barbie penthouse nicole sassaman barbara handler

This $13 Million Barbie Penthouse Is Fantastic, But More Marble Than Plastic

Barbie dreams.

If you’ve ever fantasised about living in the Barbie Dream House, your fantasies could become a reality, provided you have $13 million to spare. Once owned by Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler, the Barbie Penthouse in LA was also home to the real-life Barbie and Ken; Barbara and Kenneth Handler, the Mattel founders’ daughter and son.

barbie penthouse nicole sassaman barbara handler

Purchased from Barbie – who, somewhat understandably prefers to go by Barbara – Handler Segal herself, the Barbie Penthouse is the result of interior designer Nicole Sassaman’s vision. Sassaman claims the original penthouse didn’t have a Mattel or Barbie-inspired theme. “It felt like a 1960s time warp. The only thing in the home related to Barbie was the Barbie and Ken dolls in a glass case,” she told Forbes. “I only wish that I had asked Barbara for them, but I didn’t have the heart.”

Far from the cotton candy world inhabited by the fictional Barbie and Ken, the Barbie Penthouse is a definitively sophisticated take; incorporating elements of the Barbie identity without resorting to child-like decor. Built from scratch, the interiors fuse materially-rich elements with a fun yet stylish aesthetic, the perfect homage to the iconic Barbie doll.

Arguably the heart of the home, the kitchen provides the ultimate wow factor. Custom made for Sassaman, the de Giulio kitchen features a crystal quartz island, La Cornue cooking range, a sliding Calcutta marble backsplash, and a custom sliding ladder. Meanwhile, the rest of the space takes on the same decidedly luxurious tone, filled with Venetian plaster, designer wallpaper, custom millwork, 12-foot ceilings, Holly Hunt decorative light fixtures, and French fume-finished white oak wood floors, according to listing brokers Scott Segall and Carrie Berkman Lewis of Douglas Elliman.

Littered with creature comforts and unexpected twists like library shelves that double as a secret door or a loft hidden in one of the rooms, the Barbie Penthouse comes complete with an eco-smart fireplace surrounded by crystal quartz and a custom glass wine cellar that houses 300 bottles. Standing opposite is an expansive balcony with floor-to-ceiling windows that bathe the space in natural light and offer panoramic views of the city, with the Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Sign, and Pacific Ocean in sight. 

As for what the real Barbie thought of the penthouse? Barbara Handler Segal visited the finished penthouse, leaving Sassaman a note that she included in her self-published coffee table book, aptly titled ‘Barbie Penthouse’. “I didn’t know how much you loved Barbies and it is very touching seeing how you centered the whole project around her,” Handler Segal wrote. “I wish my parents could see what you did!”


Words by AR Staff