The implicit message I want to give to children is: 'Look, here is a villa made just for your children. The villa is sturdy, mobile and made from sustainable design materials. No expense has been spared; on the contrary. If your children - the dolls - are happy, this contributes to your own happiness.'

  
     
 

At child care centres and primary schools, the dolls villa is used to stimulate group play between four to six boys and girls in the 3 - 10 age range. Each day, the children can add to the stories they invent, ad infinitum. Sometimes children are even allowed to bring their own dolls from home; this provides them with an extra sense of security. The villa contributes to their desire to go to the child care centre or school.

  
     
     
 

 

  
     
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 

INTERACTion

Spaander, the contact person for Out of school care says: "When we provide tours to educational professionals who are thinking about setting up an Out of School Child Care Centre, their eyes light up when they see the LILIANE dolls villa. Our children love to play with the dolls villa, it encourages interaction among the children. And it's extremely durable: after almost a year of daily use, all the parts are still intact."
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 

HUGELY POPULAR

Hanneke the contact person at Toermalijn | MIK Maastricht: "The dolls villa had its first overhaul just yesterday. After zeven years there was just one loose wheel. Otherwise everything else is perfectly intact, despite children playing with it very intensively. The dolls villa is hugely popular. Here at the Out of School Centre, children can choose between three rooms, and the room with the dolls villa is almost always the winner!"
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 

HIGHLY IMPRESSED

In 2003, the director of ASCO Educational Supplies in the UK, Tom Marshall, said: "Yesterday we delivered our first dolls villa here in Leeds. As it was a local customer we agreed to assemble the villa for them. It is the first time I have assembled one and I just want to say that I am very impressed with the way it fitted together, the clarity of the instructions and the quality of the finished article. The customer is one of a major chain of nurseries and they were absolutely delighted with it."
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

BOYS PLAY WITH THE VILLA TOO

Do toys actually deliver to child care centres what the manufacturers promise? Every month the trade journal for the day-care sector publishes a short survey in which day-care centre staff review toys or playground equipment.

■   Staff: "Children from four to about six or seven years of age play with the dolls villa a lot. Boys play with the villa too. They use it as a garage for their cars. The villa looks great and the kids can access it from all sides. Toddlers love it too. They play with the building itself and the furniture rather than the dolls. The accessories from the villa are also used in other kinds of games. Sometimes the villa is used as a climbing frame. It is sturdy enough. So it’s thumbs up all around. At first, we were afraid it would be too big – but because it’s easily movable, it’s never really in the way." 

■ Magazine editor Marike Vroom: "LILIANE is highly recommended for out of school care. Pre-schoolers also enjoy it. The dolls villa is beautifully finished and its design is sound and sturdy.”
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 

BASIC INVENTORY

Dutch Foundation for Child Day-Care Centres | SKON:
"The LILIANE dolls villa is included in the basic inventory for extracurricular day-care centres. While the villa might at first seem expensive, it is typically an item of furniture for playing with that distinguishes SKON. Children don't have this at home."
 
     
     
     
 
 
 

ITALY

The 10 Italian branches of schoolsupplier LUDO VICO  have started to sell the villa to nurseries and elementary schools: "We are enthusiastic. Visitors like the LILIANE dolls villa so much and they really appreciate both the design and the quality."
 
     
     
     
 
 

NURSERY EQUIPMENT

'PLAYING HOUSE: The LILIANE dolls villa from ASCO is large enough for several children to play with at the same time'
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Janneke Meijsen, a teacher at a primary school: "The dolls villa is incredibly popular. During every free lesson the home [that is what I call it, because it makes it more attractive to the little boys] is always occupied by two to three children. Whenever the children are given free playtime, at least two or three children line up for the villa. The kids love it!!! My compliments."
 
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

BABYGADGET BRAZIL contemporary finds for modern tots

"You know how it is, sometimes you're house-hunting, and however strict your budget, it just goes out the window when you see your dream property. Beware, then of the same phenomenon as it applies to dolls' houses. You may start browsing with a firm figure in mind, but when you see what is available at the top of the range, all that is forgotten.

Take the LILIANE dolls villa. The price is approximately ten times what you might expect to pay for such a thing. But take a look at it. It's huge. It's crafted from good-quality wood, by a respected designer. It comes with good intentions about being just as suitable for boys as girls [so, if you have one of each, you get double the use out of it...].

Well, the fact is that most of us will look at it, see the price, and move on, reluctantly or otherwise. However, if you could stretch to this sort of money for a toy, the chances are, you just might."