Who designed the Barbie Dream House?
Barbie needed a place to reside and hang her countless wigs and costumes after her debut in 1959. She also required storage for her accoutrements. So, what should a female do? Of course, you should buy a house! Barbara Millicent Roberts, better known as Barbie, turns 62 on March 9. She’s been a worldwide phenomenon…
Barbie needed a place to reside and hang her countless wigs and costumes after her debut in 1959. She also required storage for her accoutrements. So, what should a female do? Of course, you should buy a house!
Barbara Millicent Roberts, better known as Barbie, turns 62 on March 9. She’s been a worldwide phenomenon since her debut in a now-iconic black-and-white swimsuit in 1959.
For a time, Dream Houses were out of favour, and Barbie Townhouses took their place. However, by 1980, the Dream House had returned, and in a major manner. Barbie celebrated her 21st birthday with a two-story A-frame McMansion!
From the exterior, it appeared to be modern and reminiscent of her early days in the sunny west. Certainly, the colours were out of the ordinary… yellow and white, with a rust-coloured shingled roof, appealed to Northerners (I grew up in New York) as the epitome of California—whether or not that was true.
This house was built of incredibly strong plastic, and “parents had to put it together.” Open-air skylights, a closet, a small deck, a variety of faux-jalousie windows, two sets of swinging doors, and a double door at the main entry provided a plethora of play opportunities. Later versions were pink and white, but I thought the yellow and white one was far more stylish.
The house, like its predecessors, could be divided into three halves and set up in various ways, and it came with a lot of strong pink plastic furniture.
Who designed the Barbie Dream House?
Elevators, doorbells, flushing toilets, sizzling stoves, and other technological pleasures were installed in Dream Houses by the 1990s.
But in 2009, Jonathan Adler changed everything. To commemorate Barbie’s 50th birthday, he built a 3,500-square-foot life-sized Dream House. This masterpiece is garishly coloured and over-the-top (ostrich feather furniture, anyone? ), but it’s still a lot of fun and very tongue-in-cheek.
