How to Build an American Girl Dollhouse

Discover just how easy it is to build an American Girl Dollhouse for your 18″ dolls. It is easy and addictive and can be done for under $200!

We can all recall a time in our lives that we were inspired and given the courage by someone to go for the hard thing. For me it was Ana White and the thing was a massive dollhouse for my daughter for her 10th birthday.

After I discovered her encouraging and simple plans, I now had to build an American Girl Dollhouse.

My daughter’s birthday was just a week away.  Her love for American Girl was strong and I thought it would be such a treat for her to have a dollhouse, too!  I didn’t find anything I liked on the American Girl website and not to mention the cost of it all is insane to me. $1,400!!  Did you fall over??

I have seen a few dollhouses like this online, but I wasn’t about to spend the $1400 they were demanding on Etsy and I didn’t want a cheap plastic dollhouse that could break if well loved and played with, so I decided I absolutely needed to build my own.

If you don’t know who Ana White is, you need to check her out!  I stumbled upon her a few years ago and was so inspired by how easy and budget-friendly she made furnishing her home.  She wrote a book called The Handbuilt Home and I immediately had to have it!

I downloaded it to read in digital form because I am too impatient to wait (thank you Amazon) and was so inspired to think that I could actually do these things, too!

Tools you will need for this project:

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Safety glasses
• Ear protection
• Kreg Pocket Hole Jig
• Drill
• Circular Saw
• Jig saw
• 18 Gauge Brad Nailer  (a hammer and nails would work, too)
• Hand Sander (sanding by hand would take a REALLY long time)

If you are just diving in to the world of DIY, all of these tools will be used over and over again in your household for many different projects so they are worth the investment if this is the first time you will be purchasing them.

You will also need a few pieces of wood, paint and stain, but that will all be in the supply list on the plans.

This post might be helpful if you are just a beginner DIYer!

I have been crafty and handy my whole life and have made lots of things before, but nothing this in depth. After discovering her book, and realizing she also has a website,  I quickly found a tutorial by Ana White for a dollhouse for 18″ dolls.  This happens to be the exact size of an American Girl doll.

After reading the plans all the way through I was confident that I could build this American Girl dollhouse easily and was so excited to get started!

The only tools that I needed to buy would be a circular saw and a pocket hole jig because I already had everything else.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t blogging at the time I built this dollhouse, so I don’t have any pictures of the construction.

But I sure wish that I did!

Lesson learned:  take photos of your projects for your own sake.  You may want to look back and see how far you have come and, as I have found, you just might want to show somebody the journey some day!

When you find plans that you want to use, don’t be afraid to alter them to fit your needs.

Her plans are for a 3-story dollhouse, but I didn’t want my daughter to have to climb on a stool to fully play with it, especially once the wheels were on.

Plus, I am only 5’2″, lol.

So I built mine the same, but I modified it to be shorter.

The final dimensions for my dollhouse are 49 1/2″ w x 50″ h x 15 1/2″ d. This allows you to use ONE sheet of plywood for the build.

**UPDATE** Since I built this in 2015, Ana has created an easy-to-follow plan for a 2-story dollhouse like mine. You can find her plans for that here.

Dollhouse by Ana White

FAQs on how to build a dollhouse for 18″ dolls

What tools are needed to build an American Girl Dollhouse?

To build an American Girl Dollhouse, you’ll need tools such as a tape measure, speed square, safety glasses, ear protection, Kreg Pocket Hole Jig, drill, circular saw, jig saw, an 18 gauge Brad Nailer (or hammer and nails), and a hand sander. I have links to my favorites in the supply list.

Can I customize the dollhouse plans to fit my needs?

Yes, you can modify the dollhouse plans to suit your needs, like changing the height or number of floors, to make it more suitable for your space or preference.

Is it expensive to build a dollhouse myself?

Building a dollhouse yourself can be quite budget-friendly, typically costing under $200, especially compared to buying a pre-made or designer dollhouse, which can be very expensive.

How difficult is it for a beginner to build this dollhouse?

This project is friendly for beginners since the plans are easy to follow and the tools needed are versatile. Her plans say it is an intermediate project, but with some basic DIY skills you should be able to complete the dollhouse successfully.

What are some creative ways to personalize the dollhouse I build?

You can personalize your dollhouse by painting it in your child’s favorite colors, adding custom shutters, decorating with miniature furniture you build or buy, or even altering the size and layout to better fit your space or aesthetic preferences.

How long does it take to build this dollhouse?

It didn’t take me very long to build and it was exciting for both my daughter and me!  The plans were so easy to follow and I could see it coming together quickly.  Ana created some easy-to-follow plans to build a dollhouse like mine.

Once constructed, I painted the whole house white except for the floors, the roof and the exterior. I stained the floors and the roof of the house instead of painting them and let my daughter pick out the color for the exterior.  It got painted the most beautiful shade of aqua/teal, her favorite color.

I had picked up some paint sticks at the hardware store to cut down and use for shutters.  I painted them black and they were so cute!!  I added casters to the bottom of our dollhouse as well, which made it easier for us to move around.

Ana also has plans for an “American Girl Dollhouse for small spaces” so you can still have the house, but it isn’t as massive. It is a lot smaller than the one I built, but still offers the same fun!

How do you build dollhouse furniture?

Dollhouse Furniture for American Girl dolls?

Yes, please!!

You can build that, too!!

Isn’t this little dollhouse kitchen just a dream??

You can find plans here for this little adorable kitchen and a lot of other dollhouse furniture for 18″ dolls on her site.  You could probably build a dollhouse and the furniture for under $200.

She also has plans for the easiest, cutest farmhouse bed that will fit American Girl Dolls!

I wish now that I had taken photos and kept all of my receipts so I could share it all with you.  I was so proud of this project and my daughter LOVED it!!!  But this project did so much more for me.  It gave me the confidence to tackle my custom Craft Room because I realized that I could do it.

If you feel nudged to build something but don’t know where to start, maybe start with some of the smaller doll furniture to “get your feet wet”.  What an amazing gift for any little girl or boy!!

I would love to see your dollhouse if you build one! Or any of the hundreds of other projects/plans Ana White has on her site.

Once you dive in to her site, you just might find yourself building something for your home instead!  Join me on Instagram and tag me @aprilcolleenhome so I can see what exciting, hard thing YOU decide to do!

Remember, you can do it yourself, but let’s do it together!

Have a wonderful week ahead!!