Other Houses: Generic A Frame with Cool Midcentury Furniture

Are you sitting down for this? There is another 70's A Frame in Barbie scale out there. Once in a blue moon (which is old timey talk for almost never) you will see one on Feebay. I have seen it once and saved the pics which are on one of my flash drives somewhere, but a few weeks ago I saw just the furniture for sale, so here it is. It may be just under Barbie size, so figure definately for 8 inch or Blythe scale. The design is divine, coloring: non offensive and definately Ken approved (me). Until I find the photos of the hosue, please refer to the post, 'The Other Cottage'. its very similar to the Suntan Tuesday Taylor ski lodge/beach house. Simple, yet elegant and interchangeable.

Mattel A Frame Beach House: 1990 Pool House (AKA the other Pink A Frame)

Set beside white sandy beaches, aquamarine colored waters and giant ferns the very pink open wire structure stands.  

Similarities to the '78 collector dubbed 'A Frame' include bilateral construction, double front doors, white balcony and the overall shape of the letter A. 

From this side you can see dual lantern sconces as in the 1978 House. 

Like the '72 house this has a balcony lawn. I guess they are going for a pied a tere  look. 

For some reason the tile work reminds me of 'Saved By The Bell'. 

Many thanks to A Frame blog's regular contributor, Mary, of the Skipper blog (you can visit by clicking on the link in the upper left hand corner).  She has generously shared photographs and details regarding the 1990 Pool House. This is the only architecturally correct A frame Mattel came out with for Barbie. Though I  favor plastic homes without cardboard or stickers, this playset does follow a sort of sequence in the line of Mattel A Frame inspired houses so deserves an honorable mention here. For fans of the 1985 Pink A Frame Dream House this could be the Cottage since they never came out with a pink version of the 1982 Cottage. I would love to see pictures of this house redone in '78 colors, hint hint blog followers.

Real Life Examples December 2011 Edition

1940's concept house.

Another shot. 

Red tile slant roof with modern white walls. 

Red tile roof with large cut outs like the right and left sides of the Mattel home. 

Diagonal slats on a door. 

Groovy Desert Lodge. Don't you love the Mondrian window panes? 

Desert Lodge side view. 

This is near where I volunteer. It sort of reminds me of a side section. White walls, red tile roof, open down below and asymmetrical. Just needs the skylight cut out. 

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

Furniture: Reissue in Pink

1982 box

Just when we thought we know of all the factory variations of the product line I accidentally discover this anomaly. We all know the harvest gold stove was reissued in the 80's as pink and white along with the rest of the Dream Furniture collection. What was unclear is what year did each of the above stoves come out? From my research I have found that the pale pink stove on the right was in fact the 1982 re-issue, and I am supposing the hot pink one on the left is a 1985 final year issue. Here you can see that one is definitely HOT pink translucent doors and the other a softer bubble gum pink, the stickers are different in several ways. Personally I like the silver stickers over the pink and the black backsplash over the white and pink one, also the number pad on the microwave works better for me. The pots and pans are reverse colors as well, one set is white pots/pans with pink lids, the other the opposite. I am assuming the refrigerator has similar differences in the pink versions, The last photo is my recently acquired hot pink 1985 set 99 cents each plus shipping, ;-) Notice the difference in time? The original was 5:36, now its 8:35. So either Barbie is making dinner way later than before or she bakes breakfast.

1982 box accessory photo.

The hot pink version 1985 fridge and stove.  Other than the Kitchen littles line, I can't think of any other quality white side by side fridge out there. 

in response to There are quite a few versions of the Dream House, the first one came with the mirrored closet doors, furnished version came with the patio triangles while unfurnished version did not...later version of the house did not included the mirrored closet doors and the furniture also was missing the mirrored finish (the coffee and end table) Then they changed the furniture color to the pink, same Dream Furniture but in a different color scheme (pink & white) The house was updated in 1986 in a light pink color,the light pink color version is the hardest to find today it was produced for a year and then Mattel used a more raspberry colored roof instead of the soft pink. Also the windows changed from the clear with the light pink trim to darker pink trim to and all light pink window and the last version came with the all hot pink windows and an almost hot pink roof to match!! The last Dream House was manufactured in 1991. Quite a long running production..the house first appeared in 1979.

Here is the pink 'vette, cottage and dream pool. 

1985 Barbie Mattel Living Room Accents Grandfather clock . Surprisingly well made and rare today. 

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

Everything reissued in pink for the 1980s pink version of the home, wouldn't it have been great if in the 90's there was a blue house with all blue furniture issued?

Customs and Foreign Issue: Repaints, Remolds and Fading: Different Colors

Faded to orange and green these formerly pink and blue pieces are unique indeed. 

Repainted 1978 Dream Furniture Dining room. Editor's note: perfect,  I love it, thats exactly what I would do. Keep up the good work!

(German import yellow, white and orange furniture link is below)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400259681872?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_3195wt_1219

(1978 House with orange floors link below)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1978-Mattel-Barbie-Dream-House-Doll-House-Frame-3-Piece-RARE-/150710620198?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23170d9026#ht_500wt_1219

Quality is poor on these German import photos. Ebay is disallowing right clicks more and more these days, the links above go right to the ended listing, so hopefully if you go there its still valid. here is the idea though. 

Not a color change, but I didn't want to waste a whole post just on this, vintage 'Tomorrow' furniture. Barbie scaled, also had a matching chair,  extremely rare. Sort of matched the oven doors, I would put this in my A frame (and I am very picky about what goes in it) ;-)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250951562719?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_1104wt_1219

FAO Schwartz circa 1973, shame they closed their doors. =-(  This looks brand new in design and condition, why cant some company make this cool ass stuff now? This is why I dont love Mattel, they cater to tots and toddlers, while not making iconic design that passes the test of time. Grrr.....

Whats that? Green and pink set, never before seen?! Well, sorry to tell you it was only a photographic anomaly. Cool pic though. 

Another shot of the infamous German issue dining set, These do appear on ebay occasionally and go for anywhere between $50 and $280. The serving cart was a european thing, they're just so gosh darn posh. 

It looks like an orange and white coffee table, but telling from the other photos it could be lighting or AGE related fading.  Makes me want a peach schnapps real bad...

Its ok, not entirely loving it. The amount of grey reminds me of the late eighties/office colors. Its alot of black, and I dont like blacked out glass doors, and if you're going ultra modern, I wouldnt suggest orange textiles with wood furniture. The floating egg chair is cool, though. I wonder if the reversed left side is on purpose...

Pink and black are definitely the most commonly used colors in A frame repaints, here is a rather well done version. If I was into pink and ultra modern this would be perfect and divine. Shame Mattel can't catch on to this look and quality of house. Even in the oil crisis of the '70's (doesn't plastic come from crude oil?) they banged out a rockin' house. So, why do they put crap out now? Especially since parents of today are the kids of the '70's and '80's that had this awesome stuff 30 years ago. 

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

Custom Repaints: Winter Lodge, Sushi Bar and Bachelor Pad

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150709070934?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_3190wt_113

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150710775947?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_949wt_1219

Copy and paste these in your browser (or for mac users control click to 'go to address in new window')  to see repurposed cottages like you've never dreamed of. I don't know if I love them or hate them, but I can see MUCH time and resources were invested in the projects, so enjoy...

OOAK repaint on a 1982 Cottage. Looks like a 1950's theme project. Its cute, and looks like it was done skillfully. 

Cottage as swinging bachelor pad. More pics on link above. 

Cottage as Asian restaurant, better pics on link above. 

On ebay for bou cou bucks. Did you ever think you'd see a wood grain A frame with a green roof? Neither did I. This belongs in Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280788662837?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_34532wt_1219

1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

Celebrating 1978AFramedreamhouse's 100th Post!

Its hard to believe we made it to 100 posts, but here we are. There is now nearly 9,000 page views, 5 followers, regular contributors and lots of comments. We are definately gaining momentum here and undeniably THE source for A Frame info. Virtually every topic about the A Frame house has been covered so future posts will be mostly about revisiting and further examining covered topics with new photos and comments. Congratulaions fans, we came this far. ;-)

Miscellaneous: My Gas Bill



My gas bill.

When I opened my gas bill last month, low and behold what do I see? What appears to be the right side of the A Frame with a lean to styled front entrance. What a treat. See, the architecture really isnt Swiss A Frame, its more Spanishy, seventies, southern California. Very prevalent where I live. We even have Casitas which would correspond to the 1982 Cottage.

Custom Repaints: Black Roof and Brown Floors, Also Green Walls

Black and brown repaint front.

Black and brown repaint rear.

Green beige repaint (during).

Longtime followers of the blog will know that I tend to be supportive of subtle upgrades and customizations of the nearly perfect and classic design of the house and alternately critical of complete changing/modernizing. These two houses which I came across recently have softened my opnion because I think they were done in the right way and really are aesthetically pleasing. The top house from what I recal sold on ebay auction for $250 plus shipping, so was valued higher than factory original due to how well it turned out. I love it, its conservative, realistic and the topiary plants are perfection. The greenhouse belongs to a follower whom I hope doesnt mind me posting it (let me know if you do). Its very similar to a project I would like to do in the future. As I am an orange/yellow house preserver I have been scouring ebay for years now for a cheap, abused pink on in order to justify the repaint. Personally, I think no matter what the repaint, whatever is white should remain white, the roof and floors are what you reinvent and the window trim is the wildcard. I think colored tape trimmed over the edges would be the best way as paint leaves imperfections. After the last ebay house purchase fiasco (forced refund, etc) I am highly reluctant to attempt another transaction, but it sure would make a great post my finished reinvention. Anyway, I was thinking white walls, lime green floors (mimicking green shag carpet (please see my incredible shrinking woman blog) and medium brown roofs lending itself to timeless realism. So it would still be 70's, just an alternate coloring, much like the Wolverine kitchen playset featured in the blog about contrasting the Dream kitchen appliances and the competitors quality. They have an orange/brown version, then came out with green/white. Really just a lateral move.



1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK