Designers imagine a real-life Dream House as popular icon turns 50

Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) - Life in plastic, it's fantastic." _Aqua, "Barbie Girl," 1997

Put 50 candles on Barbie's cake. The enduringly perky plaything hit the half-century mark March 9.

Barbie has been a cultural icon for all her five decades, a symbol of both unattainable beauty and unparalleled achievement. And her address, the Barbie Dream House, has been an object of desire for countless wanna-be Barbies.

So that got us to thinking: Now that a couple of Barbie-bred generations are solidly into homeownership age, how would they translate their youthful domestic fantasies into reality? In other words, what would a real-life Barbie Dream House look like?

Just for fun, we put that question to some interior designers. Here's what they imagined.

Any good designer will tell you the first step in creating a home is understanding the client. In Barbie's case, who she is depends a lot on who you imagine her to be.

Two things are clear, however: Barbie's single, and she's rich. "Because let's face it: Barbie is successful at everything," said Michelle Williams of Chicago's Michelle Williams Interiors.

Shari Hiller, who was co-host of the Northeast Ohio-based HGTV show "Room By Room," pictures Barbie at 50 as a woman of vast and varied experience, having pursued dozens of careers that include nightclub singer, astronaut, NASCAR driver and presidential candidate. Hiller also figures the fashionable Barbie married Ken young, "but she probably dumped him because he only had, like, six outfits."

Is Barbie a mom? Most of the designers didn't think so, and toy maker Mattel Inc. denies rumors to that effect. But Hudson interior designer Pamela Bayer thinks otherwise. She sees Barbie as having kids in college, so her Dream House has to have rooms for them to come home to, "but not to nest too long," Bayer said. That would cramp Barbie's independent style.

STILL STYLISH AND FLASHY

Barbie is, of course, stylish. After all, teen model and fashion editor were her first two jobs.

Judging from her wardrobe, she's adventurous when it comes to color. Barbie dresses in bright tones, Williams noted, and she puts together hues you wouldn't necessarily think of as going together. (That's a nice way of saying her fashion sense is a little on the flashy side _ or, as Williams diplomatically put it, "bigger than life.")

Sagamore Hills, Ohio, designer Betty Scaparotti sees Barbie as a "sparkle girl," one who loves glamour and glitz. Scaparotti has had some of those among her clients at Cellura Designs in Bedford Heights, Ohio, so she knows to include crystal chandeliers, beads, sequins and a measure of glimmer and sheen in the Dream House _ but not to overdo it.

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But would Barbie's home be done in her signature pink?

Not necessarily. "She's gone way beyond that," said Bayer, who pictures Barbie living in a contemporary setting in trendy colors such as brown and blue. Scaparotti sees lots of elegant white fabrics with bright accents in hot pinks and icy blues, while Laura Buehner of the Akron, Ohio, design firm La Maison pictures bright colors such as lime green, red, pink and blue _ "happy colors," she said.

Maybe Barbie would have one pink wall, perhaps in her office, Bath Township, Ohio, interior designer Christine Haught said. Or, Hiller suggested, maybe she'd use a sophisticated, pale pink on the walls, because "it makes her look beautiful."

Like Barbie needs the help.

CUSTOM CLOSET ESSENTIAL

So what kinds of features would a real Dream House contain?

Definitely a huge custom closet for all her clothes and shoes, Buehner said. Haught even thinks she'd need a room just for the footwear. And maybe the closet would be automated: Hiller imagines the kind of movable rack you see at the dry cleaner, so the right outfit could be summoned at the touch of a button.

She'd need an office, of course, because anyone with Barbie's credentials would undoubtedly be writing a memoir. Perhaps the work space would be part of her elegant bedroom, Hiller said, with a desk in front of a big window overlooking the beach.

And of course, she'd need an extra-large garage, Bayer noted. Where else would she park her pink convertible and the Barbie SUV?

PLENTY OF GUEST ROOMS

Barbie has a big family and an extensive circle of friends, so Hiller imagines the Dream House would have plenty of guest rooms to accommodate cousin Francie, best friend Midge and little sister Skipper, "who's gotta be 40, divorced, couple of kids."

And what about Ken? Both Haught and Williams think the Dream House would need to have a masculine space for Barbie's ex, because despite their well-publicized breakup in 2004 after 43 years together, he and Barbie are still friends. "I mean, we need somebody to wash the dishes and walk the dog," Williams joked.

Barbie might need someone to cook the meals, too. Although Bayer thinks she'd be a fabulous cook _ after all, that's what she imagined her own childhood Barbie to be _ Hiller isn't so sure.

"My Barbie never cooked. Never," she said. To her way of thinking, the Dream House would have a decked-out kitchen only if it came with a personal chef.

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YOGA STUDIO FOR FITNESS

And let's not forget Barbie's fitness needs. At 50, those long legs don't stay lean on their own.

Haught would give Barbie a yoga studio so she could address her one flaw, her lack of flexibility. And she said Barbie would certainly have a home workout room to keep up that impossibly well-proportioned shape while maintaining her busy schedule

"If she's going to run for president and wear stilettos and have boobs like that," Haught said, "she's gotta be able to do everything from her house."

Then again, with her body composition, there's always plastic surgery.

So even when she's 70, she'll still be a doll.

___

© 2009, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).