Die cut dollhouses have components with custom measurements and because of this it is sometimes difficult to find components that will fit them properly.
I decided to use a door kit by Chrysnbon. I really love Chrysnbon because out of all the dollhouse accessory manufacturers out there, they are truest to one inch scale. I had never used their door kits before though but after receiving the kit and looking over it, they once again did not fail to deliver. These doors are perfect for die cut dollhouses. They are 1/8" thick so they will fit perfectly into your door openings, for non-working doors. If you do decide to hinge them, the added thickness is minimal and easily tweaked. The kit also brings all of the surrounding trim, including the threshold, the hardware needed to hinge the door and even the doorknobs. They also have several door designs for you to choose from. Best part is that the hinges do not require tiny nails. They are glued in place so you do not have to to fuss with them.
Just because the door is the right thickness, doesn't mean it is the right height and width. It is very similar though so the tweaking to get the door on, will not be much. The best way to do this is to cut out your door opening to fit your door before the dollhouse comes together. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure what door I would be using so I had the bad luck of having to do it afterwards. So always try to make a decision as to what doors you will use on your kit before assembly.
I needed to cut more height on the door openings and just a little bit of more width. The doors themselves are pretty hard. They are polystyrene, made to look like wood. It even has grain on it. It will not be easy to cut them down but I actually had to because my dollhouse was already assembled so it was just the easiest way to achieve the right height. I cut the door at the bottom using the Easy Cutter and a box cutter because the cutting tool on my Dremel came up missing but that would have been the easiest way.
I decided to cut the dollhouse door opening instead of the door, to achieve the width. Cutting your dollhouse walls to size is easy to do with a box cutter or you can use the cutting tool on a Dremel, if you have one. Don't try to do it with a craft knife because it will not work. Though the walls are a thin 1/8" in thickness, the plywood is pretty hard and dense. You have to really work at it with a box cutter.
Once I had the right size opening, I just inserted the door, like I would have done with the regular dollhouse kit doors and it fit perfectly. I didn't hinge my door since I was not interested in working doors but you if you want to, you can. Just follow the instructions that came with your door kit. Remember to use the recommended adhesive for polystyrene, since it will not glue to itself with any other type. Tacky glue will work fine when bonding polystyrene to any other material, but not to itself.
I did not need the threshold or the top part of the door. I did need the trim. I went ahead and glued that all around the door. I let everything dry over night.
After the glue was dried, I painted my door white. The door already comes in a white color but the hue was slightly different from the white I used so I had to paint it. Painting polystyrene is not difficult but you have to be careful with keeping it smooth. Paint a little at a time and try to not go over the same area too many times. A good way to smooth paint down on polystyrene is by rubbing it with your fingers once it's completely dried. Avoid having to give it a second coat. Too much paint on this material really begins to look bad. After the paint is dry, you can then give it a coat of clear varnish if you want some shine or leave it as is.
I did not use the doorknobs that came with the door kit since in my real home, the doorknobs look like French door handles. I bought those in miniature instead.
I was able to find exterior hardware that is similar to what I have on my front door.
