Miniature Cardboard Chairs for a Dollhouse

Use cardboard and Japanese architecture principals to create miniature chairs fit for a dollhouse.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Gather different colored and sized cardboard boxes for your project. The amount of cardboard needed is dependent on the number of chairs you want to make.

Step 2: Create a Template

Create a template that will serve as the basis for all your chairs or other furniture projects. Start with measuring a chair 3.5 inches wide and 5 inches tall. Make the width for the seat 1.5 inches and for the seat bak 1 inch.

Step 3: Cut Out Your Template

Cut our your template and use it to make 2 other chair forms. You will need two chair forms per chair.

Step 4: Joinery Part A

Measure 1 inch from the back of your chair and a cut a 1 cm vertical slit on the base of your chair. Measure another 1.5 inches from that slit and cut another 1 cm slit.

Step 5: Joinery Part B

Cut the same type of slits (1 cm) along the length of the chair and on the parallel side of the base. You should have 6 slits per chair.

Then using a thinner piece of cardboard (cardboard that come with Contact Solution or Cold Medicine is ideal), cut 1.5 inch by 1 cm strips. Cut 6 strips in total.

Instert these strips into the slits that you cut so that they act are joiners for your parallel templates.

Step 6: Chair Base

Now the base of your chair is complete and structurally sound.

Step 7: Decoration Part A

Now that the base of your chair is complete, it is time to make the seat back, top and seat cushion.

There are two ways to do this: First, you can measure and cut piece of cardboard to fit the seat back, seat cushion and top of your chair. You can affix these pieces to your chair base using a hot glue gun.

You can also decorate each piece before fixing it to your chair base/structure.

Step 8: Japanese Joinery Part B

You can also create your chair back, seat base and top using structural Japanese joinery. Cut your slits per Step 4 but increase an extra slit for the Seat back and seat base each. Then you can use two pieces of thinner cardboard to both secure the structure and serve as a chair back, seat base and top.

Make sure to measure the cardboards width and length before cutting and allow 1 cm extra to fill the slots and act as structural support.

Lastly, use the cardboard that covers the seat base to also serve as the second structural support for the base of your chair.

Miniature Cardboard Chairs for a Dollhouse