Melissa & Doug Multi-Level Solid Wood Dollhouse

This dollhouse has all-wood construction and handcrafted style. View larger.

Kids love playing with 19 pieces of furniture in five different rooms. View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: All-wood dollhouse and accessories are charming and fun, as well as functional and durable. The Bad: A little bit of care needs to be taken to keep house in good working order. In a Nutshell: Beautiful, heirloom-quality, all-wood dollhouse and accessories provide hours of high-quality, imaginative play for children 3 and up. At a Glance Ages: 3 and up Requires: Phillips screwdriver

The completed dollhouse sports a cheery exterior with lavender and pink detailing. Its handcrafted, hand-painted appearance and all-wood construction give it a charming and timeless feel. Five working doors, lattice-style windows, and two balconies provide charming finishing touches. Turn the house around to view its five spacious rooms on three floors. Two wooden staircases connect the floors; they're movable and removable, which gives the house's configuration added versatility.

The house measures 24.5 x 28 x 15.5 inches when assembled.

Delightful, Imaginative Accessories
The dollhouse's five rooms are furnished with plenty of all-wood, hand-painted furniture: a living room set, complete with sofa, ottoman, coffee table, and two easy chairs; a kitchen counter and stovetop unit; a dining table with 4 dining chairs; a bedroom set including a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a cabinet, and an armoire; and a bathroom set with a bathtub, sink, and toilet. With working cabinet doors, softly rounded edges, and pink and lavender details, the furniture construction is charming, durable, and safe.

The dolls themselves -- a mother, father, two children, and an infant Ealso echo the house's folksy, handcrafted quality. They're simple, functional, and durable, with their wooden heads, hands, and wide clog-shaped feet, sweet, painted on smiley faces, glued-on yarn hair, and real cloth clothes. The limbs are bendable, so you can position the dolls to sit perfectly in the dining chairs, on the sofa, and even on the little hand-painted toilet. A few minor drawbacks: the real cloth outfits cannot be removed, to the disappointment of our young child tester; and although they'll definitely stand up to the play of young children, their yarn hair and twistable limbs might not last as long as the house and furniture will.

Durability and Care
We found the Multi-level Wooden Dollhouse to be pretty sturdy, but care needs to be taken to make sure it remains in good working order. For example, it cannot be lifted by its roof, as this will pull the top section right off. We found that it's best to carry the house from its bottom, rather than grasping any part of its sides, to make sure it stays intact. The painted exterior can also be relatively easily scratched, and an overly exuberant child could also damage the hinged doors. However, if just a little bit of care is taken with this beautiful house, it will weather time very well and can be passed down to future generations.