A “Barbie penthouse” once owned by the founders of Mattel is hitting the market for $10 million.
The three-bedroom Los Angeles condo has a long history — Mattel owners Ruth and Elliot Handle raised their family in it — but was not truly transformed into a Barbie paradise until interior designer Nicole Sassaman bought it from the Handles’ daughter, Barbara Segal (the real life Barbie), 10 years ago.
She then remodeled the condo in 2015 to make it fit for the iconic doll: white oak floors, crystal quartz countertops, Venetian plaster, pink velvet armchairs and artwork of historic Barbie dolls on the walls. The renovation took more than a year and cost around $3.5 million.
“Every day I pinch myself,” Sassaman, who once received a note from Segal thanking her for her love of the doll and the world she created in the apartment, told the New York Post. “I feel really lucky. It was a lot of work, a lot of risk-taking — and I’m really grateful. I hope I can be inspirational to other girls or people that everything is possible.”
She had lived there with her husband Raphael and their 15-year-old daughter Ava for nearly a decade but is now looking to move to a not “quite so fancy” place. To celebrate her time in the home, Sassaman hosted and documented a “last supper” celebration with 2019 Miss Teen USA winner Kaliegh Garris and a number of other models and singers.
“I’m ready to let someone else have the dollhouse,” Sassaman said. “It’s healthy to teach my daughter about detachment because nothing lasts forever. That’s part of why I have to let go and move on to something new. Change leads to growth.”
Listed for $9.988 million by Douglas Elliman’s Scott Segall and Carrie Berkman Lewis, the condo comes with a stylish chef’s kitchen, an ample living room set off by floor-to-ceiling windows, a glass wine cellar holding over 300 bottles and a balcony that offers sweeping views of Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign. The complex comes with tennis courts, a dog park, a swimming pool, valet parking and a gym on the Avenue of the Stars.
Barbie, a doll created by Mattel in 1959, is often cited as the most iconic doll of all time. While the coming decades brought with them countless controversies regarding the beauty standards and examples set by the doll, Barbie’s all-pink feminine world continues to inspire countless interior and fashion designers.
