Thoughts on doll houses

[egoldber]

I posted this on the Toddler Board, but I'm hoping for more responses here.

I'm considering getting a doll house for Sarah. Here are ones I'm looking at.

I think this one by Alex Toys is fun: http://www.sensoryedge.com/mydollhouse.html

I also like this one, by Ryans Room: http://tinyurl.com/sfms

And these by Brio/Plan Toys are the super deluxe ones. You get the basic 2 story doll house http://tinyurl.com/smkw and you can add a level http://tinyurl.com/sml6 .

(FYI, these websites are for illustrative purposes only.)

Another thought is that Costco has a dollhouse right now for $99 that includes a whole kit n kaboodle of accessories. But I'm not sure I want that many accessories to keep track of.

Any thoughts? Other things I should consider? Terrific deals somewhere?

Thanks!

[COElizabeth]

I know you sew, and if you'd like to make curtains and rugs and such for the dollhouse, I'd go with one of the plainer ones and decorate it yourself. My grandparents made one for me and my sister. My grandfather used real leftover tile from his kitchen, and my grandmother made all the rugs and curtains and bedspreads. Grandpa even made a little doghouse and wrote over the entrance the name of my real dog! I'd rather buy the furnishings individually - they are so much fun to pick out, and you can get just what you want.

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[SeekerMage]

The Brio Plan toys ones are cute, I think that I like those best...and I have seen them, or atleast some of the accessories at Tuesday Morning with really good prices too!

As for the Costco one that one sounds like a good deal to me...especially if it comes with all the accessories! As for keeping track of them all....who says you have to give them all to her...give her the basics and save some of the other things to give her as special treats or for when she is older....and get a nice tupperware type container to keep everything in with the doll house....I love tupperware its a lifesaver!

[hwin708]

I have the Lily Dollhouse from Corona.
http://www.tonsofbuys.com/index.php?cPath=36_33
These dollhouse are sold unassembled and unpainted, so you do have to do all that. I can't really comment on ease of assembly, because my DH put it together, but he said it ws pretty easy.
I actually enjoyed painting the house with my daughter (we did this before it was assembled). I chose this dollhouse because it resembled my house the closest of those offered. We then painted it the same color as our house, and filled the flower boxes w/ pink flowers, just like our house, which she thought was pretty neat. I let her choose the colors or "wallpaper" (just contact paper) for the rooms.
I really like this style of dollhouse, mainly because they remind me of the one I had as a little girl. Just old-fashioned, super-girly, and gorgeous. It also helps in making my messy playroom look beautiful.
As for all the extras, we bought those gradually, over time. Normally she gets to pick out a new little piece when we go to the craft store (FYI, I buy gift wrapping supplies there, I am NOT crafty at all, so don't think you need to be to get this dollhouse). I keep the house on a large end table with a drawer underneath, so she fills the drawer with all the stuff. It normally does not travel beyond that 1 ft. radius.
Of course, if you want to go all out, you could buy one of the Duracraft kits, which are HUGE, GORGEOUS, and EXPENSIVE. I have actually seen them occasionally on ebay for much cheaper.
Here's a link to dollhouses on ebay.
http://listings.ebay.com/pool2/plistings/list/all/category2458/index.html?from=R12
They have some of the kits already assembled, though I would imagine S/H would be outrageous.
HTH!

[cara1]

As a kid, I always used to drool over those massive, intricate Victorian doll houses. To me, that's a doll house! Is Sarah really old enough to appreciate a doll house? With my DS, (20 mos) it would just be a place to sort objects. I wonder if it might be worth waiting another year or two for her to really appreciate it, and then get something nicer. I'm less into the plain, stark on the doll house front. Weird, because it goes against EVERYTHING else I like.

[nohomama]

I'm partial to the Plan Toys and Ryan's Room doll houses (as you probably know, they're nearly identical). They're substantial and sturdy making them easy for little fingers to play with but hard for them to destroy.

Though the doll house at Costco sounds like a great deal, I wouldn't be inclined to go that route. A friend got a similar deal on a Ryan's Room doll house + accessories off of eBay and while it was a great deal, she's ended up purchasing other accessory sets primarily so she and her daughter could have the fun of picking them out together and also so they could get what they really want.

I love the more intricate Victorian doll houses too but think that they're more appropriate for children much older than Sarah and Lola. They're so lovely and often very expensive that I'd be very invested in keeping it pristine. That would be fine if it were mine but we're talking about doll houses for 2+ year olds here.

Have fun shopping and let us know what you ultimately decide.

[egoldber]

Let me just say that this new research obsession all started because DD was totally enamored of the PBK dollhouse she saw the other day at the PBK store. She had such a good time playing with the dolls, putting the chairs to the table, lifting and lowering the toilet seat, LOL!!!! :) So that's what sparked the doll house thoughts. Prior to this, I had assumed she was too young for one, but I think she would really enjoy it starting now (with only a few accessories) and its a toy that could grow with her as she gets older.

So I spent some time looking at many of these today while Sarah was in preschool.

Some of these are huge (!!!), especially the Brio/Plan house and the Ryans Room "Home Again, Home Again" house. The Ryans Room "Home is Where the Heart Is" house wasn't quite as huge. There's also this one from the Melissa & Doyg folks, which is a pretty good deal for what you get.
http://www.gummylump.com/pretend-play-toys/dollhouses-wooden/dollhouse-furnished.html

This style of house appeals to me more: http://www.bareware.ca/hartfield.htm Not the decor, but the open on only one side with complete access from that side. Most of the other houses don't have direct access to a lot of the rooms, onyl through small-ish openings, and I'm wondering if something like this would be better for Sarah.

I must say the thought of making curtains, etc. never occured to me. I never had a dollhouse like this as a child, but that's a great idea.

Sigh, so many decisions!

[Kate888]

I've been eyeing dollhouses for awhile, although Maya is not old enough to appreciate them :) They're so cute to look at! For toddlers, I like this one from Toys to Grow On:
http://www.toystogrowon.com/display/details?ts=1067385145&id=389
It's very accessible and the wooden furniture looks very sturdy. It even comes with a wooden baby carriage, slide and a rocking horse!

Have fun shopping! Good luck with your search :)

Kate
Mama to Maya 2-17-02

[Kimberly H]

Kate, I love it! It looks so bright and sturdy and even has Asian dolls.

I was looking at the Ryan's Room smaller house, then the Brio one after I saw it here, now I like this one and we don't even have the baby yet!

[khakismom]

Kathleen has a doll house and loves it!! Unfortunately it's not fancy or wooden. Our neighbor was moving and was planning on getting rid of his daughter's Fisher-Price dollhouse and did we want it? You bet! So all I had to do was get the furniture and family (it's the Loving Family stuff). She got this for her 2nd birthday in March and plays with this thing everyday! I was going to add more pieces, but she is perfectly content with the ones she has. The babies are her favorite!

Of the ones you suggested above, I like the Ryan's Room one, and the one at Costco--it's a great deal to get all that for $99! Whatever you get, I'm sure Sarah will love it! :) Good luck--and have fun shopping for it!

[egoldber]

OK, I think I'm now officially obsessed! I had no idea how fun this would be!

I really like this one:
http://www.tonsofbuys.com/product_info.php?cPath=36_33&products_id=47

And the open layout of this one: http://www.usillygoose.com/planluxdolho.html

And I seem to keep coming back to this one: http://dianatoystore.com/homiswherhea.html

I've thought about the Loving Family dollhouse, but if I'm buying one, then I think I would prefer to get one that can really grow with her as she gets older. And its not inexpensive, its $50. And I looked at the one at Costco, but it didn't really do it for me.

Hmmmmm...

[liya]

No terrific deals or anything as i DONT HAVE A GIRL...LOL But i just had to say that Ricky was dreaming of a girl so he could built the doll house himself..Since hes a arquitectural drafter he made his own drafts for a doll house...Too bad he got a girl...

I would go with suggestions here and go somewhere that you can get a plain one that you guys can decorate yourselves...

[hwin708]

I don't know fi you're deal hunting yet, but, just in case, the Ryan's Room dollhouse you like in your last link is on kidsurplus right now for $80 (though with shipping, it may be only a little cheaper).
Also, a note on the open layouts - my DD really likes the separate rooms on her dollhouse. I guess its her way of "setting up house". When DH and I started decorating the room that is to be baby's nursery, my DD got such a thrill about being able to convert her "spare" room into a nursery.
Just a thought.

[egoldber]

That's a good point. And I do really like those Corona Concepts dollhouses you pointed me towards. They are very reasonably priced and cute!

So have you been decorating one room at a time? How difficult is to paint and wallpaper at that scale? What would you recommend as "first" furniture?

[Momof3Labs]

Beth, I haven't read this whole thread, but saw this in a catalog last night:

http://www.plowhearth.com/product.asp?section_id=2009&department=3081&search_type=category&search_value=3050&pcode=7939

I thought that the garage on the house was a cute touch!

[egoldber]

Yes, that one is very cute. Its by the Melissa & Doug folks, and a good buy for all you get with it. I am looking for something a little bigger though.

[hwin708]

I pretty much decorated everything at first, before it was put together, with the wallpaper and paint. I also stained the floors.
Over time, my DD has wanted to "renovate" her house. It's more difficult now, but not too bad. Painting a room is pretty easy. I just empty it out, set the house up on a countertop and point my longhandled brush back at the wall. Wallpapering is more difficult, because now I have to cut it perfectly to size and carefully stick it to the back wall. This is hard to do without getting bubbles, so I don't really let my DD help much during this part. I'm sure there are all kinds of books out there with tips on how to do this better, but we're more fly by the seat of our pants kind of crafters.
The floors are also pretty easy to change. Basically, I just cut scrap pieces of linoleum or contact paper to size and stuck it to the floor. Sometimes, for a carpet look, I have glued down a plush fabric. You can buy special dollhouse flooring if you want, so it will have a mini pattern on it, making it look just like a regular tile floor, but I haven't. The floors haven't really interested my DD pass the one time she thought pink velvet would make a good carpet.
For the first furniture, I just bought the kitchen set along with the dollhouse, since I don't normally see stuff like that at my regular stores. The set was very cheap, like $9. What really detered me from just buying more sets was that you have to assemble them all. It wasn't difficult, but really assembly doesn't interest either me or DD, so it seemed like a lot of hassle. I bought a bed and a dining room set at my craft store (already assembled - just unpainted). Over time, we have added on more furniture, but this was fine at first. Honestly, DD had no problem laying down a kleenex in the spare bedroom for "guests" to sleep over. I mainly just kept buying things because she wanted them when she saw them and it was fun letting her pick how to paint them. One of the beds is actually painted in a cow print.

[egoldber]

It sounds wonderful! You must be having a ball! :)

[cinrein]

LOL, this sounds like real house hunting!
I can't wait until Anna is ready for this!

Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

[khakismom]

Beth, I thought of you last nite when I got my Tuesday Morning mailer. There is a beautiful, very traditional, wooden doll house at Tuesday Morning next week (11/11) for $99 with accessories. This house looks wonderful--it's a Georgian (I think) and comes with cherry furniture for the bedroom, living room, bathroom, and baby's room. The walls are blank so you could wallpaper or paint!

Dh told me emphatically "No" when I looked at him, but I will still be going to check it out. Didn't know if you had already picked one out for Miss Sarah! Good luck :)