House prices are rocketing in the lead-up to Christmas. From a 'starter home' for €39.99 to almost €50,000 for a sumptuous 'trophy residence' in Harrods. Michael Parsonsinvestigates the dolls house market
Good news at last. House prices are rocketing in the lead-up to Christmas. Yes, the elfin estate agents of Lapland are gleefully rubbing their mitts as the cost of a dolls' house goes through the gingerbread roof.
'For Sale' signs are sprouting all across Toytown as parents queue up to find a suitable investment for tots about to take that first faltering step onto the property ladder. And, unless Mr Cowen has secret Budget plans, there's no stamp duty.
The selection of houses on offer will especially delight developers, builders and landlords hoping to inculcate their 'bratz' with the skills that are needed to acquire a 'portfolio'.
Funnily enough, the desirable residences feature only in the girls sections of the major toy retailers. Boys presumably don't need any such stimulation - an interest in bricks and mortar being already hard-wired into the DNA of all Irish males.
Byrne's World of Wonder stores is offering the perfect starter home - the aptly named My First Doll House - which is a snip at €39.99 since it has "five rooms plus balcony and patio".
Talk about starting the kids off with great expectations! If your little princess has already outgrown starter homes and is ready to trade up - she may have her eye on the very smart, detached Sylvanian House on the Hill (€144.79).
Prose purple enough to adorn a press release for a new development on Killiney Hill gushes that: "This beautifully designed mansion has three floors" and, if you don't mind, "a split-level master bathroom" (what luxury!).
The "ground floor features a split-level dining room, large front porch, spiral staircase, hall and large side access kitchen."
The shop says it is recommended for four years plus. What will they expect when they grow a bit older? You'll find out over at Smyths Toy Superstore which also has branches around the country.
Don't be fooled by the modest price tag on the Barbie Dream House (€129.99). While the "three-storey dream house is over 3ft tall and fully furnished", you'll be cajoled or browbeaten into acquiring some very desirable extras.
These include a Barbie Throne; not a Victoria Beckham loo but a chair fit for a footballer's wife which costs (gasp) €79.99 - about the same as six adult dining chairs at Ikea.
And how about a Barbie vacuum cleaner (€19.99)? Lidl does a real-life version for more or less the same price.
Just as in grown-up Ireland, it seems that owning one house is no longer enough. What with their hectic schedules and exhausting round of birthday parties, guys and dolls regularly need to get away to a pad in the country.
Horsey types may like the Glamour Girls Ranch (€44.99) while gentler souls may opt for the Sylvanian Riverside Lodge (€36.99), "A sweet little holiday cottage".
The Sylvanian Caravan & Pony will help pampered tots connect with the outdoor life: "This traditional pony-drawn caravan opens to reveal lots of exciting features, including over 50 accessories, a real working lantern and bunk beds with an adjustable ladder." It costs €54.95.
The market has become sophisticated and your children can now simulate all the trauma (and expense) which adults undergo when buying a new kitchen.
The Grand Walk-In Kitchen (for a whopping €299.99) has "a combination of cooking and dining areas so children can play inside and out! But for a real touch of class check out the awfully grand British company, The Dolls House Emporium, which caters to gentrified children of all ages, and collectors.
"Grosvenor Hall - the most elegant mansion for town or country" would put the country homes' teams at Dublin's leading estate agencies to shame: "This beautiful Palladian-style house exudes grandeur and timeless elegance with its magnificent entrance hall, impressive balcony and Ionic columns. Inside, the elegance is reflected in the exquisite curved staircase, internal doors and working sash windows."
They start at €772 and rise to almost €1,500 (you can add rooms and various accessories).
Just as with a real house, the initial purchase cost opens up a bottomless pit of future spending.
The Dolls' House Emporium offers a bewildering array of furniture, accessories and interior design solutions. They have a choice of dozens of wallpapers, from Soft Pink Regency Stripe to Sapphire Oak Leaf, and even two varieties of Tromp L'Oeil ceiling paper.
Real wood furniture comes in a variety of stained finishes in mahogany, ebony, oak or walnut.
Sample pieces include a "console table reminiscent of the Biedermeier style" to a "formal Queen Anne oval dining table with carved legs".
There's a quite stupendous range of lighting, from an "Elegant upturned globe light with three frosted shades" to a "five-arm chandelier, for the ultimate in lighting luxury".
There's even garden furniture (a "Lutyens garden bench, seen in all the finest locations"; "a stone garden pond with inquisitive cat"; and, for more up-market lawns, "a classical female bust on a stylised display pillar". Add a Cotswold Conservatory Kit (€139) or an Orangery (€180).
Interior accessories include miniature dinner services (up to €90 for Le Manoir) and family heirloom oriental vases; porcelain bathroom suites; working grandfather clocks ("for true perfectionists"); and over 20 different types of mirror (including a "triple dressing table mirror in authentic hinged design").
They even offer a "Builders' Merchants" service for dolls' houses - where you can go (or send a little man) to buy everything from stucco plasterwork ceiling roses; wooden newel posts; mouldings wooden acorn finial fits; painted cornicing; brass Regency door knockers; taps; chimney pots; and even, should you want to build an extension, "clay bricks".
The Shaker Store at Balitore Quaker Village in Co Kildare, is an agent for Dolls' House Emporium and has some 30 dolls' houses on display.
These are supplied flat-packed or made up to your specifications: you can choose the interior decor. Accessories include lighting, wallpapers, carpets and flooring.
Its Classical Dolls' House is "an exquisite example of a traditional Georgian-style dolls house. The central staircase and opening front panels enhance the elegant facade which includes your choice of either plastic or wooden windows, pre-assembled windows and doors." The house kit costs €217.
With the highly advantageous dollar exchange rate now is a good time to buy an American property.
If you are Christmas shopping in New York this season you may visit the world's most elaborate toy shop - FAO Schwarz at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue - which is offering the "Ginormous Dollhouse with Furniture and Accessories".
According to the store's promotional literature: "Prepare to be astonished by the scale, the quality, the furnishings, and the details of this absolutely fabulous dollhouse [ which is] taller than most kids who will play with it".
The 12-roomed house is "completely accessorised from the dishes in the cupboard to the linens on the beds". And, "there's also a six-member family in residence".
Only in America - the "Dollhouse includes choice of family - Caucasian, African American, or Asian". The price? $1,600 (about €1,082).
You can commission Mulvany & Rogers to create a scaled architectural miniature of your own home.
It seems rich clients sometimes "want a dolls' house copy as a memento when they are moving house".
The company has miniaturised famous buildings including Versailles, Buckingham Palace, Sans Souci, Brighton Pavilion, and Cliveden.
The husband and wife team, Kevin Mulvany and Susan Rogers, who both have Irish roots, are based at Holt in England and have over 20 years' experience of recreating historically significant European and North American buildings and their interiors.
Their copy of London's Spencer House, made for a private American collector is valued between £200,000 and £300,000 (€278,000 - €418,000) .
Mulvany & Rogers recently completed its first major commission in Ireland - creating a miniature version of the exquisite Oak-Room at Malahide Castle.
The couple has also created Georgian dolls' houses for a number of Irish clients.
They have access to a team miniaturists who specialise in interior furnishings and lighting and can even recreate paintings, antiques and other personal possessions.
Rogers says that clients who wish to have a miniature model made of their own home can expect to pay from about £15,000 €21,000) but "the sky is the limit".
Harrods stocks these dolls' houses, with its prices starting from £34,999 (€49,000).
Okay, so you wouldn't get a broom cupboard in Ireland for that price but it's still mad money.
Ah, but wouldn't it be worth it - just to see the look on their little faces on Christmas morning?
Toy story
Byrne's Bookstore & World of Wonder;
www. worldofwonder.ie
Smyths Toy Superstore; www.smyths.com
The Dolls' House Emporium; www.dollshouse.com
The Shaker Store; www.shakerstore.ie
FAO Schwarz; www.fao.com Harrods; www.harrods.com
Mulvany & Rogers; www.mulvanyandrogers.com
