Barbie's Malibu Dream House Created On Human Scale In California (PHOTOS)

MALIBU, Calif. — Barbie's Malibu Dream House is coming true.

On the eve of her 50th birthday, interior decorator Jonathan Adler has decked out a real-life 3,500-square-foot pad overlooking the Pacific Ocean to look like the blond doll's outrageous home.

Adler, who was commissioned by toy maker Mattel Inc. to decorate the house for Monday's party, said outfitting the sleek mansion (a property that's frequently rented for film and photography shoots) took six months of planning and a few weeks to install.

• • • Jonathan Adler, the designer of Barbie's Real-Life Malibu Dream House, is pictured inside a mirror framed by Barbie Dolls in the house in Malibu, Calif., Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

"Barbie was a dream client because she doesn't exist as a person," Adler said. "She exists as fantasy and is the perfect client because she's always happy and fun and loves everything. I thought to myself, 'How would Barbie live?' What I thought was Barbie would have a house that is glamorous, kittenish, chic, colorful and happy _ as well as functional."

Adler lined Barbie's bedroom with wall-to-wall pink carpeting emblazoned with her initial. The closet is filled with 50 pairs of pink peep-toe heels while her kitchen is stocked with cupcake-making ingredients. An in-house museum features 25 vintage Barbie dolls on display. In the garage? A pink Volkswagen New Beetle with a motorized pop-up vanity in the trunk.

"I think this really is Barbie's Malibu Dream House because the setting is so incredibly dreamy and ethereal," Adler said. "We're perched on a cliff in Malibu overlooking the ocean. It's a fantasyland for anyone. It was difficult to find the house to celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday because it had to be the ultimate Malibu house, and I think we found it."

Decorating Barbie's real-world dream home, which will be the site Monday of a star-studded soiree celebrating the doll's birthday, was a dream for Adler, the potter and decorator who has served as head judge on Bravo's "Top Design." He said Mattel gave him access to the company's archives, including a look at all of Barbie's various dream homes over the years.

Following the festivities, most of Barbie's custom decor will be shipped to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to furnish a special pink-tinted Barbie Suite that will be available for bachelorette parties, birthdays or anyone who wants to live like Barbie. Other items will be available from the "Jonathan Adler Loves Barbie" collection launching in September.

Adler's favorite furnishings are hanging in the living room: an original Andy Warhol portrait of Barbie valued at over $200,000 and a chandelier _ designed by "Project Runway" contestant Chris March _ that's made up of over 30 blond wigs and took more than 60 hours to craft. Adler also admires a one-of-a-kind black-and-white wall mirror created with 64 dolls.

So where's Ken?

"Ken's around, but does she need Ken?" said Adler. "No."

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On the Net:

http://www.barbie.com

Comments

[yosoyeldecider]

10:09 AM on 03/08/2009

I know this is not meant to be taken seriously, but even as satire, it's idiocy.

[whit4brains]

08:35 AM on 03/08/2009

I love Jonathan Adler's style. I loved Barbie as a kid and I think it would be pretty cool to go inside Barbie's dream house. Do the guest at the party each get a pair of those pink shoes?

[Copeword]

07:06 PM on 03/07/2009

Cool house.

[mlaiuppa]

04:43 PM on 03/07/2009

Barbie would never have 50 pairs of the exact same shoe. And she wouldn't surround a mirror with little dolls of herself. Nice try, but a miss.

[violettefemme]

10:25 AM on 03/08/2009

It's a concept, not a life plan.

[mphalen]

04:03 PM on 03/08/2009

The concept does not fit.

[sunnybunny]

09:56 AM on 03/07/2009

This is so cute ! I guess it won't go to waste right? (they are sending the decorations to The Palms and using the house for film shoots)

[runforcover]

09:52 AM on 03/07/2009

I LOVE JA, always will. His ceramics, his taste, decor, style, everything. But when he says that Barbie is a dream client because she doesn´t exist as a person... hmmmmmmm. I wonder what his human clients are thinking. I don´t know about his dark side, but his work is happy and luminous.

[Cogs]

03:09 AM on 03/07/2009

How nice. There are children sleeping in shelters tonight.

[sunnybunny]

09:56 AM on 03/07/2009

Artistic expression isn't what is making kids sleep in shelters , that would be greed - look to the mortgage people , real estate people etc. who exploit poor people's quest for much more normal houses and can't be bothered with selling affordable houses because the commissions are too low so they steer people toward overextending themselves.Don't let me get started on this.

[superfurrysuz]

02:46 PM on 03/07/2009

I agree with your premise that it is a waste, but on the other hand, someone and some company received a contract to make the furnishings. It put people to work! I own a shoe store and would have loved to been paid to fill that closet full of pink shoes. It would help me pay my employees health insurance, 401K, etc!!!!!!!!! And, my guess is when it is all over, they will sell the props, goods, etc, and some Barbie fans will be very happy to get a piece of it all. Capitalism. And yes, I am extremely liberal.

[BearsLeft]

11:02 AM on 03/07/2009

My reaction as well. I believe this kind of extravagance is quickly becoming bad taste. It seems like a monstrous waste when 12% of mortgages are in arrears.

[weatherwaxx]

01:18 AM on 03/07/2009

Ye gods. Tacky with a side order of cheese!

Is it true that Britney Spears has an option on the condo?

[susou]

11:04 PM on 03/06/2009

LOL, I WANT ONE!!!!

JK, I actually wouldn't mind visiting... That would be cool if it were a museum and not just there for a party!