Houston Decorative Center

High-end playhouses: Child's play, grown-up cash

Even in a troubled economy, some parents of means are willing to spend eye-popping sums on playhouses for their children. High-end playhouses can cost as much as $200,000 and come in a variety of styles, including replicas of real houses and fantastical creations like pirate ships and treetop hideouts.

By KATE MURPHY

The New York Times

Apart from the open bar by the swimming pool, the main attraction at parties held at the Houston home of John Schiller, an oil company executive, and his wife, Kristi, a Playboy model turned blogger, is the $50,000 playhouse the couple had custom-built two years ago for their daughter, Sinclair, now 4.

Cocktails in hand, guests duck to enter through the 4 ½-foot door. Once inside, they could be forgiven for feeling as if they've fallen down the rabbit hole.

Built in the same style as the Schillers' expansive main house, the two-story 170-square-foot playhouse has vaulted ceilings that rise from 5 to 8 feet tall, furnishings scaled down to two-thirds of normal size, hardwood floors and a faux fireplace with a fanciful mosaic mantel.

The little stainless-steel sink in the kitchen has running water, and the matching stainless-steel mini fridge and freezer are stocked with juice boxes and Popsicles. Upstairs is a sitting area with a child-size sofa and chairs for watching DVDs on the 32-inch flat-screen TV. The windows, which all open, have screens to keep out mosquitoes, and there are begonias in the window boxes. And, of course, the playhouse is air-conditioned. This is Texas, after all.

"I think of it as bling for the yard," said Kristi Schiller, 40.

Some people might consider it "obnoxious" for a child to have a playhouse that costs more and has more amenities than some real houses, she conceded. But she sees it as an extension of the family home. "My daughter loves it," she said. "And it's certainly a conversation piece."

Even in a troubled economy, it seems, some parents of means are willing to spend significant (if not eye-popping) sums on playhouses for their children that also function as a kind of backyard installation art.

There are a number of companies and independent craftsmen that make high-end playhouses, which can cost as much as $200,000, and come in a variety of styles, including replicas of real houses, like the Schillers', and more-fantastical creations like pirate ships, treetop hideouts and fairy tale cottages. And many of these manufacturers report that despite the economic downturn, they are as busy as ever.

Decorative Center Houston | H-Texas Magazine

Events, the day will be filled to the brim with exciting events and seminars at many of Decorative Center Houston’s exclusive tenants.

Contact: For more information, contact Kathryn Smith at 713-627-8777 or email stourtellot@aol.com or Kristina Larson at 713-961-9292, or email klarson@decorativecenter.com .  Also, for updates go to www.decorativecenter.com .

About DCH:   Decorative Center Houston (DCH) is the leading source in the southwest for full service design needs. The epicenter of the design industry in Texas, Decorative Center Houston, houses over 40 showrooms that feature the finest furniture, fabrics, lighting, floor coverings, wall coverings, and accessories from over 1,200 interior product lines. Providing our clients with a one-stop shopping experience, DCH is located only minutes away from the celebrated Galleria shopping complex, and the downtown business district, Decorative Center Houston offers tenants over 500,000 square feet of premier showroom and office space.  In addition to DCH, Cohen Design Centers include the PDC in Los Angeles, California, DCOTA in Dania Beach, Florida, and DDB in New York, New York. For more information regarding Decorative Center Houston please visit www.decorativecenter.

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