280(w)x200(d)mm

– manual included

– The Kit is laser cut from 3mm Poplar plywood and the majority of the parts have a glue-less fit. – for local orders, glue is included (Ireland)

Place(s) To Buy: Etsy

Overall Rank:

The Good And The Bad :

The good:

– Spare/replacement parts are available anytime if one gets lost or broken. (some for just the cost of a stamp).

– The house is open at the back, so you can see staircases, a fireplace, and an opening front door. (not all kits have this, you can also add extra miniature furniture).

– easy to assemble.

– for lots of parts, you don’t need glue to assemble them.

– returns and exchanges accepted.

– a cheap starter kit!

The bad:

– not ‘bad’ per se, but note that it is shipped from Ireland, so that might take a while if you live in the US.

– only 12 reviews so far, so you could miss out on a bad review

My Final Opinion :

This miniature kit and the shop seem promising for sure. I would risk it and find out about the craftsmanship and service myself and the price wouldn’t hold me back!

3. Decorate Nearly Finished Victorian Dollhouses.

And then finally, if you don’t feel like assembling a Victorian dollhouse from scratch at all or even using dollhouse kits, you could buy of course a nearly finished Victorian dollhouse, that you just need to paint/wallpaper and decorate fully with Victorian furniture.

Of course, this can be as much fun to do!

Like, take a look at this cutest little Victorian Nob Hill’ House in French Empire Style and built ready on a scale of 1:87.

How Long Does It Take To Build A Victorian Dollhouse From Scratch?

That is a very good question, but not easy to answer because it would depend on some factors.

• The choice of the materials used is a big factor regarding the time to build any dollhouse.

  It would take a lot less time to build a (Victorian) dollhouse with cardboard, for example, than with wood, for obvious reasons.

  Take a look at this dollhouse made from cardboard, it was made in a week.

  Doing the same with wood I would estimate it to take 70 hours or more, depending on how detailed and how large you want it

• Do you already have dollhouse building plans or a (Victorian) dollhouse kit? The further “down the road” you are, the less time you will spend on finishing the house. Sounds logical, no?

So, I really can’t tell you exactly how much time you will spend on finishing your Victorian dollhouse.

But as this style has a lot of details and ornaments of all kinds, I would assume that building it from scratch, could take 6 months or more.

Have a closer look at this YouTube video below where the artist creates a simple Victorian dollhouse from scratch with the help of paper prints:

Related articles:

Are you looking for Victorian dollhouse furniture for these Victorian dollhouses? Check out this post here!

My Final Conclusion

I hope that you could figure out how to go about crafting your Victorian dollhouse and if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask them below or join me on my social media channels below or Facebook group.

I wish you happy crafting!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

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