After 42 years, Barbie is trading up. Way up.
Before the iconic doll gets a scheduled home upgrade later this year, she must say bye-bye to her longtime mothership. Luckily, as Serbian-born designer Roksanda Ilincic designs a brand-new virtual Dreamhouse for Barbie that will make its debut in the months ahead, Mattel is partnering up with Trulia to “sell” Barbie’s iconic Malibu home for a hefty $25 million price tag.
Putting Barbie’s pad on the market is part of a publicity stunt aimed at drawing attention to Barbie’s quest for newer, more modern digs. She’s lived in her mass-produced and -sold three-floor, 8,500-square-foot beachfront house since 1971.
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Ilincic, who is working with Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio on the new project, has a history with Barbie–she designed a purple outfit for her in 2009, to celebrate the doll’s 50th anniversary. That renovation, in addition to Barbie’s career-girl persona (she’s been a presidential candidate and an architect in recent years) and highly-publicized breakup with Ken in 2004 (they’ve since ostensibly reunited), represented a facet of Mattel’s continuous reengineering of Barbie as more than a physically unrealistic anachronism.
After all that effort, she’s only left with a plastic home-like shell of her own making. 42 years of residency in a home known around the world does add a certain cache to a property, so what exactly does this $25 million of signature pink plastic entail?
The “ultimate bachelorette compound” sits on prime property that includes 150 feet of private sandy beach and a never-ending ocean view (naturally, it only has three walls) that can be taken in from the master bedroom’s balcony.
The “pinktastic” interior is, of course, just that. The manse is replete with pink crown molding, custom Pantone 219C hardwood floors, pink Poliform kitchen, pink granite countertops and a pink elevator equipped with a state-of-the-art pulley system. The elevator doors are emblazoned with the Barbie signature silo head.
Not enough Barbielicious details? Here’s a sample of the Trulia listing:
- The dreamy master bedroom suite takes up an entire floor for the ultimate in glamtastic pampering. Features a steam shower and heated pink marble flooring plus a doll-lightful custom closet capable of holding hundreds and hundreds of shoes, designer dresses and accessories — all the space a gal needs to get all doll’d up.
- Sensors and sounds are featured throughout, and this is the only home in Malibu with a self-flushing toilet and fireplace that crackles even when it’s not on.
- Diamond-encrusted accents, crystal chandeliers, custom mirrors, reclaimed exotic woods, natural stone and concrete compliment the modern pink-infused decor.
- And no place is complete without enough storage to hold an array of action-packed beach toys from the hottest surfboards to jazzy watercraft (all sold separately). Plus, plenty of space to park a private pink jet.