Dollhouse Scale

As dollhouse collectors know very well, sometimes the smallest things provide the greatest revelations.

Dollhouse Scale In the Collector Dollhouse Kit section of DollHousesGalore.com, you'll find dollhouses in three different size categories: 1-inch, Playscale, and 1/2-inch. Naturally, the dollhouse you choose should be the scale that best suits your needs. But if you're just cutting your teeth on this rewarding hobby, we've provided a quick summation of our dollhouses and what each scale ratio means to help you make right choice.

1-Inch scale
The 1-inch scale is the most common scale used for dollhouse miniatures. In writing, this is usually abbreviated as 1:12 or 1/12. 1-inch scale means that 1 inch in miniature equals 1 foot in life size. On this scale for example, a 6-foot-tall bookcase would be only 6 inches tall as a piece of dollhouse furniture. So of course you want to furnish a 1-inch scale dollhouse with 1-inch scale furniture to keep everything in proportion.

Most of our dollhouses are built to 1-inch scale. If this is your first dollhouse or you'd like a wide selection of dollhouse furniture from which to choose, we recommend choosing a 1-inch scale doll's house. This is the most popular dollhouse scale among collectors.

Playscale
In a playscale doll's house, 2 inches in miniature equals 1 foot in life size. Playscale is often represented in writing as 1:6 or 1/6. This indicates that 1 inch in miniature is equivalent to 6 inches in life size. Playscale dollhouses are rather large compared to the typical collectors dollhouse. Instead of for collections, these dollhouses are an ideal choice as a toy for younger children. They are sometimes referred to as Barbie doll houses, as they are sized to accommodate 11.5-inch fashion dolls, such as the ubiquitous Barbie.

1/2-Inch scale
1/2-inch scale is the smallest dollhouse kit size available at DollHousesGalore.com. In written form, it often appears as 1:24 or 1/24. At this scale, 1/2-inch in miniature equals 1 foot in life size. The same 6-foot bookcase from the above 1-inch scale example (6 inches to scale) would be just 3 inches tall on the 1/2 Inch scale.