Annoying room placements in PM doll houses

[rufusxavier1977]

Okay, this is a weird rant, I'm sure, but why do ALL of the Playmobil doll houses always have the front door leading right into the kitchen? Does this annoy anyone else? I always thought it was weird that the kitchen wallpaper was in the room with the front door, especially in the big fancy Victorian houses. How many people have their front door going right into the kitchen? A side door, sure, but large mansions would not be built this way. It's the room with the beautiful staircase as well. I always thought it would make a better parlor or entry hall, but PM always show it as the kitchen.

At first I thought it was just coincidence that the 5300 and 5305 are both that way since they reuse so many parts, but the more I looked the more I found annoying. Even with updates and new houses, they are always depicted with the front door into the kitchen. So it must be intentional. Why?

[rufusxavier1977]

Even the modern houses (with no dedicated wallpaper) are always depicted with front doors into the kitchens.

[rufusxavier1977]

The only "house" I could find that wasn't this way was the 3230, but to be fair it's only one large room and doesn't have a kitchen. 

[bonniebeth]

Well, I have to say I agree. I've never seen a house in real life that had the front door open straight into the kitchen. Back door occassionally, but not very often. I will say though, that playmobil houses, like most other doll houses, aren't very realistic in any way. I mean, the staircase goes from the living room, straight up to the bathroom, and then straight up to the kids' room. No doors, hallways, decent walls to divide the rooms. It's sort of hard to have it be laid out realistically and have it still be playable. Of course, there's still no reason the door couldn't open into the living room. 

I think it would be interesting if playmobil were to try to come up with a more revolutionary design for a doll house, realistic yet accessible. Obviously, there have to be some missing walls somewhere, but it seems to me they could make a lot of money if they revolutionized dollhouse design.

[rufusxavier1977]

Of course, there's still no reason the door couldn't open into the living room. 

See, this seems like so much more of a natural choice to me. Maybe that's because I have lived in several homes that have had the front door right into the living room. And many more that have had the entry way as just a small alcove right off the living room.

And I agree with you about the unrealistic necessity of doll houses. The original Victorian house was the most realistic (therefor so desirable by collectors) but it is a lot harder to "play" in those rooms. The newer houses have a lot more play value but are therefor more open.

[tonguello]

Well. Im an architect, so yes it is ANNOYING 
I had no idea whay they do it. But when you think about it, taking into account the divisions of the house 5300 or 5301...where else would you put the kitchen???. The living room has to be downstairs and near the gallery... and you cant put the kitchen upstairs either, so no other choice than putting the kitchen where the pics shows. Of course you can customize it and add rooms. But as the house is sold I think it is the only way.
Now think of the small victorian house with only 3 rooms.... you have kitchen, bathroom, living-dining-room and bedroom... you are missing one. So one has to go..... I mean nothing is perfect and these are just  representations of houses. As bonnie said you go up the stairs into the bathroom etc.... we just need to imagine hallways. 

[bonniebeth]

The best dollhouse I have ever seen was a huge display that was set up at the local library for several months when I was a kid. I remember going and just staring at it for like, an hour. It was a model of an entire apartment building, and the way it was set up, you were looking down the hallways of the building, going from the open back toward the front, with an apartment on either side of each hallway. There were stairs in the hallways, it was several floors high, and a door into each apartment. I really wish I could remember how the apartments themselves were laid out, but it was so realistic, all the proper dividers and doors, yet you could see everything, too. Of course, it was a massive buiding, but my point is it might be possible to lay out a building in such a way that it looks realistic and at the same time, you can see everything from an open back wall. You should work on it, Mr. Architect. 

[tonguello]

yeah i see your point, but it would be difficult to also play with ...
I got my 5300 yesterday  but Im in love, I don't want to customize it 

[bonniebeth]

Congratulations!

[skypurr]

That really annoys me too.  
I had thought of making the kitchen into the hallway and building a kitchen like the conservatory, going off the hall, but that would mean either having a roof terrace that no one could get to or having a door leading off where the stairs were, unless I removed the stairs, but then if I were to have a hallway, I would want stairs going off it.  
Another idea I had was to make a kitchen off the hallway with servants quarters above it, but that involves cutting bits of roof pieces so I haven't got round to that yet.  

Elaine