Scales/sizes for dollhouses and miniatures Part 1

The most common scale is 1 inch to 1 foot also called 1/12 inch scale. It is the most common because in the United States  It is the easiest to use because everybody has a 12"=1' long ruler around somewhere and you don't really need to do as much with fractions when you are building things. It is large enough that you can reasonably build doors and windows and drawers and doors on furniture that can actually open and close. You can put in as detail as you want, but it looks best if it is simplified just a bit, so things can look real without a lot of work. It is fairly easy to get the tools and materials that you need because there are several other hobbies that use the same items and they are not too expensive. An average person with a little care can easily decorate and furnish a house by themselves but there are thousands of places on the internet where you can ask questions and find people who are interested in the same type of house you like. However, if you want multiple houses or scenes, unless you have a big enough house, you will run out of room. Probably the average size for a house runs around 1-1/2'x 3'. If you want to be able to approach it from all sides, Figure 2' all around it and that runs to an area 5-1/2'x7' in your house that cannot be used for anything else. If you want more than one full house, you can quickly run out of room. You end up building an addition if you really have the dollhouse addiction or start using bookshelves as room boxes! 1/24 inch scale or 1" = 2' scale is very popular in Florida where I live. Many people move to Florida and downsize, so their dollhouse at home is too big to bring with them. It is fairly easy to work in. It just takes a bit longer and a bit more care, but most 1/12 scale tools and materials with work in 1/24 if you stick with the smaller and thinner ones. Unless you are an artisan, you will have trouble getting drawers and doors to open and close. As a rule of thumb, if you are looking at a 1/24 item in a catalog, assume that drawers, etc do not open unless they specifically say that they do. That shakes up a lot of people you are converting from 1/12. Generally a 1/24 house costs more than a 1/12 because even though there is less material used, the labor takes at least twice as long to make anything even with non opening doors. The good news is that you can fit a really nice 1/24 inch house almost anywhere and have as many as you want and they can look and play just like a 1/12 house. The bad news is that comparatively you have a very limited choice of furnishings and decorations unless you make them yourself. Also, they will cost considerably more than there larger counterparts. I have not found any large collected source of information about 1/24 on the web, only a few scattered ones. This was getting too long, so I will finish the rest of it tomorrow! If you have any comments, questions or disagreements with me, please let me know. I will never stop learning and would be glad to help anyone I can.