Tips and techniques
Peter explains that getting the proportions right is the primary consideration in designing and making a dolls’ house.
“It’s important to make the rooms large enough to offer a good view of the back wall and the space in front of it. If the room is too narrow it’s difficult to see to the back, let alone position the furniture and decorate.
“When I’m making furniture for the three main houses, I use a ¹/₁₂th scale, which is the same as Queen Mary’s Doll’s House. Detailed proportions are crucial for the furniture. Without the correct proportions and size, these pieces can appear very chunky: the thickness of a tabletop, the thickness of table and chair legs, the size of any wood inlays, the scale of any room ornaments, and suchlike, can make or break a piece, and therefore the room. I measure our full-size furniture at home when I’m planning a new piece and divide each measurement by 12.
“The grain of the wood on the pieces is also important. Although it will not be possible to get wood with a grain that is ¹/₁₂th the width of natural timber, I try to get as close a grained wood as possible.
“You want fine-grained wood like heart rimu and kauri. You can find small pieces at demolition timber outlets. I keep an eye out and have collected it over the years. At times people have approached me saying they have something I might be able to use. I have been known to buy secondhand chests of drawers just to get the wood. I also look for door jambs and skirting boards.
“I once used apricot wood from a branch in the garden to make a wardrobe for Claire’s dolls’ house, but I buy my 1mm base wood and other veneers in sheets from Acorn Models in Christchurch.”
It takes two or three days to make a piece of dolls’ furniture, depending on the number of glue-ups. Peter used metric measures, but the old dolls’ house books are in imperial measurements. He has made much the same pieces for each of the three dolls’ houses.
Peter points out that there is a distinction between miniatures and dolls’ house furniture. Miniatures tend to be fine pieces for display only and children can look at them under supervision. Dolls’ house furniture is designed to be played with and is more robust. The Brocklehurst houses are a fine balance of the two, whereby very careful children might play with the pieces under supervision.
Necessity breeds skills
Peter says his skills in woodworking were passed down from his father.
“I’ve always had the knack. I learnt by watching and helping him. Then, when I bought my own houses, I developed the skills out of the necessity to do them up and to make the kind of furniture we wanted.
“I do woodwork as a hobbyist or enthusiastic amateur. I make one or two pieces of furniture each year for our daughters — some for the dolls’ houses and some full size.”
As with any household, the dolls’ house decor is never finished. In all, in the two completed houses, there are 38 pieces of wooden furniture