DOLLS HOUSE FURNITURE SCALES AN EXPLAINATION OF DOLLS HOUSE FURNITURE SIZES

The baby dolls houses of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the toy dolls house of the nineteenth and early twentieth century rarely had uniform scales, even for the features or contents of any one individual house. Although a number of manufacturers made lines of miniature toy dolls house furniture in the Nineteenth Century, these products were not to a strict scale.

There have been several standard scales in dolls houses over the years. Children's toy dolls houses during most of the 20th century were three quarter scale (where 1 foot is represented by 3/4 of an inch), also known as 1:18 (1' equals 18"). Popular brands included Lundby (Sweden) (established in 1947 and still going strong), Renwal, Plasco, Marx, Petite Princess, and T. Cohn (all American) and Caroline's Home, Barton, Dol-Toi and Triang (English). A few nominally 3/4-scale brands may run closer to 1:16 scale. With the exception of Lundby, 3/4-scale furniture was most often made from plastic. Houses were made from a variety of materials, including metal (tin litho), fibreboard, plastic, and wood.

In Germany during the middle part of the 20th century 1/10th scale became popular (based on a metric system where 10 inches is represented by 1 inch). Toylike dolls houses coming out of Germany today remain closer in scale to 1:10 than to 1:12.

In the 1970s, the standard for adult collectors dolls houses became 1/12th (also called 1" or one inch scale, represented in the U.S. as 1:12). There is also half inch scale or 1/24th (1 foot is represented by 1/2 an inch), quarter inch scale or 1/48th (1 foot is represented by 1/4 of an inch), and "dollhouse for a dollhouse" (1:144). Half-inch scale was popular in Marx dolls houses in the 1950s but only became widely available in "collector" houses after 2002, about the same time that even smaller scales became more popular. These smaller scale houses are much more common in the U.S. than in Britain.

And finally there is "Playscale" or 1/6th which is proportionate for Barbie, Blythe and other similar dolls.
Contemporay kit and fully built houses are typically made of plywood or medium density fibreboard. Tab-and-slot kits use a thinner plywood and are held together by a system of tabs and slots (plus glue). These houses are usually light-weight and lower cost but often require siding, shingles, or other exterior treatments to look their best. Kits made from heavier plywood or MDF are held together with nails and glue. In the U.S., most houses have an open back and a fancy front facade, while British houses are more likely to have a hinged front that opens to reveal the rooms. The great majority of contemporary dollhouses are built in one inch scale.