THE HOUSE THAT CREATIVITY BUILT; WOOD, PAINT AND IMAGINATION COMPLETE DESIGNER'S IDEAL OF THE PERFECT SPACE FOR KIDS.

Byline: Betty Kwong Lifestyle Editor

He scampered up the bright blue ladder, flung open the triangular gate and shot straight for the wooden ship's helm.

``Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me,'' Sam Lyons bellowed, twisting the helm side to side and vigorously clanging the shiny gold bell.

That pirate's life lasted two minutes, about as long as it took for pint-sized pal Ian Kussin-Gika of Granada Hills to beckon him below, where he instantly capped Sam with the silver ``brain transfer'' helmet, transforming him into a baby dinosaur.

Their mothers watched with wide grins. Now this is a playhouse.

Forget the cardboard refrigerator boxes we used to drag home from the appliance store, cut a ``door'' and a few ``windows'' in, and proudly declared our private castles. Manufacturers of play structures for kids are going all out these days, with construction material as durable, accessories as detailed and price tags as high as you'd find on any toys adults would buy for themselves.

Barbara Butler of San Francisco may be single-handedly responsible for raising the bar on what once were simple kids' quarters.

Butler's whimsical and elaborate play structures have found homes everywhere from celebrities' yards (actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates' kids have one, as do singer Bobby McFerrin's kids) to the set of Robin Williams' upcoming movie, ``Bicentennial Man.''

In an age of too much television and computer overkill, Butler has taken it upon herself to help kids rediscover creative playing.

``Creating this space for them in a yard, something that they can have fun and be imaginative in is one of the reasons I do this,'' she said. ``I see the playhouses as sort of stages. My idea is to mix physical play with imaginative play.''

Four-figure fun

The Ryder truck pulled into the Lyons' Sherman Oaks driveway last week, and within a couple of hours, a Hideaway Fort had sprouted on an empty spot of the back patio.

``Oh, Cheryl, it is so fabulous I can't stand it,'' Sam's grandmother, Abby Kanter, cooed.

Cheryl Lyons was speechless.

Sam turned 4 a week ago, and Lyons had been wanting to get her son a playhouse - something different, something he'd spend hours in for years to come. Browsing on the Internet one day, Lyons discovered Butler's designs.

``What she does is so fabulous,'' Lyons said, rocking Sam's 8-month-old brother, Josh, in her arms. ``Sam's very imaginative. He does a lot of play-acting and pretend, which is another reason I decided to get a playhouse instead of a swing set.''

Of course, a Barbara Butler original doesn't come cheap.

One of Butler's more affordable two-story models, Sam's surprise birthday present cost the Kanters about $4,000.

The scaled-down fort combines some of the more entertaining gadgets she's installed in massive play castles, forts and lighthouses that have run not-so-imaginary tabs up to $70,000.

Atop the affordable fort, she's included a ship's helm and metal bell on a high platform reached by ladder and descended via a 10-foot slide; in the enclosed quarters below, kids enter through Dutch doors, complete with a knocker and peephole; inside, a mad scientist panel is fully equipped with timers, switches, buzzers and the all-important brain transfer cap; prisoners trapped inside can receive mail through a slot, see the world through metal bars and, if they're clever, sneak out through the secret escape hatch.

``What I've done for years are really expensive, very wealthy people. Those are custom, one-of-a-kind playhouses,'' Butler said. ``This one, we're trying to combine all the great elements. I like these playhouses and the play structures. They let me hit a more regular market, too, which is where I grew up.''

Slow build

The Butler household in Watertown, N.Y., was a bustling den filled with eight children, their assorted friends, and mom's nursery school clients. In an atmosphere where creativity was encouraged, little Barbara (the sixth child) used the occasional cardboard box and a metal chin-up bar as props.

``We draped everything over it. We had a big ol' tree nearby,'' she said, laughing. ``I broke my left arm twice, my right arm once, my nose ... They were going to rename the emergency ward after us.''

Call it a prerequisite to this career. All that rough and tumble play would pay off when her creative energies were poured into making children's playthings.

``I figure we were good at doing this because we were pretty bad as kids. We were always daring each other to do things, and my husband is very much the same way,'' she said. ``We both see danger spots because we remember what it was like for us.''

The South San Francisco-based art studio, Barbara Butler Artist-Builder, is fast becoming a family affair, with husband Jeff Beal working by her side and several siblings on board, including brother James Butler of Woodland Hills, a contractor who helps with all the Southern California installations.

James Butler, a contractor for years, admits now it was he who led his sister astray right after her college days.

``I had done a degree in political science, and then I just got bitten by the life - being outdoors, working with my hands, making things,'' Barbara Butler said.

She went back to graduate school to pursue writing, but left that behind to help a friend design artistic back yards. That soon segued into building play structures.

It wasn't exactly what Mom had in mind.

``She wanted us to be doctors and lawyers, and do a little art on the weekends,'' Barbara Butler chuckled. ``We were like, `Nope.' ''

The time they invested in the first couple of playhouses made for total financial losses. But they've recently arrived at a point where word of mouth and experience are turning the business venture into a success.

She'll hit the big times in the winter when her red, green and yellow Fort Spanos - built for the Spanos family in Stockton, owners of the San Diego Chargers - will be featured in the F.A.O. Schwarz holiday catalog. No price has been set yet, but word is the Spanoses paid at least $50,000 for theirs.

``When I started on play structures, they figured people weren't going to pay that money,'' Barbara Butler said.

Nowadays, Mom's all for the wacky idea, and Butler's clients are ever so grateful.

``Growing up was so much fun. That's a lot of why I like to make these,'' Butler said. ``I want to make these houses and play structures, to give a little bit of what I had - the sense of play.''

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5 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) KIDDIE CASTLES

Custom-built kingdoms spare no expense

(2--Color) Sam Lyons, 4, left, and his pal Ian enjoy a two-story playhouse, designed and built by Butler.

(3--Color) Ian Kussin-Gika plays with the mad scientist's board. ``I see the playhouses as sort of stages. My idea is to mix physical play with imaginative play,'' says designer Barbara Butler.

(4--5--Color) Above, this Barbara Butler creation was made for the set of Robin Williams' upcoming movie, ``Bicentennial Man.'' At left, the Cape Codder is another Butler original.

John Lazar/Daily News