A sense of play

Young Chang

When night falls onto the Darling House, Tinkerbell flies out of the

chimney.

The coat rack near the door holds the clothes of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell

and Captain Hook, because this is the fantasy-turned-reality version of

the house where Peter Pan lost his shadow and met Wendy Darling. The

fireplace works too.

The roughened-toughened binocular case on the mantel contains browned

maps with routes to Treasure Island and Never Never Land. The little

kitchen is stocked with little pots, little pans, even littler utensils.

Never mind that this is a playhouse -- one in which adults might need

to duck to move around because everything’s proportioned for a small

child. The builders went all out.

Pardee Homes, Bassenian/Lagoni Architects, interior design firm Color

Design Art and landscape architect Lifescapes International, Inc. thought

small but extravagant in their vision for this Peter Pan-inspired home.

Their neighbors -- 10 of them to be exact -- did too. Cluttered at

Fashion Island’s outdoor atrium near Bloomingdales Home Store, the 10th

annual Project Playhouse 2001 fund-raiser for HomeAid Orange County melds

fantasy with reality and water with land.

“It’s a very exciting event because the builders really take it to

heart,” said Delene Garbo, spokeswoman for HomeAid. “They really give it

their all, and when you see the playhouses, you’ll see the incredible

detail that’s in each of the playhouses.”

Established by the Building Industry Assn., HomeAid builds and

renovates shelters for people in Southern California without homes.

The playhouse village opened for tours last week and will remain open

for viewing through Oct. 13. An auction party on the last day will

determine the new owners of these whimsical tiny houses. The playhouses

are donated by the Building Industry Assn., the builders and the design

teams.

Bidding begins at $2,000, but the average price in past years has

proved to be $16,000.

HomeAid’s shelter projects involve such groups as Casa Teresa, House

of Hope, the Anaheim Interfaith Shelter and the Orangewood Children’s

Home.

“Basically we wanted to do a fund-raiser and it made sense to do

something that was related to building because that’s who is our

charity,” Garbo said.

Tom Sawyer’s River House, built by David Mulvaney & Company, Inc. --

along with Richard Kranz and interior design and architect teams -- has a

sink with running water inside. The fireplace lights up, small rocking

chairs clutter the patio outside and folded-up red and green bandannas

curtain the windows.

A Nantucket-style lighthouse called Lighting the Way -- built by KB

Home with KB Home Architecture, SJA Landscape Architects and designer

Klang & Associates, Inc. -- is lawned with sand dunes and sea grass.

“They’re very elaborate and they’re very large,” Garbo said. “Last

year we had a full-screen television, computers and security systems in

some of them.”

The Darling House even has a doghouse outside. And if you want to know

the way to Tiger Lily’s hide-out, there are arrow signs to help.

“If I was a little kid, I would totally love this house,” said

interior designer Julie Schneidewind.

FYI

WHAT: Weekend tours of the Project Playhouse Village

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends only, through Oct. 13. The auction

party will begin at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 13.

WHERE: Fashion Island, 401 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach

COST: $5 donation

CALL: (949) 553-9510