Mercari: Marvelous?

 For decades I have been a loyal customer and sharp critic of Ebay, or Feebay. Last year I chatted to a relative about her selling toys on Mercari. Not only does she do quite well, she prefers it to Ebay. Ebay has always needed a fierce E-commerce competitor so there is not a monopoly. This week, as a friend encouraged me to check out Mercari to sell some of his things, I reluctantly investigated and found these:

I was impressed with the available inventory of not only 1978 Barbie A Frame DreamHouse items, but other things as well. Some things were higher than Ebay, some things were lower, it all jsut depends. While Mercari carries lots of clothing items, I looked a lot at action figures, my other passion, and found lots. Mostly, prices are competitive with Ebay, Amazon and Target. However, I do like having an alternative shopping venue. The site will be especially valuable for when you do need a lot of hot pink windows and there is not an Ebay seller with such goodies. I have added their bookmark so I can price shop on the next must have item. I did recently sign up for Mattel Creations so I could snag a 12" She Ra Barbie doll the second offering before it was again sold out. Total out the door $67, minimum price on Ebay: $250. Score. Anyway, I will post more about Mercari as I get more experienced. I am done renovating A Frames for now, but I am open to acquiring another 1980 pool, so we shall see. 

To compare, here are recent (October 2025) ebay prices, note these will be dirty, unrestored, incomplete, no instructions, in most cases no patio triangles, must buy pieces you do not need, sub par packing allowing for possible damage or local pick up only to 1,000 miles away:

I relish the days of 2009ish when I could get one delivered for $35-$75.

Real Life Mid Mod A Frames For Sale

 Often these preserved gems pop up on MLS and depending on the area can be surprisingly affordable. Most haven't been updated since they were built 40-60 years ago. Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed the rich, darker Earth tone palette and use of natural substance like exposed wood beams and paneling, flagstone look floors and stacked stone fireplaces, brown, green or orange shag carpeting, lots of plants and planters and floor to ceiling glass walls and clerestory windows to let the surrounding foliage and sky inside. Here are some prime examples...

The ubiquitous globe light 

Side balconies, recessed entryway and carport

Citrus colored doors pop in a monochromatic, Mondrian inspired facade. 

Clean, simple lines let the flower beds and flower boxes be the focal points. 

Contrasting beams soar above a voluminous great room. The perfect artwork: a glade of trees just outside...

Wow, stone, space and modern light fixtures blend well together

Generally, a carport is better suited, but here is the garage version: 

The 1978 Barbie house was unofficially dubbed, the "A Frame" house, but you can see it's a misnomer. The owner of this house bought a fantastic mid century modern home and gave it the trendy (for now) farmhouse cottage look with 1980s country blue, all they need now is the little ducks on everything. Hopefully, some hip owners will restore it back to what it was always meant to be: space age atomic modern with cool crisp colors and a citrus or turquoise colored door and modern light fixtures. Plus a little but of landscaping would be nice...

These 60s houses usually had 50s style hardwood floors which can be refinished light, dark, or my favorite middle tone of "American Walnut". Avoid sectional sofas that suck up the entire room and limit other furniture placement. Loungers with ottomans are just as comfortable and can easily be moved about to suit the occasion. This room could use hanging lights to clear up more space for guests to move about. Staining or painting the beams and window trim would add much needed sharp contrast for added visual interest. Including a rug would cut the glare coming in from the window light and absorb sound so as to avoid any echos. If they put the sofa on the other wall, then a large, impressive, modern (think Pollack) work of art could be hung on the larger wall over the sofa. When you only shop at Ikea or Target the result is very bland and common. These old houses deserve better. Shop local and online retailers that specialize in mid mod items. You'll be glad you did, and your guests will be very impressed. 

I'm sure any builder would be happy to custom build this vintage plan for you. 

1970's Fab Chic "Blob" sofas:

Meanwhile, in a high end design store in 2025, the diagonal slats live on:

What a real life upstairs center piece would look like today:

Post Modern Dystopia: A Frame Townhouse Tract Ruins ~ 

This is the "Sky Lounge" in a condo building. I was enjoying myself here, looked up and thought, "Hey, this reminds me of the A Frame house floor pieces and white columns". It's funny feeling like you are inside a life size A Frame toy house. 

More Customs to Amaze & Inspire

1978 Classic: factory new ~ 

And the one of a kind customs...

Miami Vice colors:

This would also be great for Barbie & the Rockers or Jem's Misfits house.  

I'm so glad to see stacked stone incorporated into the house. I was thinking of doing a house with a brown roof and tan floors and I can see here how the tan floors work really well. 

I have struggled with if and how much to enclose the house with foam board inserts. I am perfectly happy to add ground level side panels to enclose the kitchen and living rooms but upstairs I leave open. 

A 

Wit

custom ooak 1978 barbie Mattel dream doll house craf

Dusty rose floors & doors and charcoal black roof refresh this A Frame; flowers in the beds would look great; I love that it is the same size as the cube storage shelf below and how it illustrates that those who want additional rooms can simply sit the house atop a shelf system rather than snapping off wall posts to turn two houses into a larger one. 

The highlight of this home is the custom garage, though yellow edges would be more cohesive and blend better. A+ on the staging and Ferrari. 

Interesting, though it looks permanently modified and I am somewhat unclear on the theme. Either way, needs flowers and the two original yellow doors now don't match. But at least someone had a fun craft project for the month? Cut to future FB marketplace listing with no buyers. 

t project farmhouse 

Digesting the Architecture of this Groovy, Captivating Toy

 I have some architecture and design books, having collected them over the past few decades. Today, I thought I would share some of the pages I think most inspired our favorite half century old toy. With origins dating back as far as 1920's Bauhous, and adding styles from MCM Atomic era minimalism, to 1960's groovy chalet kitsch and finally to 1970s Granola, Earth-tone beach house modern hybrid, our home is complete. 

Hopefully this will give some insight into what the design is from, how to custom decorate and or modify this and the 1982 Cottage in accurate, cohesive ways that stay true to the original design aesthetic. I have made plenty of custom decor, furniture, stairs and patio items from discarded craft pieces. I'll post a picture of my personal A Frame sometime soon! 

Mid mod kitsch chalet

An actual A Frame: roof line extends to ground level: 

Our kitchen color palette, pairs nicely with orange, white, cream, brown and any accent flowers, butterflies and mushrooms. Can be made to look more 50s, 60s or 70s. 

Alternate green appliances, Gloria brand makes GREAT full size washer dryers for a good price on ebay, easily sprayed green. 

Lots of clean line wood panels define these 1970s "Sea Ranch" style homes that swept the nation from 74-83. 

Soaring ceilings and exposed beams bring the sky into the living room, with plants and fountains, this is definitely a spaceship Earth style home. 

A bump out balcony here also mimics our bump out closet: 

Adequate hard and landscaping accentuate the architecture of these lovely homes. 

The point of shed roof structure and clerestory windows and skylights is to direct light and heat. 

This is what an A Frame carport should look like; I just park the '78 Vette on an extra floor piece. 

Modular furniture and architecture juxtapose nicely against the abundance of natural light, plants and exposed wood beams. 

You can see here they left the original wood and brick alone without painting everything "farmhouse" white and they survived just fine. Lots of plants cohesively complete the look. See also: Jamie Somers carriage house apartment.