This two-story Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse can only be described as magnificent! It truly is a dream house - I feel terribly deprived that I didn't have one as a Child! Complete with lovely details that are easily recognisable to anyone who watches "Barbie Life in the Dream house" like the pink double doors and "B" logo/Barbie silhouette.
On the ground floor you will find the grand double doors allowing access to the hallway - complete with chandelier of course!
To the left of the entrance is the living room with accessories like a table lamp and telephone - Liv loves sitting her dolls on the sofa and engaging in some comical role play.
When relaxing time is over, to the right of the hallway is a lovely kitchen. Both the fridge and oven have working doors allowing items to be placed inside. The kitchen has every accessory your little one could imagine, from cutlery and crockery to pans, bottles of milk and orange juice and pizza fresh from the oven. I have great fun watching Liv playing in the kitchen especially and it is heart warming hearing her repeat things I say to her like explaining why we have to wash our hands before cooking and only Adults are allowed to touch the oven because it gets very hot - adorable!
Once Barbie is relaxed, full up and the kitchen is clean, she can travel up to the second floor in grand style via the working spiral staircase complete with an "aquarium" column (TIP when attaching the stickers use the pulley to move the clear part of the pole upwards. I stuck the fish on this part so when the doll is travelling upstairs there appears to be no fish in the bottom half of the aquarium, oops!). To allow Barbie to use the staircase you simply clip her in by the waist and use the tab on the side to take her up or down the spiral staircase.
Upstairs is what Liv used as a play room complete with a TV - this can be made even more special by popping a smartphone (not included) into the wall mounted TV/smartphone holder. There is even a tiny remote control!
The very glamorous bedroom has a large bed complete with two pillows and a lovely soft blanket, but that's not all. Lift up the bed to reveal a wardrobe including coat hangers on the left and a shower on the right. Once out of the shower, Barbie can head to the bathroom to finish getting ready at her dressing table full of accessories (including toothbrushes and paste) and even a toilet with a working lid.
Below is the Dolls house all folded up, complete with all furniture for storage. We were very pleasantly surprised at how compact it actually is once it's closed up.
It's clear to see that there's been a lot of thought put into this house, the little things like the grooves on table tops to allow the lamps/glasses/flowers to "plug in". It has made playing far more enjoyable for Liv because she isn't constantly knocking things over.
Everything you need is in the box - apart from the Dolls. If you are buying this for a Christmas gift I would recommend assembly before the big day if possible as it took me around 45 minutes to assemble and I imagine would have been longer with an excited 3 year old "helping" on Christmas morning!
TOP TIP! - Attach the stickers to the outside of the house before assembling otherwise it can get a bit fiddly.
I can honestly say Liv absolutely adores this House, she plays happily with it for hours and seeing her act out bedtime is simply priceless. I would definitely recommend this house, I think it is really good value as the house is very sturdy, great quality and packed full of accessories for hours of imaginary play.
I have found the Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse on sale here for £55 - a huge £44 saving!
I have found the Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse on sale here for £55 - a huge £44 saving!
Recommended for age 3+ Please note no dolls are included with the house, each doll is sold separately.
Disclaimer - we were sent the Barbie Malibu house for the purpose of the review. However, all opinion and images are our own.