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The classic doll house is a staple toy with often accompanied by miniature pieces of furniture since the mid 1500s and provides an enormous amount of enjoyment through imagination play and re-enacting or creating new situations and experiences.
Kids of all ages can play with an ‘old school’ wooden dollhouse or more modern moulded plastic dollhouse as they come in different sizes, complexities and of course themes. It can be a little confusing to which is the best dollhouse for children of a particular age and which ones offer the best value and largest amount of enjoyment playing with them. Some kids love certain brands which can play a big part.
This article provides some recommendations of the best dollhouses you can buy in the UK (this is a UK based website) with as much variation as possible to help cater for as many children and families as possible. Enjoy!
Best Doll Houses Reviews
Contents
KidKraft Majestic Mansion Wooden Dolls House
We start with what feel is the one of the best overall dollhouse on the market that should meet most children’s needs and made with quality materials for a stunningly realistic mansion. Be warned, it’s massive.
The reason why we feel this is deserving of your recommendations is the vast number of rooms (7) over four floors, each of which is decorated uniquely and beautifully to re enact practically any home story for your child along with the staggering 34 different piece of furniture. It’s pretty big as well so it’s a lot more engaging when things aren’t so fiddly to play with.
It’s a wooden dollhouse which brings with it an extra cost due to the materials and craftsmanship but as a result you get dollhouses which are warmer to the touch and feel more alive. It’s also built to last hours and hours of play. We know it sounds daft but a wooden house feels a lot more realistic because it closer matches what a real house feels like. There’s no age range from the manufacturer but we recommend this for 3 year old kids and above.
KidKraft have made a marvellous mansion here a truly remarkable sight and perhaps the ultimate doll house money can buy. If you have the budget and the space for it then this should be in your shortlist.
Milliard Wooden Doll House
This glorious 30 inches tall wooden dollhouse is a marvel to behold and one of the best quality construction and finishes we’ve seen in all of the dollhouses we’ve reviewed. 5 large rooms over 3 floors and 20 pieces of furniture can provide hours and entertainment for kids 3 year old and above. But, it doesn’t come with its own dolls bizarrely. However, they do recommend dolls of 2-4 inches in size which is more or less the size of any toy doll on the market so their options are pretty wide.
You may look at this dollhouse and wonder why we feel its deserving to be among the best out there and the simple fact is value for money. This is a rather large house with a very modest price for what you get. This is the house parents who are thinking “I want something big but I don’t want to spend big”. Large dollhouses are very impressive and exciting but their often carry a large cost to have the privilege of owning one. This could be your answer.
It’s bright, colourful, well put together and kids can play for hours and hours with whatever dolls they have.
Sylvanian Families Red Roof Country Home
For something a little smaller, made with plastic and hugely expandable then we recommend the Sylvanian Families line and as a mid range starter the red roof country home. Sylvanian Families are play figures that kids can use to create pretend play experiences around a wide variety of scenarios such as at the home and beyond. Sylvanian Families may be somewhat expensive but we recommend them because the quality is always so high and the ability to add more is easy since the entire range is so massive.
We have chosen to highlight this specific SV dollhouse because it has a large enough number of rooms (4), the house itself can be configured (roof taken off etc) and it is open and close which saves space. Disappointingly, this dollhouse doesn’t come with furniture so be sure to pick up a pack along with this. Suitable for 3 year olds and up.
The house is made with child friendly non-toxic plastic but there is plenty of feel and texture to each part so it doesn’t feel cheap. It looks like a real villa and a perfect home for any small dolls even if they aren’t the same SV brand.
Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Dollhouse
Melissa & Doug make a fantastic dollhouse that we would regard as a fantastic entry for kids to the world of pretend play with pieces of furniture and small dolls. It is a simple open and fold house made of wood with accompanying dolls to play with. It is roughly 8 inches tall with dolls which are 3 inches tall and suitable for children 2 years up (Melissa recommends 3 to be safe).
It’s small, simplistic but has enough decoration to engage children into imagination play and won’t break the bank. This is a fantastic dollhouse for parents who want to find out how much interest their child might have in a toy like this and don’t want to have the hassle of having to do any assembly.
Peppa Pig Wooden Playhouse
If your child is into Peppa Pig then this dollhouse made of wood is an absolute delight as it allows them to re enact their favourite show any time they want. There are 8 rooms, each decorated in line with the colour scheme of the television programme but not quite faithfully, but we doubt your child will care. Each room provides a different scenario – two playrooms, two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, living room and a hallway. Furniture is included (20) and two dolls which are George and Pig. Other Peppa Pig characters are sold separately which is a shame.
The construction of the wood is decent but quite basic and cheap in parts when comparing to other more grand houses, but it will only be the adults who notice this. There is no texture to the surfaces and the decoration is painted on. Our son is a pretty big fan of the pink swine and he was over the moon with this house, a lot more than others which he didn’t have any existing context to apply to.
If your children love Peppa Pig then this is among the best dollhouses but if not then it’s nothing special.
deAO Children’s 2-In-1 Pink Portable Doll House Play
This is quite a niche dollhouse from Welsh toymakers deAO in both form and function as it can all open and fold into a handbag. We don’t like how some toys are clearly marketed to a single gender but it’s fair to say it might be little girls who will want this the most. That aside, this is a dollhouse that’s a bit quirky and exceptionally space saving.
Once unfolded, it brings out an open plan house complete with a small bathroom and bedroom, a living room and a lounge area. Comes complete with a lot of accessories for its size which includes the dolls and the furniture to re enact a single person’s household.
We can’t lie – it’s made of cheap plastic and it does indeed feel quite cheap to touch but it’s well worth considering for young girls who are well into their imagination home play that may want to take dollhouses away with them on holiday either in the UK or abroad. Practically no other brand of dollhouse can say the same as this one.
Lastly, this product is relatively cheap coming in at under £30 in most cases so it’s not like you are breaking the budget to get it either. Quirky and niche and probably perfect for a girly girl somewhere.
KidKraft Charlie Wooden Dollhouse
KidKraft are perhaps the kings of modern dollhouses in the UK with a wide variety of design choices for infants and toddlers. Despite their biggest and most expensive models being the best when cost isn’t factored in, they still offer plenty of little houses which can provide hours of playing enjoyment, too. Out of their smaller dollhouses we think the ‘Charlie’ model is the best value for money.
Featuring 5 decorated rooms complete with around 20 pieces of furniture the Charlie wood playing house offers a massive structure at a cheaper price than most KidKraft products. It has easy assembly instructions to follow, takes a moderate amount of space in the home and can easily lie flat against a wall or a corner. Lots of accessories included and any existing toys up to 18cm can fit in perfectly.
If you’ve seen KidKraft as a solid brand but the larger toddler sized majestic mansions are a little too much to handle and you don’t have the room for it then the Charlie model will be perfect.
Barbie Dreamhouse Playset
The Barbie Dreamhouse is perhaps the most famous dollhouse in the world with it being featured in TV adverts, magazines and parodied in so many TV shows for decades. Suitable for a kids 3 and up it is simply a pink marvel to behold and regardless of your position on the gender issue, has been marketed for traditional little girls. However, is it any good and is it deserving of the enormous price tag? Our initial thoughts is no. When compared with other dollhouses on the UK market the price is obscene and you will get more value, furniture, pieces and playing time from other brands but if your toddler is a big fan of Barbie will this be the one they want? Absolutely yes.
The dream house is 3 feet tall (about the average height of a 3 year old age toddler) and four feet wide this house is very big. It’s made with moulded plastic which means there is some assembly required but it is easy and most accessories simply click into place. The eight rooms are spread over three generously sized floors complete with a slide and a fully functioning elevator. The elevator seems a bit pointless but it does add to the modern feel.
The dollhouse is fully decorated in classic Pink Barbie which again is aimed towards a particular gender. The decorations are quite rich and full of detail to help your toddler really get into the feel of the world of Barbie.
However, as good as the dollhouse is we definitely feel that 50% of the cost is for the brand and you can easily get a dollhouse of the same quality suitable a for a toddler for half the price. But, only Barbie product includes the Barbie theme and branding so this may sway what your toddler actually wants.
CUTEBEE Dollhouse Miniature with Furniture
Looking for a dollhouse kit? Then CUTEBEE are the best brand on the market which offer these kits. Be aware that this is a product designed for adults and not to be played with by kids younger than approximately 8 year old. This is a fantastic Christmas, Valentine’s or birthday present for someone who loves interior decor. The level of details in the building and accessories is second to none and a really fun activity to put it all together.
A really high quality gift to buy for adults that kids can perhaps enjoy looking at.
Dollhouses for Children FAQs
Which dollhouse is best?
The best dollhouse in our opinion is the Majestic Mansion. However, this may not be suitable for everyone because it takes up a lot of space, made of wood and expensive. The best for you may be a different one. Take a look at our full list to see what it includes and you may find a different one which suits your needs.
What age is appropriate for dollhouse?
A dollhouse is typically aimed towards 3 and 4 year old toddlers and kids. However, there are much smaller and more basic dollhouses (usually out of wood) out there which can be used by kids aged from 2. The danger with getting a dollhouse too young is the accessories are often a choking hazard.
What is the best doll house kit?
CUTEBEE are the top picks for dollhouse kits with a large variety of models available with different accessories such as a garden floor and elevator. However, it is not kids toys but rather a fun room for adults to put together and put on display in the house.
Do Barbies fit in KidKraft dollhouses?
You may struggle to fit in most Barbies in a KK dollhouse set as they are much taller than the open room design they have. That’s not to say kids won’t be able to have fun with both brands but that they are simply not designed to work with each other. The Barbie brand do make their own dollhouse set which may be a better option.
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