Follow these simple steps for perfect-fit dollhouse doors:

The doors of your dollhouse kit must be fitted in exactly the same way your windows would be installed. See our posting on How to Install Dollhouse Windows. When installing your miniature doors, it is essential that the door frame is flush with the interior wall. If the door frame is not flush with the interior wall, fill in the opening edges with 1/8-inch square wood to build up the door frame so that it is flush with the interior wall. The door trim will fit on top of the square wood pieces, giving your doors a professionally installed look.

Dollhouse interior doors will include wood frames around all four edges of the door. This includes a frame at the bottom of the door called a threshold (this is the lower sill of the doorway). The threshold helps the door to maintain its shape and contains the pin where the door pivots to open and close. You won’t usually find a threshold in real homes since it would make it difficult to install carpeting and hardwood floors that extend from one room to another.

Always test fit your doors, but don’t install them until your dollhouse carpeting or flooring is installed. The reason this is important is that you will want to remove the threshold of the door so that you won’t have to install your dollhouse flooring around the bottom threshold. This will give your dollhouse flooring a smooth, flowing look as the floor seamlessly extends from one room to another.

To remove the bottom threshold of the dollhouse door frame, cut the threshold from the vertical door frame making sure that the bottom of the vertical frame is almost even with the bottom of the door. Leave about a paper thickness of clearance between the bottom of the door frame and the flooring just in case you need to tape wire lighting or later decide to redecorate.

After you have cut your threshold, mark the location of the door’s bottom pivot pin on the floor and punch a new hole for that pin with a map pin. Test the door and frame to be sure the door swings properly.

If you are installing dollhouse carpeting, leave enough clearance, so that the door can swing open and closed. You will need to make sure the door is shorter than the side door mouldings. Place a sample of your carpet underneath the door to ensure that there is enough clearance to accommodate the carpet pile height so the door can swing open and shut. Also, the lower pivot pin may be too short to extend through the carpet. If this is the case, remove the old pin with a pair of pliers and replace using a regular straight pin.

Lastly, fit your trim around the edges of the dollhouse door frame. If you are upgrading to a more ornate trim (custom interior doors should have matching trim on both the inner and outer door frames), make your cuts on the replacement trim strips using a razor saw and mitre box. After your cuts have been made, fit the trim around the door to make sure you are happy with the end result. Lastly, don’t glue your doors or trim until all wallpaper, interior painting and floor finishing have been completed.

Zoolabees Dollhouse Miniatures carries a wide selection of dollhouse miniatures including miniature furniture, accessories, lighting, building supplies, dolls and dollhouse kits.

The above blog posting contains excerpts from Robert Schleicher’s Creative Dollhouses from Kits.