Every Yard Could Use a Playhouse

Now that children are home from school, there will be more time spent in the backyard. That means busy work days for Valley entrepreneur Arthur Gelb and his company, Folk Art Playhouses.

It started when Gelb built a miniature cottage that was displayed at a retail outlet.

Interested buyers made requests that inspired Gelb to expand to three playhouse models, adding Dutch doors and operating windows, lofts and porches. That gave birth to Folk Art Playhouses.

While his standard models are still the mainstay of his business, Gelb has more recently been requested to build more customdesigned play spaces. Recently, he created a madetoorder playhouse as a birthday gift for a young Hidden Hills resident. The child's fantasy was based on a picture in a magazine.

The miniature manor measures 10½ feet wide by 8½ feet deep by 10½ feet high. It has a drywall interior and spacious loft, plus a balcony and deck.

Folk Art Playhouses are weather resistant and are constructed using professional building materials and nontoxic water-based paint.

The playhouses are made in panels for ease of delivery into areas with limited access. The company delivers and constructs every house purchased.

For more information, call (818) 988-1652 or visit www.folkartplayhouses.com.