Doll House- for Boys

We had a Little People Castle, a Little People Barn and a Little People Parking Garage, all of which were like the equivalent of a doll house for boys.

Didn't look at the previous answers but my 2.5 year old has a barn... So a doll house painted red meant for animals :P

He usually ends up using it as a garage for his cars instead of a barn though...

Check out the Imaginext stuff. We have the Bat Cave and the castle set. They are awesome- really durable, great accessories and reasonably priced. Your son will play with them for years. I know ours has!

We have a "Little People" one - I can't remember the brand. It's nice. It folds up, and is not too big. I was able to find some extra "Little People" on Ebay so we have "our family" (kind of). My boys love that the toilet makes a flushing sound. One of them also likes the phone (it rings). Other than the people, nothing detaches, so it's perfect. Good luck!

Found it: http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/products/49445

How about those Batman Imaginext play toys. There are several kinds to choose from. Google it.

think castle, fireman house, police station pirate ships, Playmobil brand, farm/barn

growing up we had a fisher price castle with beds, kitchen (dinning table ) and horses. The above can still have bbq cook outs and kitchen type play.

I personaly think playmobil is weird looking we dont have any. after reading the others suggestions i will say we love imagineex toys we have the castle but its not really house setting, with bathroom and kitche, beds etc.

Does it need to be a doll house for imaginative play? The pre K class my girls are in has a play kitchen, a play "workshop" with plastic nails, hammers, saws and such, a sand table (they switch out what is actually in it weekly) and tons of other things.
I bought a Step2 brand kitchen for my girls a few years ago and it is neutral colors. (tan, burgundy and taupe). They play house in it, but they also use it to play veterinarian to their stuffed animals (like Doc McStuffins), they have used it for dinosaur play (cabinets, oven and such are individual caves/homes to dif. dinos). They have played pediatritian with the dolls using the kitchen as a nurses station and they have "washed" the babies in the 'sink' like they have been told I did with them.
One of the things that helps me t choose this particular (and particularly expensive in my book) kitchen was that several people rated it very highly and several even mentioned that their older boys played with it too although not always in the intended way. (one said he son used the cabinets as apartments for his Star Wars characters)
If it needs to be a doll house for a specific reason or type of play, I recommend scouting yard sales or craigslist or freecycle and look for an old barbi play house. Yes, they are pink, but walmart has this wonderful paint in the spray paint isle that is made for plastic! Take the interior panels off and spray that thing any color you want! Pop the panels back in and you have a doll house. You can get a Ken, Barbi, little sis, baby etc, nearly anywhere. (dont have to be Barbi by Mattel, but I have never seen a boy doll like Ken made by anyone else.)
I have also seen the little boys work benches for sale. Try Little Tykes, Step2 and other companies that make those kinds of things.
Remember though that some little brains are just more concrete and although able to be inventive need to be guided at first.
Art can do this too, if he is centered in a more 'real' world. Try using markers or crayons to draw lines and shapes that he feels would represent an emotion. "If you are angry and hurt, what color do you think it would be?" (guide him to think about what color your face or skin may turn when you are angry. then when he chooses a color ask him if he thinks angry lines would be soft and flowy or rounded or hard, jagged and pointy)
Nearly anything can be used for pretend play. My little stinkers got jump ropes in their Easter baskets and tied them to the bedpost and one to the door knob and pretended (thank God) that they were Diego on a zip line going to rescue an animal!
I have more trouble keeping my girls in the real world as far as understanding the dangers that lurk by some of their imaginative play. (scared the @#*% out of me that they tied the rope to the top of the bed and jumped off! Just glad that they didn't tie it around any part of themselves!)

I'm usually a fan of Melissa and Doug but all I could find were pink houses. I did find this one, furnished and has people: http://www.dollhousesgalore.com/ready-to-play-dollhouses/...

Fisher Price has a Loving Family house: http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/brands/lovingfamily/Pro...

But something like this http://moderndna.com/kids/plan-toys-wooden-doll-house/ might be good for an active little boy.

The library used to have a plain wooden dollhouse and all the kids of all ages and genders used to play with it. Just make sure it fits the dolls you will have living in it.

And this site has more houses than you can shake a stick at: http://www.dollhousesgalore.com/ready-to-play-dollhouses/...

I like the cabin: http://www.dollhousesgalore.com/ready-to-play-dollhouses/...

If you are near an IKEA, they have a ton of small toys - finger puppets, vet kits, food items, kitchens, etc. That will encourage imagination. My friend's son is 6 and still totally into his IKEA kitchen.

Or what about a cardboard play cottage or castle he can decorate himself? http://www.shoptadpole.com/Easy-Playhouse-Castle.html

For his age Little People sets or Weebles might also be a good choice.

ETA: Glad you found some good sets. I have a DD and I frankly think that this "must have a pink version" is silly, even though DH bought her a pink trike.

I have seen wonderful gender neutral playhouses at Lakeshore Learning http://www.lakeshorelearning.com
They're a little pricey, but you can get the furniture, people etc somewhere else. They stand up to a lot of play.
Other options are things like Fisher Price playsets. Toys R Us has a "natural wood" section that I've seen playsets that are more neutral. They're in the section where they keep Thomas trains, books and art stuff.
It'll be harder to find something at Target or Walmart or other "big box" places that carry a limited selection of things as they tend to stock the gender segregation stuff more.

We got our oldest son the Fisher-Price Imaginex Batcave at Walmart and also the Gourmet Kitchen Collection at Pottery Barn Kids. For our boys and girl we added the KidKraft Soho Townhouse from Costco. The townhouse is pink from the outside that is mostly against the wall and the inside of the home is retro. Hope that sparks some ideas :)

How about a house for superheroes my son got one when he was 6 he still plays with it now and he is 10 or stuffed animals my soon to be 13 year old still plays with them.

we just got our little man his own kitchen set. Plus the one nana got him for christmas, plus the set of little dishes and food. He loves it and cooks all the time.

Likewise he loves both of his play vacuums (one upright and one canister), his cleaning cart and any combo of brooms and sweepers.

Fisher Price Adventure People. Google that and see if that would work. It's not really 'house' type, but it will definitely take care of the creative/pretend play.

My boys have 2 Imaginext castles; the dragon castle, and the ogre fortress.

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Imaginext-Dragon-World...

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Imaginext-Eagle-Talon-...

They also have this fire station/police station combo:
http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-Everyday-Heroes-Play-Set/d...

All of these items are very well made, sturdy, and keep my boys engaged.

I also got a Little People dollhouse for them from a garage sale--yes, it's bright pink, but it is used mostly by my 2 yr old who doesn't notice.

Finally, they have a Melissa and Doug wooden farm set, and I got a John Deere tractor set to go with it. They are all great toys.

How about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00414ZLHI/downand...

Or this one ...

http://thedollhousecompany.com/eshop/fun-explorers-rocket...

How about something like this? Got one for my son the Christmas he was 3 year old and he loves it. It has tables/chairs/beds/bathroom accessories. The only thing is that my son plays a bit rough, and the wooden vehicles did not last a year, but now he parks other rescue vehicles there instead, so still useful.

http://www.amazon.com/Kidkraft-Deluxe-Fire-Rescue-Set/dp/...

Google "modern doll house"
there you will find the more gender neutral doll houses. I saw one on amazon that was all wood and less than $200.

Check out Magic Cabin online. They have lovely (albeit pricey) toys that encourage imaginary play, including dollhouses that aren't cutsey/pinksy - they're natural wood colored. And they have dollhouse families that aren't just fair/blond/blue-eyed, too.

probably too late - but Nova Naturals has a play/tree house. There is also a doll house somewhere on their site (or was) I just haven't seen it yet.
Good luck!