Luxury can have a variety of meanings depending on whom you ask. For kids and pets, these entertaining accommodations provide the ultimate luxury—fun.
Kids’ Quarters
There is nothing grander than the imagination of a child. From tea parties for teddy bears to magic carpet rides on mom’s antique Oriental rug, the make-believe capacity of a child never seems to deplete. Enter Lilliput Play Homes, a Pennsylvania-based company that provides a whimsical way to play house.
Lilliput was established in 1989, when Steve Chernicky and his wife were searching for a playhouse for their then 18-month-old daughter. “We couldn’t find anything but log cabins and little plastic houses,” Chernicky says. “So I built a Victorian-style playhouse for her and that was our first Victorian mansion. From there I built a fire house for my nephew.”
When interest gained momentum, Chernicky began building the homes full-time in 1995 and specializing in classical designs that emulate his love for historic structures. Offering pre-designed play homes from $3,000 to $20,000, Lilliput also builds custom play homes and villages (complete with amenities like electricity and hardwood floors) that can fetch upwards of $50,000.
“A playhouse is more of a caricature of a house,” Chernicky says. “The doors and windows have to be oversized to make it functional. So we take the main features of the house, whether it be a turret, trim-work or stonework and use those features to create a custom playhouse.”