Dollhouse, a popular gift with unlimited play variety

What dollhouse is better – made of wood or plastic? At what age is it recommended for children? Melissa & Doug, Kidkraft, or Hape dollhouse: here is an overview of the best dollhouses.

By the way, dollhouses have been around since the 16th century. Then as now, a doll’s house was one of the most popular toys for children from the age of about 3. Dollhouses play is advantageous for child development. Everyday situations are imitated with dolls or situations that are especially important to the child at the moment.  Children mostly play mommy and daddy games, eating, brushing teeth, going to sleep. Such role plays are still very simple for 3-years-old and become more and more complex. 5 years old then play in a different way, but the dollhouses do not become less interesting.

Dollhouse checklist

It is very important how a dollhouse is made:

• Safety: Sharp edges or protruding wood splinters are a “no-go” and pose a risk of injury.
• Child’s age: The design and detailing should be appropriate to the child’s age. The older the children, the smaller the parts.
• Size: Although they may look small in the photo, many are over 1 meter high. This brings a lot of fun for the kids and their dolls, but also needs a lot of space in the children’s room. Parents should consider this carefully before buying.
• Design: The houses are either quite playful and suitable for a pink doll’s world or comparatively simple. The plain variants also have many loving details, but they are seen as a very everyday house. How this appeals to the child varies from child to child.
• Functions: The dollhouses do not just stand there boringly. Most of them also have many functions such as doors with a letter slot that can be opened and closed or an elevator in which the dolls can travel to the upper floors.
• Accessories: For the child each piece of furniture is important, so take a look at them.
• Compatibility: The dolls must fit into the dollhouse – otherwise, the joy will quickly turn into frustration and the children will quickly lose interest in the dollhouse

The most beautiful doll’s houses with furniture

Whether made of wood or plastic, for little or older children: the right dollhouse can look very different from child to child. We have compiled a list of the most favorite doll’s houses and extra accessories for you.

Wooden dollhouse

The feel of wood is natural and simply unique – even children feel that. The wooden dollhouses becomming more and more popular.

What products are recommended by parents? The following selection is specified by four quality criteria: testimonials, ratings, number of purchases and quality labels.

Top 5 dollhouses made of wood – Bestseller

What are the most commonly purchased items? No recommendation is as credible as a verified purchase. That‘s why our crawlers look for the best-selling products on Amazon from every relevant category every day. We extract product data from the most popular products and show you the result here in the bestseller lists.

Dolls should live in a dollhouse. At least for many children, this is a crystal clear fact and so at the age of three, it will be time for a dollhouse in the children’s room. The wooden dollhouse versions are very popular. They are now available in many different shapes, colors, and sizes. Here the dolls can experience all everyday things like sleeping, eating, playing. The children play very often that they are grown up, so they can even set up a small home office, just like mom and dad do.

However, parents should think about the size of the dollhouse. Some are as big as the children playing with them. There is not so much space in every children’s room.

Japanese Dollhouse

Japanese dollhouses are especially beautiful and a little bit different. Similar to other dollhouses, they also have a very detailed interior with vivid miniature furniture, including LED lights, but the dollhouses with traditional Japanese style will always surprise you. They are really neat with everything sorted in little packages.

So if you need a new challenging project, and the lego set is to easy for you and your child, we recommend Japanese dollhouses.

Please note, these are designed for older children

Barbie Dollhouses

Slim, blond, permanently smiling: Barbie is often discussed. Some think that Barbie has given generations of girls a problematic image of women. Some think this doll should stand for diversity. We don’t recommend Barbie Dollhouses, but if you think they can be good for your child, here is the best selection of Barbie dollhouses:

Plastic dollhouse

The advantage of a plastic dollhouse is that most houses are well made and you can’t hurt yourself. Another advantage is the price, because houses made of plastic are usually cheaper than those made of wood.

A disadvantage is quality because many dollhouses made of plastic are not well processed and break after a few times of playing. Wood is definitely much more robust here.

A house of this kind is not environmentally friendly and should not be swallowed by your child. Since small children like to put things in their mouth and bite into things, you should be careful.

If you still want to buy a plastic dollhouse for your child, it makes sense to check that it is free of harmful substances.

Dollhouse accessories

The play ideas of children with a dollhouse are almost unlimited. So that all ideas can be put into practice, there should be no lack of accessories.

Dollhouse kitchen furniture

The sets for the dollhouse kitchen are available in a wide variety of styles, just like the range of kitchen equipment in real life. Depending on your preferences you can choose a rustic country house kitchen or a modern kitchen. But the number of accessories is quite different. What should not be missing in any equipment is a sink, stove, refrigerator. Some kitchens also have a dining area. Just like in a real kitchen, dolls house furniture for example has both small and large kitchen cupboards. Therefore it should be noted that the furniture in general, although all of them are on a scale of 1:12, can vary in size.
For role-playing, there are kitchen utensils such as miniature food, baking sets, pot sets, and dishes, and household appliances.

If you ask how to make dollhouse furniture out of household items, here are some tips.

Dollhouse with lights

Also in the dollshouse Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to revel in atmospheric decoration.

Dollhouse lighting kit

The typical dollhouse lighting for are hanging lamps, floor lamps, ceiling lamps, table lamps, and Christmas lighting. The connection of these dollhouse lamps is usually made by a lighting transformer or by the battery.
All lamps are usually on a scale of 1:12, but please read the manual for this. The lamps are completely ready for connection with bulb, connecting cable, and plug.

Dollhouse guide

This post contains affiliate links. Product Images from Amazon Product Advertising API.  Last update on 2025-09-13