13 Extreme Kids' Playhouses

Browse brilliant personal mini-homes built specifically for child's play

By Brynn Mannino

From WomansDay.com

Long gone are the days of sheet-and-pillow forts. Today’s kids have much more modern hideaways. Here, check out the most awe-inspiring models—some that cost thousands of dollars and boast fancy features like leatherette-finished bunks and built-in TV/DVD players. These pint-sized dwellings put a whole new spin on what it means to "play house."

Connecticut Castle

Designer Barbara Butler built this 32' x 44' x 16' wooden castle in 1999 for two boys to complement their parents’ 1910 English-style country home in Litchfield, Connecticut. Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler.

Malibu Lighthouse

Also built by Butler in 2001, this Pacific Ocean overlook and play fort in Malibu was inspired by images of lighthouse, sea waves and driftwood. Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler.

Fort Mediterranean

This 51'-long Butler-built playhouse—assembled in 2007 in Silicon Valley—summons a Mediterranean-inspired charm with its color palette and many bridges and hideaways. Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler.

Canyon Perch

Perched atop a 9'-tall stump, this tree fort—built in 2003, also by Butler—sits in a deep ravine, and offers kids a Swinging Bridge, a Look-Out Deck, a Trap Door, a Catwalk, a Rock Climbing Tower and more. Photo courtesy of Barbara Butler.

Americana Del Mar

Built in 2008 by Bill Mitchell and his University of California team, Irvine Facilities Management (who also did the interior design), this 10' x 8' playhouse mimics coastal cottages in Corona del Mar, California, and has a kitchen, a loft, and a flatscreen DVD player. Photo courtesy of David Heath of Western Exposure and Project Playhouse.

Train Play Station

Built in 2001 in Heber City, Utah, by Devrle Wells, who’s the former owner of WoodManor Playhouses, this little red residence is the perfect escape for any young kid who loves locomotives. Photo courtesy of WoodManor Playhouses.

Thoroughly Modern Manor

Designed by Bloomfield Hills, Michigan–based AZD Associates Architects, this 10' x 10' castle—featuring a curved metal roof, electric heat, built-in TV/DVD and creativity station—is a far cry from the sheet-shantied shacks of yesteryear; it was auctioned off for $30,000. Photo courtesy of AZD Associates Architects.

Pirate’s Playhouse

This Pirate-themed playhouse—from which protrudes an 8' x 6' galleon-style pirate bow—was available at Costco in 2006 for $18,499.99. Also included: An oversize log (of which no two were the same), swing, fireman’s pole and ship’s wheel. Photo courtesy of DisneyFrontier.com.

Redneck Retreat

This truck-crossed tree house—featuring a Victorian-style clubhouse and truck-bed balcony—allows kids a place to relax and, better yet, experience stationary adventures in the driver’s seat of the playhouse’s orange truck. Photo courtesy of Daniels Wood Land, Inc.

St. James Castle

This pretty-in-pink princess castle, whose morphed features conjure up thoughts of a carnival funhouse, is made of redwood log and includes a drawbridge, a turbo spiral slide, faux rock accents, a redwood dragon carving and more—all perfect for summoning any prince for a playdate. Photo courtesy of Daniels Wood Land, Inc.

Red Beard’s Revenge Pirate Ship House

Constructed of mahogany and steam-curved poplar planks, this 12' x 18' playhouse—which boasts leatherette-cushioned sleeping bunks, a waterproof roof, cannonball-riddled mast and rigging, and upper and lower decks constructed from Douglas fir—goes for a whopping $52,000 (to the luckiest kid in the room). Photo courtesy of PoshTots.com.

Habitable Polyhedron

Designed by Manuel Villa, this nature-surrounded dwelling—built in a family’s garden in Bogota, Colombia—is meant to embrace both children and adults alike while acting as an independent space from day-to-day activities. Photo courtesy of Inhabitots.com.

qb Playhouse

qb playhouses—currently only sold in Europe—are fully customizable. Kids can pick the color and print which will decorate the front of the sustainable wood-harvested frame and/or upload a print of their choice to the qb website,. Though expensive (€619–€749), proceeds are donated to Right to Play—a humanitarian organization that uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children. Photo courtesy of quubi.nl/.

'Pee-Wee's Playhouse: The Movie' Is Incoming, And We've Got Story Details

From: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/

by Larry Carroll

For my money, 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” remains one of the funniest, most endearing depictions of childhood silliness ever captured on camera. Now, the man with the high-pitched laugh and bowtie is finally back – and dishing exclusive details on his recently-completed screenplay for “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse: The Movie.”

“Boy, I sure hope [it gets made]. Yeah, we’re going to [do it],” explained an energetic (is there any other kind?) Pee-Wee Herman when I interviewed him in character on Monday. “I’m going to make a movie based on my kids show. Based on ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse.’”

Over the last few years, fans of veteran funnyman Paul Reubens have heard rumblings that he was feeling out the studios to see if they’d be willing to bring the world’s oldest little boy back to the big-screen for a third movie following Tim Burton’s “Adventure” and the 1988 spiritual sequel “Big Top Pee-wee.” Rumors were that he had two competing ideas: A darker adult one he’d call “The Pee-wee Herman Story” or a PG-friendly one based on his classic Saturday morning show. Well, the second idea won out – and now, the script is finished.

“It’s already done, the script is already fully written; It’s ready to shoot,” explained Pee-wee in his trademark style. “It’s ready to shoot tomorrow. Oh wait, not tomorrow! I’m not available tomorrow. I had a conflict, forgot.”

These days, Pee-wee is actually quite busy putting the final touches on “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” a live multimedia stage production that runs at L.A.’s Club Nokia for several weeks beginning January 12th. If those dates go well, Reubens hopes it will show Hollywood that moviegoers would pay to see a “Playhouse” flick that would have Pee-wee and such old friends as Jambi the genie and Magic Screen leaving the playhouse after one of their own goes missing.

“[Will we be] going out into the real world in the movie?” Pee-wee explained, answering a question about the script. “It’s not really the real world, it’s Puppetland. On ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse,’ on the television series we never left the playhouse, we were always inside the playhouse.”

“The movie is all out of the playhouse,” he revealed. “There are two scenes in the playhouse, but the rest is out of the playhouse.”

Once out in Puppetland, Pee-wee said, the group will encounter all sorts of eccentric new characters. “Yeah,” he said of new friends, who could possibly be created via Claymation, a la Penny or Large Marge or the food often glimpsed in Pee-Wee’s fridge back in the day. “But I can’t really tell anything about the movie at this time; it’s pretty much top-secret in Hollywood.”

So, if Pee-wee’s stage show goes well, keep your ears out for more news on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Movie.” “It’s a catchy title,” he said with a grin. “It was catchier than ‘Dukes of Hazzard: The Movie.’ Plus, that was already taken.”

Are you eager to see Pee-wee on the big-screen again?

Pee-wee Herman Rides Again

details.com — After carrying tabloid baggage for 18 years, Paul Reubens is back in the saddle---and in the Playhouse. Ready for a big adventure, boys and girls?

Click here to read this article: Pee-wee Herman Rides Again

Pee-Wee Herman Returns To Hollywood

by Peter Sciretta

Paul Reubens has been going around for the past couple years saying that he was developing two new Pee-Wee Herman feature films, one for adults, one for children. Neither of which seem to have advanced past the “is there anyone crazy enough to fund either of these films?” phase, but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t heard the last of Pee-Wee. Reubens has announced that he will be reprising the character live onstage in Hollywood, will have a limited engagement beginning November 8th, 2009, at The Music Box @ Fonda. Details after the jump.

“It’s time,” said Reubens in a press release. “My Pee-wee suit and red bow tie are at the ready - and this is proof that white shoes are cool past Labor Day.”

Some people may remember that before Pee-Wee Herman began his kids television show Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the character was created while Reubens was at The Groundlings. After being turned down by Saturday Night Live in 1980, Reubens created an adult stage show titled The Pee-Wee Herman Show. I remember watching a version of this show which aired on HBO in the mid- 1980’s, and was shocked at the raucous comedy which was only hinted at ever-so-slightly in the Tim Burton movie, and to a lesser extent, the children’s show. So Pee-Wee is indeed returning to where everything first began. You can watch a clip from the 1981 HBO show below.

This new version of The Pee-wee Herman Show is being billed as “Re-imagined, re-invented, and nuttier than ever.” But the press release says that it is”still about a wish,” and will include the characters Miss Yvonne, Mailman Mike, Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie, as well as Pee-wee’s talking chair, Chairry, Pterri the pterodactyl, robot Conky, Magic Screen, Randy, and many more. Many of the show’s original artists, both on stage and behind the scenes are involved in this re-imagined production. I find it somewhat doubtful that Laurence Fishburne will reprise his role as Cowboy Curtis , and Phil Hartman, who played Captain Carl, is obviously no longer with us.

Here is information about Pee-Wee and the original show, thanks to the press release:

The Pee-wee Herman Show” debuted at The Groundlings Theatre in 1981, then moved to the Roxy Theatre on Sunset Strip for five sold out months. Taped as part of HBO’s On Location series, the show catapulted Pee-wee into the national consciousness. It lead to Pee-wee’s many appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman,” followed by a 22-city tour that included Carnegie Hall. In 1985, Warner Brothers brought Pee-wee to the big screen with “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure”, Tim Burton’s feature film debut. Co-written by Reubens, it featured Danny Elfman’s first original film score.

The CBS television series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” premiered in 1986. During its five seasons, the show garnered 22 Emmy Awards. Pee-wee’s second film, “Big Top Pee-wee” was released in 1988. While “The Pee-wee Herman Show”, and “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” were an homage to an earlier generation’s television classics – “Howdy Doody,” “The Mickey Mouse Club,” “Captain Kangaroo,” “Kukla, Fran, and Ollie,” and “The Shari Lewis Show” – Pee-wee himself became one of the most original and beloved stars in all of television history and late-century American culture.

By the late 90s, even fashion was not immune to the style of Pee-wee as fashion designers like Christopher Bailey, Ennio Capasa, Miuccia Prada, Viktor & Rolf, and Thom Browne imitated the high armholes, short inseams, and tight cut suits that Pee-wee made as his trademark. In 2007, Nike created a version of the Nike SB sneaker loosely inspired by Pee-wee.

When Cartoon Network aired the series in 2006, 1.5 million viewers watched every night; the next year TV Guide named the “Playhouse” among the top 10 cult classics of all time. All of the episodes of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” have been issued on DVD (and iTunes) and are consistently best sellers. And as Pee-wee was influenced by the television classics that came before him, it is hard to imagine that “Blue’s Clues” or “SpongeBob Square Pants” would be quite the same without him.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, August 11 at 8 am at all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and by phone at 800-745-3000.