PlaymoFriends
General => News => Topic started by: rufusxavier1977 on January 18, 2011, 00:29:42
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Okay, this is a weird rant, I'm sure, but why do ALL of the Playmobil doll houses always have the front door leading right into the kitchen? Does this annoy anyone else? I always thought it was weird that the kitchen wallpaper was in the room with the front door, especially in the big fancy Victorian houses. How many people have their front door going right into the kitchen? A side door, sure, but large mansions would not be built this way. It's the room with the beautiful staircase as well. I always thought it would make a better parlor or entry hall, but PM always show it as the kitchen.
At first I thought it was just coincidence that the 5300 and 5305 are both that way since they reuse so many parts, but the more I looked the more I found annoying. Even with updates and new houses, they are always depicted with the front door into the kitchen. So it must be intentional. Why?
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Even the modern houses (with no dedicated wallpaper) are always depicted with front doors into the kitchens.
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The only "house" I could find that wasn't this way was the 3230, but to be fair it's only one large room and doesn't have a kitchen. :)
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Well, I have to say I agree. I've never seen a house in real life that had the front door open straight into the kitchen. Back door occassionally, but not very often. I will say though, that playmobil houses, like most other doll houses, aren't very realistic in any way. I mean, the staircase goes from the living room, straight up to the bathroom, and then straight up to the kids' room. No doors, hallways, decent walls to divide the rooms. It's sort of hard to have it be laid out realistically and have it still be playable. Of course, there's still no reason the door couldn't open into the living room. ::)
I think it would be interesting if playmobil were to try to come up with a more revolutionary design for a doll house, realistic yet accessible. Obviously, there have to be some missing walls somewhere, but it seems to me they could make a lot of money if they revolutionized dollhouse design.
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Of course, there's still no reason the door couldn't open into the living room. ::)
See, this seems like so much more of a natural choice to me. Maybe that's because I have lived in several homes that have had the front door right into the living room. And many more that have had the entry way as just a small alcove right off the living room.
And I agree with you about the unrealistic necessity of doll houses. The original Victorian house was the most realistic (therefor so desirable by collectors) but it is a lot harder to "play" in those rooms. The newer houses have a lot more play value but are therefor more open.
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Well. Im an architect, so yes it is ANNOYING :lol: :lol: :lol:
I had no idea whay they do it. But when you think about it, taking into account the divisions of the house 5300 or 5301...where else would you put the kitchen???. The living room has to be downstairs and near the gallery... and you cant put the kitchen upstairs either, so no other choice than putting the kitchen where the pics shows. Of course you can customize it and add rooms. But as the house is sold I think it is the only way.
Now think of the small victorian house with only 3 rooms.... you have kitchen, bathroom, living-dining-room and bedroom... you are missing one. So one has to go..... I mean nothing is perfect and these are just representations of houses. As bonnie said you go up the stairs into the bathroom etc.... we just need to imagine hallways. ;) ;)
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The best dollhouse I have ever seen was a huge display that was set up at the local library for several months when I was a kid. I remember going and just staring at it for like, an hour. It was a model of an entire apartment building, and the way it was set up, you were looking down the hallways of the building, going from the open back toward the front, with an apartment on either side of each hallway. There were stairs in the hallways, it was several floors high, and a door into each apartment. I really wish I could remember how the apartments themselves were laid out, but it was so realistic, all the proper dividers and doors, yet you could see everything, too. Of course, it was a massive buiding, but my point is it might be possible to lay out a building in such a way that it looks realistic and at the same time, you can see everything from an open back wall. You should work on it, Mr. Architect. ;)
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yeah i see your point, but it would be difficult to also play with ...
I got my 5300 yesterday :yippee: :yippee: but Im in love, I don't want to customize it :(
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Congratulations!
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That really annoys me too.
I had thought of making the kitchen into the hallway and building a kitchen like the conservatory, going off the hall, but that would mean either having a roof terrace that no one could get to or having a door leading off where the stairs were, unless I removed the stairs, but then if I were to have a hallway, I would want stairs going off it. 8}
Another idea I had was to make a kitchen off the hallway with servants quarters above it, but that involves cutting bits of roof pieces so I haven't got round to that yet. :-[
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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I see how it makes sense for the 5300 and 5305 since there is no where else to place the kitchen. But what about all the newer ones? I wonder why they kept putting it there. I made that room the entry hall, but I expanded my house so I had another place for the kitchen.
I would love to see a pic of that apartment building doll house!
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I know. I wish I had one. :'(
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I know its annoying to have the front door leading into the kitchen cause that's how our RL house is! 8}
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¿Did it occur to anyone other than me to simply re-arrange the house? :hmm:
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in the case of 5300...
just switch the floors (you'd have a kitchen on the 2nd floor though :P)
theres also the entrance on the side (with the sunwall) which actually leads to the living room
In the case of the modern houses, just switch the furniture placement
wth anyway, its a toy and theres no need for logic ;D
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It's the curse of open plan living.
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Even more annoying to me is the fact that the bathroom in the 5300 (or the room most often depicted as the bathroom) opens up onto the balcony patio. And there is no CLOSING DOOR for the bathroom entrance, so anyone can just walk in there while a klicky is on the toilet or taking a bath. I can just imagine being in there and then suddenly someone walks by and says "don't mind me, just trying to get to the balcony patio."
or if you throw a party on the balcony with the Victorian Balcony party set, all your guests have to pass through the bathroom just to get to the balcony and say "pardon me, just passing through" while you deliver a donation to the porcelain god.
Also annoying is that there is railing on the 5300 stairs along the sides, but NO RAILING at all at the top where someone could easily fall through the opening. UNSAFE!
And no roof access hatch or ladder to actually get onto the Widow's Walk area on the rooftop.
And a chimney that leads to no fire place! (even if you put the fireplace from the Grandpa's Den set, it doesn't really go to the chimney!)
And the staircases can ONLY be placed on the LEFT side of a room (though I modded mine so it can go in the reverse direction and placed on the right side.)
And NO CLOSURE in the sun room! It's just open! For all thieves and weather to do as they please to your unsecured home!
As far as the kitchen goes, actually, I have seen plenty of (ugly) rambler style houses (circa 1950) where the front door actually does lead to the kitchen directly. I lived in a few myself. I don't really like it either.
What the 5300 and other mansions lack also are HALLWAYS connecting the rooms, rather than the rooms just connecting to each other (so in order to get to one room, you have to pass through another).
On my 5300 the first floor room is of course the kitchen. The next room on that floor is the living room combined with the sunroom. The second floor is wierd because the 1st room on the 2nd floor (usually used as "Grandpa's Den" is more of a passing room because you have to go through it to get to the bathroom, balcony patio, and the 3rd floor. So you can't use that passing room as a real bedroom or anything because people pass through it to get to other parts of the house. So it's pretty much useless IMO. The only room left is the attic, which I reserve for the master and mistress of the house, but then where do the children go? They have to sleep in the same room with the parents I guess (so the parents get no privacy whatsoever).
And then how do you get to the Widow's Walk on the roof? There is no access hatch or ladder there.
Not to mention, the kitchen is only really fully lives up to its potential (with furniture and appliance arrangement) if you leave out the staircase, which then begs the question (how do you get to the second floor?!?!) Unless you somehow put the staircase leading from the living room up to what is usually used as the bathroom. But once again you will have the problem of people passing through the bathroom (while you're in it) just to get to the 2nd and 3rd floors, unless you make the bathroom into Grandpa's Den, and turn grandpa's den into the bathroom. IN which case you should also move the stairs leading to the attic to the same room as the 2nd story stairs. Then that MIGHT make more sense. The room above the kitchen could now be a bathroom free from passer-bys walking through to get to other parts of the house SAVE for the front balcony above the front door. That's STILL wierd though. Imagine haveing a FRONT DOOR view of the bathroom (or whatever you're doing in it) for all your visitors to see!
ARGH! It bugs me too, the whole layout!
Needs some serious customizing in order to make it more architecturally practical.
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Atto, you had me in stitches!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: You really should be a writer!
You raise a lot if good points, things that drive me crazy, too. Like that people can't get from the first to third floor without going right through the second floor bathroom. There's got to be a better way to design dollhouses.
Just as a side note, i have been to a house one time, in a very nice neighborhood, actually, that had a front door view problem. When you went up to the front door, if you looked to your left, there was a huge picture window looking right into the master bathroom! And someone was in there, too! :no: Thank goodness she was finished and washing her hands! :lol: Whoever designed that needs to be fired.
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Oh, and Atto, why would you care about people passing through to get to the patio? ??? We've all seen this picture of you having a little personal time with a tree, right? :P
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/gorraxpb/Winterhaven/oops%20a%20spot/IMG_4056.jpg)
I hope you don't mind, Gis.
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Oh, and Atto, why would you care about people passing through to get to the patio? ??? We've all seen this picture of you having a little personal time with a tree, right? :P
(http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a415/gorraxpb/Winterhaven/oops%20a%20spot/IMG_4056.jpg)
I hope you don't mind, Gis.
lol, yes, I guess I should not be so picky about a mansion's bathroom privacy when here I am relieving myself on some poor unsuspecting tree for all to see (and did I even wash my hands?)
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(and did I even wash my hands?)
No, i don't think you did. Some people! ::)
;D
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Oh, and Atto, why would you care about people passing through to get to the patio? ??? We've all seen this picture of you having a little personal time with a tree, right? :P
:lol: Good one, BB.
If we were all 5 or 6 years old a lot of this wouldn't even matter. I would just be happy that the doors and windows actually open and close and there was neat furniture to put here and there. It sure beats the shoebox that I cut doors and windows in and drug around behind my model car as a trailer, but I think I had just as much fun with it. :love:
I think the extra floor makes a lot of sense, as it gives you a little more room to fit everything in. ;D
Joe
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I agree....first, it is a toy, meant for children, not a real house meant for grown up asking too much of a toy :lol: :lol:
Second, the extra floor gives you exactly what you need to make an entrance hall and not having to go straight into the kitchen. The other problems are not problems really if you have imagination. I don't think kids make their clickies take poops.... :lol: :lol: :lol:
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And the klickies bathe fully dressed, so that's not a problem either. ;)
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I agree....first, it is a toy, meant for children, not a real house meant for grown up asking too much of a toy :lol: :lol:
Second, the extra floor gives you exactly what you need to make an entrance hall and not having to go straight into the kitchen. The other problems are not problems really if you have imagination. I don't think kids make their clickies take poops.... :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hi
I would agree that a child's imagination easily solves all of these issues and Playmobil did a great job in giving just enough of reality to capture the essence of what a house has. Too many details is not always a good thing. Let the child in us fill in the blanks
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"
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Hi
I would agree that a child's imagination easily solves all of these issues and Playmobil did a great job in giving just enough of reality to capture the essence of what a house has. Too many details is not always a good thing. Let the child in us fill in the blanks
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"
I could not have said it better! ;)
Joe
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That, of course, is always where Playmobil has excelled - enough detail to make items lifelike but not so much as to remove the need for imagination.
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I see all your points about it being a toy (and I agree with them all). I was never really suggesting it should be a "real" house architecturally. I was really just wondering WHY they chose it that way with the kitchen. Not so much for the first to Victorian houses, but for the later ones and the system x houses. I wondered why they kept setting it up that way for pictures. I thought maybe it was a common German design or something for houses to enter into the kitchen.
I love the Victorian houses. They are far more detailed and realistic than any other company's I have seen. If it was some sort of Fisher Price disaster, then there wouldn't even be enough realism to start a conversation like this. ;D
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I agree....first, it is a toy, meant for children, not a real house meant for grown up asking too much of a toy :lol: :lol:
Second, the extra floor gives you exactly what you need to make an entrance hall and not having to go straight into the kitchen. The other problems are not problems really if you have imagination. I don't think kids make their clickies take poops.... :lol: :lol: :lol:
I dunno about kids or even other adults, but my klickies happen to value their privacy! And it also bugs me that they take baths with full clothes on (which is why I want the beach clickies so they can at least bathe with bathing attire on). And yes, for the record, my victorian bathroom gets used by its residents, not just for decoration.
Below you'll see my meager bathroom setup being used by a klicky who values her privacy.
Also, you can see how my kitchen is set up (still meager, as they just moved in). I modded the stairs to be on the right side so that we can take full advantage of the left wall for appliances, but still have stairs leading up to the 2nd floor. You can not do this with the stock setup because the entire left wall is usually where the stairs is. So you have to choose between full-wall display of appliances, OR stairs. NOT both. So I customized it to have both. You can see the space under the stairs is used as the kitchen table area.
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And then the resulting layout that becomes the 2nd floor passing room (just above the kitchen). The stairs now take up most of the room, one being on the left side, the other ascending from the right side. I actually kind of like this setup.
But also note the fact that there is NO railing across the stairwell edge. It's like that as well on the third floor. A klicky can fall over the edge very easily! (So I'm gonna add railing there)
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oh, a thought just occurred to me: you COULD always have the first room be a living room, then move the kitchen over to what used to be the living room, add a wall betwixt it and the sunroom, and let the sunroom be a dining room. That would be acceptable IMO. But then your sunroom furnishings need somewhere to go. That's where adding an extra floor comes in handy.
(I plan to piece together an extra floor from bits and parts I see on ebay). No way am I going to buy the actual extra floor set that goes for 3-digit figures these days.
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That is pretty cool, Atto. I like the staggered stairs and I can see what you mean about adding the railing. It would look more complete. Nice job. ;D
Joe
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Great idea and execution Atto!! Really good work!! Now I'll have to rearrange my dollhouse as well ;D
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Very good work, Atto. That kitchen is pretty much how it would have been in Victorian times as in the big houses they were in the basement with very little natural light.
The arrangement with the stairs and the landing area being used as a room is something I've noticed in houses in Malta.
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Very good work, Atto. That kitchen is pretty much how it would have been in Victorian times as in the big houses they were in the basement with very little natural light.
The arrangement with the stairs and the landing area being used as a room is something I've noticed in houses in Malta.
landings being used as what sort of room? A bedroom? or just a passing room/ sitting area (with perhaps some seating and furniture)?
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Even more annoying to me is the fact that the bathroom in the 5300 (or the room most often depicted as the bathroom) opens up onto the balcony patio.
this room wasn't supposed to be the bathroom the 5300 was made in 1989 the bathroom was realesed in 1992 and in all the photos this room was given to the grandpa's fire place so i don't think they thought at first making for that room a bathroom tapestry ,the bathroom tapestry is on the expansion floor :
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/3/4/3/4/9/4/webimg/424104069_tp.jpg)
after the bathroom was placed in that room in all catalogs ...
;)
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landings being used as what sort of room? A bedroom? or just a passing room/ sitting area (with perhaps some seating and furniture)?
As a sitting area or study or small library area.
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Hi
Well if you are worried about whether or not the Klickies take showers with their clothes on you might want to fashion a curtain on as well. All that water splashing out surely will rot out the wood floors of a Victorian house.
The last house I worked on was built in 1870 and it did not have a kitchen in it at all. There also was not a bathroom or indoor plumbing in the house . The house was set up as a stage coach stop for overnight travelers. A kitchen and simple plumbing for wash areas in each room was added years later but never a bathroom. I guess they just used an outhouse.
I guess it all has to do with what amount of detail you are after. I like the fact that certain items are not there so I am able to have my hands freely get at items and have the Klickies move around.
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"
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this room wasn't supposed to be the bathroom the 5300 was made in 1989 the bathroom was realesed in 1992 and in all the photos this room was given to the grandpa's fire place so i don't think they thought at first making for that room a bathroom tapestry ,the bathroom tapestry is on the expansion floor :
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/3/4/3/4/9/4/webimg/424104069_tp.jpg)
after the bathroom was placed in that room in all catalogs ...
;)
Good one Alex! I think you have a point here!! ;)
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i LOVE that red wallpaper that only comes in the expansion floor add-on :love:
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i LOVE that red wallpaper that only comes in the expansion floor add-on :love:
yes it is great for a dining room or a library!
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yes it is great for a dining room or a library!
i know, i want to get one :)
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Am loving this thread :love:
I am watching a 5300 on ebay.au and my sniping finger is twitching!
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The fact that the front door opens into the kitchen has always bothered me too, as well as all the other problems that BlackPearl mentions. One would think that Playmobil would put a bit more thought into the design of the house.
To be historically accurate, I'd like to see a basement which could contain the kitchen and servants' dining room. The ground floor would contain the parlor, dining room, and study, and the floor above that would contain two bedrooms and a bathroom. The attic could be for storage and the servants quarters. And the staircases with railings on each floor would be standard.
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I agree with you all I think a lot of the layout is annoying but with such limited space it's the best they could do. At least with the old Victorian houses they do have wall dividers, the new 5302 hasn't really got anything. I don't think having proper walls in a building affects play it just gives you somewhere to lean the furniture.
I'm afraid the only way round the problem is to build BIG! add on as many extra rooms as you can and you can solve the problems. :P
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Forum%20Playmobil%20Victorian/SDC13459.jpg)
This is one of my smaller mansions I built. In this house I had the stairs on the right side of the hallway (blue), gamesroom (green) and master bedroom (white). I had a large double kitchen on the ground floor with a dining room in the conservatory and the living room on the middle floor. A lot of Victorian houses did have the drawing rooms etc upstairs with the servants downstairs.
Here's some one elses idea of a floor plan as well.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Forum%20Playmobil%20Victorian/4f76_12.jpg)
We just need more houses :hissyfit: :hissyfit:
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oh wow Emma this that is really cool! 8-)
however if playmobil ever released something like that it'd be very expensive I guess, that's why maybe they've never brought it out :)
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Emma, these are great! I agree with you that the only way around the problem is to build big! Thanks for the super pictures and incentive! ;D
Joe
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Emma, these are great! I agree with you that the only way around the problem is to build big! Thanks for the super pictures and incentive! ;D
Joe
I agree Joe! ;) I need more pieces! :lol: :lol:
I love those too Emma.... the second I LOOOOOVE! That's like two houses together....right?
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I'd like to see a basement which could contain the kitchen and servants' dining room.
how is this going to happen?? ??? the basement is under the ground ...
no matter what anyone says 5300 and 5305 are the best houses ever made i don't really mind with the kitchen being in the front door..
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no matter what anyone says 5300 and 5305 are the best houses ever made i don't really mind with the kitchen being in the front door..
I agree and think that the 5300 and 5305 give you the most options for adaptations and customizing, as they include two and three unit wall sections and one and two unit floor sections. Add the 7411 extra floor and you have one unit wall sections and connectors to play with. :love:
Joe
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how is this going to happen?? ??? the basement is under the ground ...
no matter what anyone says 5300 and 5305 are the best houses ever made i don't really mind with the kitchen being in the front door..
The basement doesn't necessarily have to be underground. The basement level would have lower ceilings and the front door on the main main floor would be reached by exterior stairs, like the picture below.
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The basement doesn't necessarily have to be underground. The basement level would have lower ceilings and the front door on the main main floor would be reached by exterior stairs, like the picture below.
Good observation, this is very much like many of the brownstones I have seen in Brooklyn, NY. The kitchens are in the basement level and the living and dining areas are on the main level above.
Joe
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Yes, I was thinking of this design, too. Very good way to make a basement. Maybe PM will listen to us!
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The basement doesn't necessarily have to be underground. The basement level would have lower ceilings and the front door on the main main floor would be reached by exterior stairs, like the picture below.
I dunno about a toy house, but in real life the thought of a kitchen being sequestered away down in the basement doesn't make the thought of cooking fun at all! :( more like slavery! In real life I'd prefer a wide and open kitchen that is incorporated into the surrounding aesthetics of the household they're cooking for.
As for the playmo house, I agree the old victorian houses are THEE AWESOMEST houses ever, even though there is always room for improvements. Having a basement section with lower ceilings might work I suppose. Or to avoid having to lower the celiings, maybe the house could come with a deeper foundation (maybe looking like a side of a hill or rock) so the basement level can stick up halfway above the foundation, and halfway below the foundation. (so it's windows would be at groundfloor level. When you look out from the kitchen window, you'd be able to see someone's feet if they were standing directly outside the window)
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The basement doesn't necessarily have to be underground. The basement level would have lower ceilings and the front door on the main main floor would be reached by exterior stairs, like the picture below.
oh i see... ;)
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I dunno about a toy house, but in real life the thought of a kitchen being sequestered away down in the basement doesn't make the thought of cooking fun at all! :( more like slavery!
The brownstone's kitchen I was thinking about in Brooklyn was anything but a dungeon. It was a warm, welcoming and lightfilled room which opened onto a beautiful brick patio and walled garden. There was enough room in the kitchen for an enormous round table where the family ate and entertained most of the time. There was also a dumbwaiter, which elevated trays of food to the formal dining room just above. I thought it was very neat! ;)
Joe
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The brownstone's kitchen I was thinking about in Brooklyn was anything but a dungeon. It was a warm, welcoming and lightfilled room which opened onto a beautiful brick patio and walled garden. There was enough room in the kitchen for an enormous round table where the family ate and entertained most of the time. There was also a dumbwaiter, which elevated trays of food to the formal dining room just above. I thought it was very neat! ;)
Joe
well, then, that's much better! :D (and as a side, I've always wanted to ride a dumbwaiter like in cartoons when I was a kid)
OH, and that'd be a cool feature to have in a Playmohouse: a dumbwaiter!