KB Home has enlisted the help of Mickey Mouse to sell homes.

Amid what is shaping up to be the worst housing downturn since the early 1990s, Los Angeles-based KB said Wednesday that it would begin to offer homes customized with Walt Disney Co. characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Captain Jack Sparrow.

Starting sometime next year, buyers will be able to specify flooring, window coverings and lighting inspired by the popular Disney characters. “Almost 60 percent of KB Home home buyers are families with children,” KB spokeswoman Wendy Marlett said in a statement.

KB has a similar agreement with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in which the domestic maven designs and decorates homes sold in nine KB communities in six states across the country, including two in California.

KB does not release specific data on the Stewart homes but said they are “popular.” However, KB has seen home sales decline in its traditional new home communities and analysts expect the company tomorrow to report a loss of 67 cents per share for the fiscal third quarter.

Shares in KB were dropped 3.9 percent, or 98 cents, to $24.11 in afternoon trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.