KidKraft Sparkle Mansion

This is an amazing Barbie house. It's big enough to be used by many other similar-height dolls, too. I have to say, it was extremely easy to put together. Every piece has a number sticker. The instructions are good, too, only once did I have something backwards. All the nuts and bolts are very clearly marked - they come in a plastic container (hidden between several pieces of the house), and each different type is in its own separate section, so you open just the one you need, one at a time - very, very easy and headache-eliminating. There are also several sets of the same screw, but their tips are color-coded, so that you can use the right one to match the design - so the blue screw will blend into the blue siding of the house, and so on (that part takes some planning, so we didn't worry about matching). Assembly does take up to 3 hours, maximum, but it's not difficult - the numbered pieces really reduce arguments, lol. It's huger than I expected - it's very tall, and will be over a 6YO head. Contrary to other reviews, I think the house is very sturdy and the wood is much thicker than I expected. It's a very strong board, vs the actual Barbie house, which is like cardboard. That there are several floors actually makes the entire thing more stable - it's put together with several interlocking bolts. Even the furniture pieces are made of a very thick wood. Even if it's particleboard, doesn't matter - it's very durable and sturdy. Few notes: Take all the pieces out first and put them in numerical order so you can work faster, and keep in mind a few of the smaller construction pieces are hiding in the tub and other furniture. The piano and lamp come with 3 batteries each already installed - you just need to take out that plastic tab. Although one toy was missing one battery, so we bought just one. Our house had all the screw holes in the right places - I think in manufacturing tons of these, there will be a few duds, but you can probably assume yours will be fine. all in all, it's such a better deal than that teeny Dream House, which costs 3X the price, and is 3X smaller. Also, this being bigger, means many kids can play with it at once. Just make sure you have room for it - it's roughly 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide and over 1 foot deep.