This is a well-designed and well-constructed miniature house. It's as solid as the real thing and at a distance, could pass for full-size. But, if you were to come upon it as a child of say 8-10 years old, would you call it a dollhouse, playhouse or a fort? As a kid I had treehouses in some pretty cool places - which I called forts: in a really good tree in some swampy bit of land in South Carolina (I can't believe we actually nailed boards to the tree to use as a ladder but it worked; behind an abandoned one-room schoolhouse with two cloakrooms - boys and girls couldn't take off their coats in the same room I guess - in the wind-swept open plains of Nebraska (fell out of that one in my Sunday clothes...not pretty); and my proudest achievement, a fort behind the house in Virginia. (Military brats tend to move around some; it improves and hones our fort-building skills.) My fort in Virginia had windows with screens, a front door and back doors, shingles and was sturdy enough to stand on (to fend off attackers.) It was my favorite and the one I put the most thought into. (It was warm and fun even in the snow and could hold a good size army of friends.) The last was the one my folks put the most money into supplying me with "building materials."Never did I call it a playhouse...certainly not a dollhouse. I admit it did not look as perfect as this example with its fancy porch railings, shutters and a mailbox. The question is, is it the difference between how boys and girls are raised? Would any young girl spot this and think, "Wow, close the shutters, I must defend my fort from marauding hoards of neighborhood kids." Would a boy think, "I hope there's room for my car models and train in my playhouse."
Names aside, this was a superbly built little house...it even had a ladder inside leading to a loft. Can you imagine? A loft. (Now, my forts never had lofts.)
WELCOME Joy Brasington of Joy in the Burbs , a new follower. Joy was born and raised in Tampa and
moved away to The Woodlands, Texas, north of Houston. She found Tampa DP and my post on Sacred Heart Catholic Church and commented on how beautiful it is...and it is!. Do visit her blog; her post on simply raising her hand and volunteering is funny, real-life and so familiar to many of us.
7 comments:
I think this would be great for a youngster - especially of the female persuasion. I'd probably use it as a shed. ;-)
I think the girlie name would be a playhouse.
You definitely have some experience in the fort building area. I think when the kid builds it themselves its a fort. (the preferred method) When daddy gets the power tools out and creates that it's a playhouse.
Thank you for the welcome.
That is so sweet of you to mention me in your post.
♥
Joy
As a boy, if you called all of your buddies and asked them if they wanted to come over to your playhouse, you'd better be ready for some backlash.
Over the past few years I've seen more of these, a new breed of fort/playhouse/kid condo. Parents are much more willing to fork out the bucks to keep junior happy than they used to be.
I would venture to say it's a playhouse. A rather nice one to play in. Whoever built or bought this house did a nice job. My question is just why would someone want something that fancy? My Daughter never had anything like that. Couldn't afford it.
We always used to call them forts too, but this one is so elaborate I would have to call it a playhouse, especially with that heart above the door!
@ Jacob - With some needed modifications (and removal of some gingerbread!)it could become a boy's fort. I agree though, if it was in my backyard I'd store tools and the lawnmower...maybe make it the car detail hdqr.s.
I agree with Lois. That heart above the door definitely tips the hand toward 'playhouse'. I don't think it's a gender thing at all. This just is too frou-frou to be a fort. But it's a sweetheart of a playhouse.
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