9 fascinating details hidden inside Barbie Dreamhouses throughout history
Zoe Rosenberg
- The Barbie Dreamhouse debuted in 1962, three years after its plastic resident hit toy store shelves.
- A new book about its design says that six Dreamhouse iterations since then reflect our society.
Life in plastic is fantastic, especially for ever-independent Barbara Millicent Roberts — better known as Barbie — cozied up in her iconic Dreamhouse.
Barbie hit toy store shelves in 1959, with the first Dreamhouse following three years later for $8. (The price tag was slightly higher west of the Rocky Mountains, according to an old ad.)
The new book "Barbie Dreamhouse: An Architectural Survey" takes a look at Barbie's history through the architecture and interiors of her consistently updated bachelorette pad.
In the decades since her debut, Barbie's been criticized for perpetuating impossible beauty standards and gender stereotypes, but her oft-evolving home has always been surprisingly modern, the book argues. Its design centers the idea that single women can truly have it all, and live a robust and enriching life outside of the confines of domesticity.
When the Barbie Dreamhouse debuted, it was a vision of a bachelorette pad for a woman unmoored from the expectations of her day. In 1962, women were not yet allowed to have their own bank accounts, so they were not often purchasing their own homes.
"But here is Barbie, owning her own Dreamhouse," Kim Culmone, Mattel's senior vice president of design, said in the book.
The coffee-table tome — published in December 2022 by Mattel in collaboration with design magazine Pin-Up, and edited by the magazine's Felix Burrichter and Whitney Mallett — makes the case that Barbie's house has always reflected cultural trends of the time.
Take the 1979 Dreamhouse's turn towards environmentalism, featuring its flower-filled window boxes, skylights, and a natural color palette. Or the addition of a Barbie wheelchair-accessible layout and recycling bins in later versions of the Dreamhouse.
The book is full of fascinating tidbits about and observations of the pint-sized abode, and points to the many design influences and intersections that would pique the interest of any true architecture, interior design, or Barbie buff.
We've extracted nine of the most noteworthy details.
Barbie's first Dreamhouse suggested she was a college-educated girl.
Barbie's 1962 Dreamhouse featured studious-looking books and varsity pennants, suggesting Barbie had attended college.
Another cheeky facet: Its single bed alluded that Ken was not a constant fixture in the pad, according to the book.
The 1974 Barbie Townhouse appears to be modeled after the work of a pioneering Modernist architect from Switzerland.
The Barbie Townhouse from 1974 bears a striking resemblance to the Maison Dom-Ino, a modular house designed by Modernist architect Le Corbusier.
The design for Maison Dom-Ino debuted in 1914 as a prototype for mass-produced housing that could act as a solution for the post-World War I reconstruction of Europe.
The 1979 A-frame marked the beginning of open-concept space for Barbie.
In this house, rooms were no longer assigned a specific use by printed interior backdrops depicting a kitchen or dining room wallpaper. Kids could rearrange the furniture into different rooms to create whatever spaces they wanted, a reflection of the free-wheeling spirit of the era.
The book compares the house's open-plan and nature-focused interiors to those at The Sea Ranch, a 1970s residential development along Northern California's coast with architecture that's informed by nature. (Design lovers adore Sea Ranch.)
The 1980s is the first sign of Barbie's now-signature all-pink aesthetic.
The rosy-hued 1985 Glamour Home didn't get its own spotlight in the book, but it's noted as a precursor to the 1990 Magical Mansion.
The Magical Mansion, for its part, was dripping in aspirational furnishings and architecture in shades of pink, including its Doric columns and rose-patterned wallpaper that evoked the Laura Ashley obsession.
It was a reflection of the romanticism and opulence of the era.
The Magical Mansion sold for $399 when it debuted in 1990, roughly equivalent to $900 in 2022.
Mint condition models of the house fetch "well over $4,000" on the secondary market these days. The house also featured a brush-stroke pattern on its furniture that got ahead of the "Jazz" pattern that would become immortalized on paper cups after its 1993 debut.
A hanging depiction of a Victorian-era house in the 1962 Dreamhouse appears to have inspired the 2000 Dreamhouse.
"Perhaps the painting was of Barbara Millicent Roberts's childhood home, a token of where Barbie grew up — the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin — offering inspiration for the turreted two-story to come," according to the book.
The 2021 Dreamhouse is a beachy flat-roofed take on the "content houses'' of today.
The Barbie Dreamhouse took a decidedly modern turn in the last two years. Check out its third floor karaoke set-up, complete with a disco ball and a movable slide.
Teams at Mattel watch how children interact with the toy to design future Dreamhouses.
"It has a lot to do with accessibility and dexterity, because for most of our core audience, the house is taller than they are," said Culmone. "We want to make sure they're able to get in it and play in it, and that it has rooms that keep them occupied, which requires a high level of observation and analysis."
The teams have learned that kids like a recognizable roof line that gives the illusion it's a single-family home.
In addition to a roof line, kids also like sound effects.
Flushing toilet sounds? Always a hit.
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