Growing up, I would have accepted a dingy old shack for a playhouse and considered it the coolest place in the world. But these days it’s possible for kids to enjoy luxury playhouses that cost just as much as full-size homes, thanks to ‘La Petite Maison’, a business run by American architect Alan Mower.
Working with interior designer Michelle Pollak, Mower creates what he claims are ‘the most luxurious playhouses in the world’. The structures are built using architectural stylings from around the world, including a Tudor-themed house, a Mediterranean playhouse, a San Diego villa, a saloon-like Tom Sawyer house, and more. Most of these houses have two floors and the interiors are decorated with bespoke furniture that would look great in any normal size house. Electricity and water are included, and air conditioning and heating cost extra.
Of course, these exclusive playhouses will cost you an arm and a leg. Or an hour’s earnings, depending on how rich you are. A basic model playhouse is priced at a $9,000, but the cost can go up to a whopping $75,000 depending on what extra features you opt for. But that’s nothing compared to what celebrity parents Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are spending on the playhouse they’ve commissioned Mower to build for their two-year-old daughter. It’s going to be a $146,000 mansion, complete with a walk-in closet, kitchen, a loft, a reading nook, and a living room with a functional fireplace.
“There’s marble-top kitchens and hardwood floors throughout,” a source told The Sun. “It’s got a room just for clothes and one for watching movies. It’s so big it is practically a house in its own right. It’s much bigger and fancier than those the company already builds. Kim and Kanye feel guilty North didn’t really have her own home so are overcompensating.”
Denver-based Mower came up with the idea for the business when he was building a playhouse for his three-year-old daughter. “I was working in the commercial construction business, but was building a Wendy house for my daughter on the side,” he said. “I wanted to create something really elaborate for her Barbies.” He ended up building a luxurious child-sized mansion for her, and then thought of doing the same for other people’s kids as well.
“I get a lot of satisfaction building the houses for clients,” he said. “For me, it’s an opportunity to be creative. Watching people get excited about their houses is very personally fulfilling as well. When people ask me what I can do, my rule is whatever they want. I like to fulfill people’s bizarre requests.”
“Alan handcrafts each house to create exactly what you want,” the company’s website reads. “To ensure the distinctiveness of his designs, Alan signs each of his houses and adds an extra surprise for the children to find. Each playhouse and dog house is a work of art, created one piece at a time and exquisitely detailed. Nothing is built in a factory or mass produced. Because of this, we can accept only a limited number of clients each year.”
In the past, we’ve featured a $20,000 doghouse that Mower built for a woman named Tammy Kassis. The structure was a replica of her own home, a beautiful Victorian mansion, meant to house her three beloved dogs – Chelsea, Coco Puff, and Darla.
Photos: La Petite Maison
Sources: Daily Mail, Metro.co.uk
