Submarines, castles, secret gardens. The Batmobile. Wrigley Field. With Heartwork Designs' custom-made children's beds, youngsters wake up in a real-life fantasyland surrounding them from all angles, a product of their own imagination.

"We just love what we do, and love to see the children's faces when they see it for the first time," said owner and designer Herb Donner, 70.

Donner's wife, Beverly, 69, has been painting premade children's furniture since 1986 in Pacific Palisades, when she painted with a partner for boutiques in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, Port O' Call stores in Pasadena, and Nordstrom.

In 1991, the Donners moved to Escondido, and began designing and building custom children's furniture, and painting and installing in their customers' homes. Working with retailers such as Nieman Marcus, Donner built his first large-scale project, a custom-designed castle bed, complete with staircase, cubbyholes as castle windows, and turrets.

The name Heartwork Designs grew out of the Donners' philosophy: artwork coming from the heart. Also, many of their initial painting designs were florals in the shape of hearts.

Thanks to word-of-mouth, Donner's pieces gained popularity nationally as well as throughout North County. Eventually moving away from retail channels, he now prefers to work directly with only local clients. "We want to maintain our level of quality in each piece, since everything is handmade. We just wouldn't be able to supervise the quality if we went national," said Donner.

Custom fantasy beds are Heartwork's primary product nowadays; either bunk beds, or single beds with play areas on the top or bottom.

"This is such a different world," said Donner of the intense creativity and interpersonal work from which he derives such joy. "I originally come from the corporate world, so this is really a big change."

Heartwork Designs does not advertise, he said. Every project is through word-of-mouth and referrals from previous clients, or most often, through the children.

"One of my first big fantasy beds was for a child at La Jolla Country Day School," he said. "They had their friends come over, they saw the bed, and wanted one, too."

They can make it

Themes are limited only by the imagination.

One of Donner's recent projects encompassed an antique train bed with a full-size mattress, lights, train sounds, and whistles. On the other side of the bedroom, Donner built a playhouse -- a replica of the old Del Mar train station found on Coast Boulevard across from Powerhouse Park.

Another project included three separate children's rooms in one house: a medieval castle bed with spiral staircase; a boat bed with working portholes, a ship's wheel, and life preservers procured from a boat supplier; and a "Star Trek" bed with a working console, a fusion chamber, and a "warp core" with lights that "powers the starship," said Donner.

Other projects have included a Batmobile bed, submarine beds, and sports stadium beds, including Petco Park and Wrigley Field. The latter features real bricks, a scoreboard, and Chicago Cubs bats as the railing on the side staircase.

Some upper-level beds even have fire poles as a fun incentive to get those sleepy little guys and gals out of bed.

One father had a table made and painted in the likeness of a baseball, along with chairs in the shape of large catcher gloves.

Meeting of the minds

Donner also often incorporates murals and trompe l'oeil paintings into his custom projects. One artist from his team will paint a landscape window, an English garden scene, even the sixth hole at the Torrey Pines North golf course on a whole wall, featuring such details as the paragliders that take off from the Torrey Pines Gliderport.

As principal artist, Donner's daughter, Lori Fisher, paints many of the projects. Donner also meets with each client directly, or with an interior designer. He can brainstorm with clients, or provide feedback on visions that have already been hatched. And he still does all the designing himself. A recent antique train bed was designed from a three-inch model train Donner once owned. He will work from photographs or even just his imagination.

"We guide people away from mistakes in design or awkwardness in themes," said Donner. He meets with clients several times throughout the design process, asking questions as the idea is developed, and receiving feedback during construction and after completion.

After the initial design stage, which may take one or two weeks, Donner's carpenter in Carlsbad builds the pieces. Each has a hardwood frame and furniture-grade birch plywood as typical construction materials.

Lori or another artist on the team paints it, and then it's disassembled and installed at the client's home.

The process typically lasts four to eight weeks from design to installation, depending on the scope and scale. However, some larger projects with never-before-done themes and multiple pieces have been known to take up to six months.

A typical custom fantasy bed may run around $5,000, depending on special requests and specific requirements. A large, all-encompassing project with beds, other furniture, and wall murals, may run about $10,000. It all depends on how much detail is involved, and which pieces of furniture the client wants custom-made.

Donner considers a child's interests and hobbies, individually crafting each piece to their likes, dislikes, and dreams.

His current project involves redesigning and redecorating a room he had previously done for a young girl. The room will have a Parisian theme and will feature a custom-designed canopy bed, vanity, hutches, and awnings on the walls hanging over trompe l'oeil paintings of various Parisian-style storefronts.

"We tend to develop very special relationships with each of our customers," said Donner, who grew up in Point Loma. "Sometimes they even hug me as if I was a member of their family."

He participated in the Make-A-Wish Foundation last year and offered to make a fantasy bed for a child. He eventually painted a panel for a place underneath a bunk bed for the child's family.

"I always wish the best for each child we build a piece for. I think about them even after the project has been completed, and hope they are growing to be happy young people who follow their dreams," said Donner.

Anna Chimowicz is a freelance writer. Contact Heartwork Designs at (760) 737-0242 or visit http://heartworkdesigns.com.