Le Toy Van Mayberry Manor

Comments about Le Toy Van Mayberry Manor:

This is a beautiful dollhouse - it's very well painted and the colors are just perfect for any girly-girl. The windows and doors really open and shut (held by magnets), making it more realistic. My 4 year old boy/girl twins love it, which is the most important thing. They literally play with it for HOURS at a time - twin brother has his large wood firehouse/police station next to the house and has to rescue twin sister's house on fire...LOL. The height is good - not too enormous to overwhelm a room but large enough for 2 kids to play at the same time (see negative on sizing though). We converted our train table to hold the dollhouse and fire/police station together and they both fit well on the table and put it at eye level for the kids when their on their knees. The quality isn't perfect in all honesty, BUT with that said, for a child's toy in today's world, it is high quality compared to most others I looked at. For a child's toy, I'm ok with the quality and thus far, it has lasted without problems. Assembly is mainly slot construction - putting it together like a puzzle, EXCEPT the large front doors. You must put the magnetic closures on yourself (Which are held by plastic), and it was not easy to line it up. I searched and searched and the price here on Hayneedle can't be beat. [...]The negatives:My biggest complaint is the roof. The 3rd floor is under the roof and in order to access it, you have to remove two wooden pieces on the top sides, and then remove the roof (Which turns into a "garden" for in front of the house). My 4 year olds cannot remove a wooden roof on their own. So for now, we leave it in place and just leave out that furniture and they don't have access to the 3rd floor. I know if I were to leave it removed, they would want me to replace it all the time, so until they can do it themselves, we leave the roof on and don't show them that it comes off.We purchased the Rosebud line of furniture to match which is very cute and detailed but not all the furniture will fit into the house. I wish the house was a little deeper in size. So just choose a few main rooms and don't buy ALL the furniture or it won't fit.It's not 100% wood (there is some particle board), but compared to a plastic piece of junk, I'm Ok with that. The main body of the house is wood. I still think it's heirloom quality and will be able to be passed down. I would NOT recommend it for a child under 4 as it does need to be cared for and a child that can understand they can't be real rough with it. Plus, if it's purchased too early, any child would loose interest before they are really old enough to enjoy it.It's one-sided. There is nothing on the back other than a cream board making it a little less realistic and if you put it in the middle of the room, the back isn't attractive.Considering the HOURS of imagitive play my twins get out of it, the negatives are really small things so I'm not complaining per say - but pointing these things out for others since it's not obvious in the pictures before purchase. Overall, we are happy with the house and would definitely recommend it. It is beautiful and looks good as a decoration even when not being played with :).