Since 1987, Barbara Butler (46) has built more than 200 play structures that look like coming out of children books. Their design is breath taking and defies the imagination. They are strong and safe enough for both children and parents to play on together.

Butler says her designs draw on childhood memories of growing up in a big family in Upstate New York. A Political Science major from the State University of New York, Barbara started a different career by building decks, outdoor furniture and garden structures. Her career path turned when the wife of famous singer Bobby McFerrin (Don’t worry, be happy) suggested Butler builds a play structure for the couple's two children.

Her company, Barbara Butler Artist -Builder Inc., is co-owned with her sister Suzanne Butler, and her husband Jeff Beal. The firm has grown to 14 employees and usually has about eight projects going at once.

Customers pay an average of US$10,000 to US$75,000 for her storybook castles and elaborate spaceships and some of them can reach sums above US$100,. Some of her creations have trapdoors, jail bars, swinging ropes, peepholes, escape hatches and fireman's poles. Butler and her team can build a custom playhouse in about six months. Smaller, non-custom play houses and play forts start at about US$3,500. Her clientele is from all over the United States and as far as France in Europe. All creations are hand-carved, hand-painted and include meticulous attention to detail.

Butler's celebrity clientele includes Robert Redford, Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Bobby McFerrin and Walt Disney Production. One of her structure was featured in the Robin Williams movie "Bicentennial Man".

The largest playhouse she's built is called the "Connecticut Castle." Created for a multimillionaire's two young sons in Litchfield, Conn., it includes three towers, two bridges, a mad scientist's chamber, rock climbing wall, hand-carved gargoyles and a jail with a secret escape tunnel. The boys can descend on a 36-foot-long slide that passes under the main tower or on a 100-foot zip-line cable that runs from the main tower into the woods. The castle cost US$97,720 to its owner.
Butler also built a 17-foot lighthouse in Malibu for record producer Lou Adler.

Barbara gets the client's kids involved in the design process whenever possible. She says. "We all sit around the kitchen table and I let them draw things and we color it in." She always consider that the children are the owner of her creations.

Her website is www.barbarabutler.com.