I'm mostly interested in the new house, though I have plenty of castle stuff (steck). My first thought is the new house is very pretty from the outside. I really like the thought of a new historical looking building without it just being a reissue of the same-old parts in new colors. I think it will blend very well with the older Victorian houses while still being completely unique. I really like the windows with the shutters. They are very pretty and well detailed. Even the interior framing of the windows is nice (unlike the old Victorians). The new ones look nice with or without curtains.
The inside is okay (speaking about the house itself), but I don't know why they used the shorter system X wall divider rather than the taller one. It's not even like they used one with shelves (not available in taller units)--it's just a regular, solid wall piece. It looks out of place in the house. The stairs are clever for play value. You can use them without wasting any floor space, and you can quickly pop them off if they are in the way. They are just a tad too modern for the design of the house.
As for the furniture and clickies, I don't mind that they are modern. In fact, I really like these new modern furniture sets, they are all so much more realistic than what comes in the modern living suburban house. We finally have a kitchen with cabinets and counters, and upper cabinets, and finally a dining table that doesn't look like a kid's table. The entertainment center also looks very realistic, just like my own actually. And I like the sofa and chair. I also like the parent's room. It has a great 50's look to me. Plus it's an actual double bed! The old green and blue one was hideous. I think the house would look great with the older Victorian sets too. And now we have some additional and (in my view) better modern sets to use.
The one thing I really don't like is the way the main promo pic distorts the second level front door. They stretched them to add visual balance to the facade, but the 360 view shows what it really looks like. I would rather use the first floor door frame for the second level too for balance.
