A Guide to Scale in Dollhouse Miniatures

Scale is very important when buying miniatures.  If don’t pay attention to or understand scale, you could buy a bunch of wonderful pieces for your dollhouse that won’t fit.

1:6 Scale - also called play scale or 1/6 scale: This is a large scale and would fit a barbie sized doll.  When you reach this size the dollhouses are more often called play houses.  These tend to be a sturdier built house and is designed for more wear and tear since the target ages of users are lower.  Rather than a potentially collectible item it is closer to a toy.

1:12 Scale - also called 1 inch scale, 1/12 scale, or full scale: This is the most common and popular dollhouse scale.  In this scale 1 inch equals 1 foot.  All of our furniture items on our site is 1:12 scale unless otherwise noted.  This scale is typically the default scale of dollhouses and miniature furniture.  For example, a table that is six feet long in real life would be six inches long in this scale.

1:24 Scale - also called 1/2 inch scale, 1/24 scale, or half scale: This is a smaller scale in which 1 inch equals 2 feet.  This is still a fairly popular scaleWe have 1/2 scale dollhouses and miniature furniture in our half scale section.  A table that is six feet long in real life would be three inches long in this scale.

1:48 Scale - also called 1/4 inch scale, 1/48 scale, or quarter inch scale:  This is not as popular as 1 inch or 1/2 inch scale, but still has it’s followers.

1:144 Scale - also called 1/144 scale:  This scale is typically for an item that is in your 1:12 scale dollhouse. For example a 1/144 scale dollhouse would be a very small dollhouse that a doll would have within your dollhouse.

Comparison of Real Life 12 Foot Item

If you have a question about what scale you need or what scale an item is, please send us an email or call.  We would love to help you find the dollhouse or miniature that fits what you need.