American Girl Dollhouse (Fits 18" Dolls)

Break down the sheets (or have the store rip them to 23-3/4" widths and just crosscut at home). Longest pieces first.

The 45° roof peak, no protractor: find the top center of each tall panel — 11-7/8" from either side — measure DOWN 11-7/8" on the sides, and connect the marks. That diagonal is your 45°.

Mark every window and door now and cut them with the jigsaw while the panels lie flat. A window cut into an assembled dollhouse is a punishment; the same window cut on sawhorses is a pleasure.

Attach the two sides and center divider to the bottom panel — 3/4"-setting pocket holes with 1-1/4" screws, holes facing down and inward where dolls won't testify to them.

Add the four upper floor panels with pocket holes drilled on their UNDERSIDES — invisible from every doll's-eye view. Floor heights set the room ceilings; an 18" doll wants about 22" of clearance to stand with hair intact.

The source made the top floor one big room, which leaves no center bearing under the ridge — so a plywood roof panel works for the big slope: glue and nail it with the top edge flush at the peak. (Going all-1x4 works too if you kept the upper divider.)

Pocket-hole the 1x4s into a single roof panel flat on the bench, then set and fasten the whole panel to the front slope. Building it as a unit first is why its board gaps stay even.

Glue and nail the 1/4" back into every wall and floor edge it crosses. Beyond keeping dolls from falling out the back, the panel is the shear web that stops a six-foot case from racking when it's rolled.

Screw the four casters to the bottom corners — the source's pick, and the right one for a piece that weighs as much as a dresser and lives in a kid's room. Prefer the furniture look? Trim the base in 1x4 instead.

Measure each window opening and build its 1x2 trim to fit snugly, gluing the pieces in place. Fitted one-by-one because jigsawed openings vary — the trim is what makes each one look intentional.

Prime and paint — this is the step where it becomes THE dollhouse, so let the resident designer pick colors. 1x2 shutters flanking the windows are the plan's someday-flourish; glue them on whenever the renovation budget allows.

Sand every opening edge a hand will reach through before handover. Then stand back: you built a house.