5 Doll’s House Magazines Every Miniaturist Should Know About
A doll’s house magazine is one of the best sources of inspiration for designing and creating your own doll’s houses and miniatures. Since it’s been curated, the content is top quality, tried and tested. I especially look forward to seasonal editions, where a lot of the content focuses on a holiday, like Halloween. And I don’t think I’m the only creator who enjoys making holiday-themed miniatures and decorations. One of the most impressive things for me is the diversity of projects and how invested people are in creating beautiful, quirky, and unique miniatures.
Reasons to Read Dolls House Magazines
There are tons of reasons why I genuinely look forward to another month of my miniature magazine. They’re basically a treasure trove of ideas, inspiration, and DIY magic. Inside, there are articles on everything from crafting 1:12 furniture to painting the tiniest of details.
One of the best things about these magazines is that they cater to all skill levels. Whether you’re a newbie with dreams of building your first doll’s house or a seasoned pro looking for advanced tips and tricks, there’s something for everyone.
Doll’s house magazines also introduce you to a whole community of fellow enthusiasts. You’ll find profiles of passionate collectors, sneak peeks into their incredible miniature worlds, and maybe even discover local clubs or events to join.
5 Miniature Magazine Options
Each of the doll’s house magazines I discuss below is (or was) available as a digital and print subscription. The miniatures magazine landscape has shifted a bit since I first published this post — one title has ceased publication, a new and exciting one has launched, and a couple of others have quietly consolidated their web presence. I’ve updated everything below so you know exactly what’s still available, and where to find back issues for the ones that aren’t.
Dolls House and Miniature Scene
Update: Dolls House and Miniature Scene published its final issue in December 2023 and is no longer in print.
DHMS was my go-to miniature magazine, which I read consistently for about two years before it closed. The features were excellent and varied, showcasing myriad themes, specialisations, and crafting techniques. One of my favourite features was the polymer clay miniature food-making ‘lessons’ and seeing the progress of long-term projects of miniaturists. Dolls House and Miniature Scene covered a wide range of topics — not just doll’s houses — so you got a bit of everything with this magazine.
The good news is that back issues are still available digitally. You can browse and buy through Pocketmags or the app, so the archive is well worth dipping into if you’re looking for project inspiration.
Dollhouse Miniatures
Dollhouse Miniatures magazine has a clean, easy-to-read layout with huge, clear, well-taken photos. This is perfect since the majority of the magazine showcases incredibly detailed projects and miniatures. As the name suggests, it’s very heavy on showcasing all things dolls houses, from creating houses from scratch to designing furniture and tiny accessories.
Dollhouse Miniatures is the American counterpart to its UK sister magazine, Dolls House World. While the magazine is somewhat more focused on an American audience, there is still lots of international content, especially miniaturist showcases.
Browse Dollhouse Miniatures on Pocketmags, or access their digital library at i-mag.co.uk.
Dolls House World
Dolls House World is packed with tips and tricks for creating and decorating miniature dollhouses. You’ll find articles on crafting mini furniture, designing tiny interiors, and even interviews with talented miniature artists. Like its sister publications, it covers a wide range of styles and skill levels, and the photography is consistently gorgeous.
Ashdown (DHW’s publisher) also runs a free weekly online companion called Dollshouse.live, which pulls together features, projects, and videos from across their titles — worth bookmarking if you want a regular free fix between issues.
Browse Dolls House World on Pocketmags, or access their full digital library, including back issues at i-mag.co.uk.
American Miniaturist
American Miniaturist has more projects than the other magazines, and the overall spread is glossier and higher-spec, with larger photos and copy that’s a bit easier to read. This is much more American-themed, but personally, this doesn’t bother me, as many of the tools and materials mentioned are still available in the UK and elsewhere. It also has its own dedicated video channel, Dollshouse.TV, with tutorial content you can access alongside your subscription.
Browse American Miniaturist on Pocketmags, or access their digital library at i-mag.co.uk.
Petite Properties Magazine
If you work on a smaller scale, Petite Properties Magazine is well worth knowing about. Launched in 2024, it’s a quarterly publication dedicated entirely to 1:24, 1:48, 1:144, and railway scales. At 100 pages an issue, it’s a proper read, and it’s clearly struck a chord: the first two print runs sold out completely.
The content leans into the craft and artisan side of smaller-scale miniatures, with features, interviews and projects from makers working at the more exacting end of the hobby. At £5.99 per issue, it’s good value, and for anyone who’s ever felt that 1:12 magazines don’t quite speak to their scale, this one genuinely fills a gap.
You can get print and digital editions directly from Petite Properties, or read digitally via Issuu.
Quick Miniature Magazine Overview
| Magazine | Status | Location | Content Focus | Style | Target Audience |
| Dolls House and Miniature Scene | Back issues only (ceased Dec 2023) | UK | Articles, tutorials, features | Broad range, traditional and modern | Beginners and experienced enthusiasts |
| Dollhouse Miniatures | Active | US | Tutorials, DIY projects, showcases | Detailed, intricate | Dollhouse collectors and miniaturists |
| Dolls House World | Active | UK | Articles, showcases, reader submissions | Wide variety, historical and modern | Beginners and advanced enthusiasts |
| American Miniaturist | Active | US | Features, profiles, step-by-step guides | American-style, artisan profiles | Miniature collectors and enthusiasts |
| Petite Properties | Active (quarterly, from 2024) | UK | Projects, interviews, maker showcases | Craft-focused, smaller scales | 1:24, 1:48 and micro-scale miniaturists |
Magazine Differences
As the name suggests, American Miniaturist focuses mostly on an American readership. Does this matter? Along with Dollhouse Miniatures, it contains ads, product suggestions, and localised fairs and events that set it apart from the others, but the mini projects and features are almost all relevant to a non-American audience.
Occasionally, there are some culturally specific events, such as Dolls House and Miniature Scene’s focus on the King’s Coronation, while American Miniaturist and Dollhouse Miniatures are a little more heavy on the July 4 and that kind of thing.
I quite like seeing what’s trending in the US as far as miniatures go, and I enjoy the articles looking at vintage dolls and brands that didn’t become popular in the UK.
These magazines actually incorporate content from all over the world, so no matter which one you choose, you’ll get a global showcase of miniaturists.
Choosing a Miniature Magazine
I know we’ve only got so many hours in the day, so if you can’t choose between them, here’s my suggestion:
Go Digital
Dolls House and Miniature Scene, Dollhouse Miniatures, Dolls House World, and American Miniaturist are ALL available at Pocketmags.
I’m not an affiliate of Pocketmags, but it’s what I’ve used to read digital mags for a while now, and so far, so good.
Reasons to choose Pocketmags
- Read on your computer, tablet, and smartphone
- Sync between platforms to the last page you read
- Pocketmags offers individual subscriptions or Pocketmags Plus, which gives you unlimited access to their entire catalogue of digital magazines. Even if you only subscribe to two magazines, you’re probably better off trying Plus+
- You can get free miniature dollhouse magazine samples to check out
- Back issues and special offers
- Not guilting anyone, but kinda better for the environment too
- Some magazines (DHMS for sure) include ‘Digital Exclusives’ with each issue. Most of the time, they add more feature images to enjoy or an extra project
Ashdown Magazines make Dollhouse Miniatures, Dolls House World and American Miniaturist have their own digital platform, i-mag.co.uk and app.
Dolls House Magazine Back Issues
If you’re hunting for older content — whether it’s a specific project, a technique, or just an afternoon of miniature rabbit-holing — all four of the long-running titles have decent digital archives.
Back issues of Dolls House and Miniature Scene (including a large portion of its print run) are available through Pocketmags. Dolls House World, Dollhouse Miniatures, and American Miniaturist all have their back catalogue accessible through i-mag.co.uk, Ashdown’s own digital library platform.
Printed Dolls House Magazines
As I mentioned before, 4 of these magazines are still available in print. Since I live overseas, getting printed magazines isn’t really an option. I love all the advantages of digital versions, but sometimes, I’d really love to spend an afternoon enthusiastically flicking through pages instead of zooming in on my iPhone.
Printed mag subscriptions sometimes come with freebies, too (see digital mags for details), so check out their websites to see what interests you.
Where to Buy, Subscribe to and Read Miniature Magazines
| Magazine | Digital / Back Issues | Pocketmags |
| Dolls House and Miniature Scene | Back issues — Pocketmags app | Link |
| Dollhouse Miniatures | i-mag.co.uk | Link |
| Dolls House World | i-mag.co.uk | Link |
| American Miniaturist | i-mag.co.uk | Link |
| Petite Properties | petitepropertiesltd.com / Issuu | Not available |
Pocketmags Links
Note: Dolls House and Miniature Scene is available for back issues only — there’s no active subscription since it ceased publication in December 2023. Petite Properties isn’t on Pocketmags at all; you’ll find it at petitepropertiesltd.com or Issuu instead.
