A beautifully papered and furnished dollhouse does not have to be a ‘box’. It can be a ‘home’ where families can live out their miniatures’ lives. And the floors of the different rooms of the dollhouse need to connect. This connection can be provided by stairs – a beautiful miniature staircase that can be as colorful as you like and provides a natural way of moving from one floor to another.
Staircases in dollhouses often create the moment of truth for the miniature hobbyist. The staircase will be a joy to complete and can add so much character to the interior of your miniature home. A simple straight run of stairs or a beautifully dressed banister with turned newels can add so much to the depth of a room and give the impression of a real home, especially when contrasted with the tiny furniture and decor.
Why Dollhouse Stairs Make Such a Big Difference
Stairs do far more than mull a corner. In 1 inch scale houses, they serve to draw the viewer’s eye upwards and pull the whole structure together. Open back dollhouses are often viewed from above, and stairs serve as an indication that someone lives there.
Your miniature’s floorspace is at a premium. A staircase takes up a fair amount of floor space; more importantly, it indicates how people will move around your dollhouse and thus affects the way you lay out the rooms. So often a designer will use their miniature dollhouse stairs as a design anchor.
The stair parts can be painted to match the colored paper used for the dollhouse’s wallpaper. Then the treads can be stained to provide a contrast to the painted risers and spindles. The one set of stairs can now be dressed up to look like a Victorian-era farmhouse, a light and airy seaside cottage, or even a classic New England colonial.
The addition of stairs in a room brings movement. A banister running around a landing directs the view upwards to the bedrooms and from there on down to the living room below, with a view down from the landing rail.
Matching Dollhouse Stairs to Your Floor-to-Ceiling Height
Knowing the floor-to-ceiling height of your dollhouse is important when choosing the stairs for your home. Stairs in a dollhouse are designed to go up to the next floor and it is important to have enough space between the floor and ceiling of your home. For 1 inch scale homes, typical heights are 9 inches and 8 1/8 inches for the smaller homes.
Width of Stairway (stair opening) also needs to be looked at in relation to the upper floor. A narrower stairway is more suitable for a small doll’s cottage whereas a slightly wider stairway would be more suitable for a larger Victorian style doll’s house.
Scale is also very important. We have tried to design the stair parts to work within the 1 inch scale, and to replicate in miniaturized form the parts of real stairs. So, a single riser, a single tread or a single rail should look like the real thing shrunk down by twelve times.
Measuring at the start of your project ensures that cutting down your stair parts will save you time and space later. Your finished staircase will also look far more realistic.
Wooden Dollhouse Stairs, Rails, and Kits from Our Collection
Our Stairs, Rails, Spindles & Posts collection includes our most popular items for interior construction. These favorite items can be used to complete your wooden dollhouse kit or to upgrade the stairway of your currently unfinished home.
Lilliput® Interior Staircase Kit
This is a highly versatile stair case kit suitable for use with all floor-to-ceiling heights from 8 1/8" up to 9". In particular this would be ideal for use with the majority of our current line of dollhouse kits. The staircase can be constructed to go up either the left or right side and includes all necessary materials to form the landing rail. The turnpost is located on the floor for 8 1/8" height buildings and on the bottom step for 9" height buildings. Plus, it is made from Pine and can be painted or stained.
Dollhouse Stairs for Many Junior Dollhouses
Dollhouse Stairs - Bottom Stair Block, Top Stair Block and Stringer. These MDF stairs are 2 1/4 inches wide and will fit into any 9-inch floor-to-ceiling height space. This set of dollhouse stairs is the same as used in our Victoria's Farmhouse, Vermont Farmhouse Jr., Alison Jr., Victorian Cottage Jr., Princess Anne, Beachside Bungalow, and Keeper's House Junior Series kits. The assembly of this set of dollhouse stairs is required. You can only paint the MDF stairs.
Dollhouse Banister & Landing Rail Pack
The Banister & Landing Rail Stairs Pack will complete your staircase and provide a beautifully finished interior to your house. The pack includes pre-cut banister, pre-cut railings, dowels, and fancy turned newels. This set works in conjunction with your dollhouse kit stairs, is for 1 inch scale dollhouses and has a 9-inch floor-to-ceiling height. It will complement many of our wooden dollhouse kits, including all the Junior Dollhouses and the New England Collection of dollhouses. The parts are supplied unpainted so you can paint or stain to match the interior of your house.
How Experienced Builders Get Dollhouse Stairs to Look Finished
Being prepared for loose parts is key. The smallest parts will disappear on you the moment you turn your back on your workbench. Therefore, keep all your risers, treads, and even the smallest parts of your railings in a small box.
By marking the first riser before starting to assemble the parts, you can ensure that this part is different from the rest of the stairs. If you lay out all the parts before starting to assemble, you can easily mix up the different risers. Marking the first riser with a pencil before starting to assemble, therefore, saves a lot of time and headaches.
It’s also worth noting that many hobbyists complete the walls of their room before commencing work on the staircase. Painting or papering around a fixed staircase can be a difficult task, and completing the walls first will result in a neater finish. Also, making sure that the staircase is square before commencing work will ensure that the staircase sits perfectly in the room.
Consider your paint and stain plan early. Painted stringers and stairs with stained treads make for a lovely contrast. A light sanding on the edges of the treads after staining will also give the stairs an aged look. Laying the flooring before starting the posts and stairs also makes for easier cutting of the flooring around the newels of the stairs.
Pairing Dollhouse Stairs with Wooden Dollhouse Kits
Most of our wooden dollhouse kits contain staircases, but these are normally designed to be basic in design and functionality. However, to give your finished dollhouse a little extra personal touch, it is always worth upgrading the stairway to include a full banister, turned newels, and possibly a matching landing rail to the upper opening of your dollhouse.
Minor changes to your stairs can have big effects. Using turned balusters instead of dowels, using taller newels instead of short posts, and even adding a landing rail to the upper opening of your interior stairs will give your home the custom look of having been handmade. Your stairway custom dollhouse stairs will blend with your porch rails and exterior trim and also with your other items of interior and exterior trim for your home.
It is also useful to consider ways in which you can tell a story using your stairs. For example, you could add a runner down the center of the stairs, a picture framed and hung on the landing, or even a small pot plant sitting on the bottom step. These sorts of touches help to bring a room to life and encourage people to take a closer look.
Dollhouse stairs add up quickly! Choose from the entire collection of wooden dollhouse parts to complete your miniature home. We have a variety of staircase parts to add to your dollhouse kits to make them your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What size are standard dollhouse stairs?
Most 1 inch scale dollhouse stairs are designed around a floor-to-ceiling height of about 8 1/8 to 9 inches. Always measure your own dollhouse before choosing a staircase.
2. Can I add dollhouse stairs to a kit that didn't come with them?
Yes. Many hobbyists add or replace stairs in their wooden dollhouse kits. Check your floor-to-ceiling height and stair opening first so the new staircase lands cleanly.
3. How do I know which dollhouse stairs fit my wooden dollhouse kit?
Compare the stair set's listed floor-to-ceiling height and width with your dollhouse. Product descriptions often name the kits or collections each set works with.
4. Can a dollhouse staircase be built to the left or right?
Some can. The Lilliput® Interior Staircase Kit can be built either left or right to suit your layout.
5. Should I paint dollhouse stairs before or after installing them?
Many builders paint and stain before installing, since it's much easier to reach every surface. Finishing the walls before the stairs go in also helps.
6.What is a banister and landing rail on a dollhouse staircase?
The banister runs along the stairs, while the landing rail runs along the upper floor opening. Together with newels and dowels, they give a staircase a finished, realistic look.
7. Do dollhouse stairs come assembled?
Many stair kits and rail packs arrive unfinished and need assembly. This lets you paint or stain each part exactly the way you like.
8. What's the difference between balusters, spindles, and newel posts?
Balusters and spindles are the small upright pieces under a rail. Newel posts are the larger posts at the start, end, or turn of a staircase or railing.
9. Can I remove dollhouse stairs to gain more room?
Yes. Some hobbyists remove the staircase and fill the stair opening to gain extra decorating space on both floors. Dollhouse Stair Plugs are available for purchase if this is what you would prefer to do to get more floor space.
10. Are dollhouse stair kits suitable for children?
Our stair and rail products are recommended for adult hobbyists and children ages 13 and up.