Cottage : Custom Design

These photos were made possible by combining two cottages, the 1980 pool and miscellaneous accessories both Mattel and non-Mattel. I tried to keep everything as clean and simple as possible.  Everything you see is just placed together, no nails or glue required =-) PS this is in UNpainted cottage. The one I am refurbing had to be painted and is OXY-Kaboom! white which does make the slightly faded roof and floors really pop quite nicely. Incidentally, the small white cactus planters were a 3 pack from Pier one for $5.99 and they go great with everything. Usually they live in shadow boxes in my study. The clear orange table is a stationary box from Michaels that was like $3.99 and works so well in all dioramas as well. The white sofa is one of those cheapie Chinese Gloria sets that are kinda too small for Barbie but make the house look bigger and gorgeous, so anyway there you have it. Side note, you can never have too many floor pieces for patios. They actually work better than the triangles and can be obtained MUCH cheaper.

I did not do this floor tile pattern but I saw it online and thought it was interesting and well done, would make for a good bathroom or kitchen. Another subtle and congruent attention to detail customization.

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

Cottage : Renovation : Before, During AND After

Short sale, all offers welcome! 

Demolition...

Clean, dry and ready for some scotch tape. Afterwards I was ready for some scotch of my own. PS Out of my two cottages, my personal one had no post covers and the new purchase ($21 plus shipping) had 4 brown cracked ones. I had 4 repaired covers left over from the shards I pieced together as featured in another post I used for this project (they are featured below).  

Appropriate layout for spraying, you want as many things as possible parallel to get the overspray from the piece next to it plus it goes faster as your sweeping arm movements are more smooth and coordinated. 

The red and yellow parts really do pop against the freshly painted white. Do know that I did not paint the rafters or the side columns. They werent that far gone and it blends okay. See the front right section of railing that was missing I replaced with a poster board scrap by tracing? 

Nothing too exciting back here to report, you can see the repaired columns, they were brown and in pieces, so scotch tape and Rustoleum really work wonders. 

All packed and ready to go to a fresh new buyer. I surround the paper wrap with a combination of bubble and styrofoam. This box is just a smidge larger than it needs to be but its measurements are 23x20x14. 

I really did not want to paint any part of the cottage, but the walls of the new purchase were just too far gone, here you can see why it was necessary. Just make sure all the nooks and crannies are super clean or you will be painting over dust which will be totally noticeable later.

Customs : Repaints and Floor Factory Colors

Very orange floors. 

Very yellow floors. 

Here you can just barely see the rare purple roofed house with mauve floors. 

Hot pink roof, see the picture above this one is more purple ish. 

Reinvented Cottage: July 2012 Edition

As most of you may know there is a post featuring the $1500 sushi restaurant cottage on ebay, the $800  Ken's swingin' bachelor pad (plus a 1978 A Frame ski lodge for Bratz) and the occasional one like this latest reinvention of the cottage. I like it, I dont love it. As the 1982 Cottage is so much rarer than the big house I dont condone modernizing these rarities. Theres so many other new dollhouses out there I dont find it necessary. It does look like they did a good job painting it though. I like the detail work on the french doors with frosted glass. I believe the lanterns and mailbox are black. I wonder if a lighter color for the lantern would have looked better. The 1978 Dream Furniture line also got a make over in chocolate brown to mimic wood. I wouldnt have gone the leopard print route but we all have individual tastes. Plus I think the bare wicker furniture looks a bit unfinished against everything else. It needs a plant, umbrella, BBQ or fire pit up there. I cant help but wonder where all the flower boxes went to. My personal cottage doesnt have one and I never see them in miscellaneous lots of Barbie odds 'n ends.

Ho ho hopeless...

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

Blogger's Own: Renovated and Sold House

This is the last one I refurbished (cleaned, spray painted, added flowers). I made a profit of approximately $20 for 3 days of work. It was not my usual $60, but times are tough. The buyer was very happy with it. I think it was an exceptional deal. 

Colorforms : Rare Pink Version 'Super Deluxe Dream House

Sorry for the pixelation, but here is the interior. 

On a 'item youve been watching' list of A Frame homes this week on Feebay, I found this, 'item you may be interested in'. Its a 1990 Colorforms set perportedly unopened and still plastic sealed. I have never seen it before, its also one of the only images from Mattel that feature a non bi-lateral presentation of the house. I like the pink and green color scheme they did on the front of the box. You can check it out now on the Ebay with search terms 1990 barbie colorforms house. Its sealed, so no interior shots for now.
Update: 2020-2023: Amazon now has the original 1978 version colorforms kit reissued for under $20! 

architect architects idea ideas goal aesthetic eames eichler palm springs by the sea malibu granola earth tones earthy autumn wexler wood slats open playful fun 1960s 60s open playful play timeless heirloom 

Box : 1982/1983 Box (last of the red and yellow house boxes)

I have scoured Feebay for years and have honestly never seen this box that surfaced on google this week. Thank You Mary (http://skippercollector.blogspot.com/ for letting me know that the outfits featured on the photo are 1982/1983.

Factory packed parts. Windows came in a cellophane wrapped light weight cardboard box. 

Original, unopened plant bag.

keyword terms: barbie doll house dollhouse vintage 1970s 1978 1979 a frame malibu chalet orange yellow red white pink hot free for sale ebay pinterest etsy new old renovated dolls fashion clothes clothing lot estate parts wall walls door doors window windows part balcony closet flower flowers planters planter plant plants box boxes accessory accessories small pieces info information instructions how to put together where to find buy purchase locate available collector collectible gold silver platinum label individual post posts covers sides custom 3 three section sections patio triangles floor floors dark light build scres pictures club group rare custom ook htf oop in mint clean complete 1980 1981 cottage 1982 1983 1980s color colors anniversary 1984 1985 1986 large bog 3 ft 4 feet long high tall huge large open moveable arrangeable craigslist online forum question questions 40th 50th 45th 55th 60th 35th reproduction remade retro nostalgia nostalgic memories childhood play display mini miniature set up sections  mid mod mid century modern 60s kitsch fun playful open new design designer interior decorator decor designer  

architect architects idea ideas goal aesthetic eames eichler palm springs by the sea malibu granola earth tones earthy autumn wexler wood slats open playful fun 1960s 60s open playful play timeless heirloom 

Miscellaneous : Impound

Let my people go! I dont know what this A Frame did to deserve solitary confinement, but hopefully it will get bailed out and refurbed soon. What is that weird light coming out of the house and through the chain link? Is it a haunted A Frame? Hhhmm....I guess thats another mystery. =-) 

2013 A Frame Dream House : Then Vs Now...

I'm so glad I found this photo to compare the original and new A frames. For me the new one just seems cluttered with small bits of stuff, the house is smaller, has fake views outside the windows, smaller rooms, I'm not sure what the black grates at the bottom of the window boxes are. I just dont get the new house. I think Mattel test marketed reissuing the 1978 house with the promotional ad they ran 1-2 years ago (see previous post), and must not have had a great response so decided with the reinvention. If someone ever repaints it in vintage colors please email me I would love to make a post about it. 

They have also reintroduced the 1970's townhouse will elevator. In this case, I think it's an improvement. lol

Custom OOAK repaint barbie beach house. 

Miscellaneous : Professional Grade Photos

Okay, so not complete, but it does show the houses off well. I havent spent any time on the Cottage (in person or here on the blog), so when time permits I will do some cottage and 1980 pool posts. 

Box : 1979ish

Lots of color photos depicting different scenes, very nice look. 

While most artists renderings are blue or pink this years was black, nice update. 

Renovation : Post Covers

As far as I could take the shattered remnants from 2 renovations ago. These are prepainted and you can see just how much tape is involved in making them functional once again. There were 2 or 3 other posts that I got from the original bunch not featured here because they are apart of the current reno for sale now. If I didnt take the time to repair these fragments, I wouldnt have been able to complete the posts on the reno. So you are helping yourself out by taking the time to do this part of the restoration. 

From out of the shipping box. (before) #unhealthyobsession

keyword terms: barbie doll house dollhouse vintage 1970s 1978 1979 a frame malibu chalet orange yellow red white pink hot free for sale ebay pinterest etsy new old renovated dolls fashion clothes clothing lot estate parts wall walls door doors window windows part balcony closet flower flowers planters planter plant plants box boxes accessory accessories small pieces info information instructions how to put together where to find buy purchase locate available collector collectible gold silver platinum label individual post posts covers sides custom 3 three section sections patio triangles floor floors dark light build scres pictures club group rare custom ook htf oop in mint clean complete 1980 1981 cottage 1982 1983 1980s color colors anniversary 1984 1985 1986 large bog 3 ft 4 feet long high tall huge large open moveable arrangeable craigslist online forum question questions 40th 50th 45th 55th 60th 35th reproduction remade retro nostalgia nostalgic memories childhood play display mini miniature set up sections  mid mod mid century modern 60s kitsch fun playful open new design designer interior decorator decor designer  

architect architects idea ideas goal aesthetic eames eichler palm springs by the sea malibu granola earth tones earthy autumn wexler wood slats open playful fun 1960s 60s open playful play timeless heirloom 

Box : 1980/1981 Version

These boxed jewels just keep popping up on evilbay. Fetching on average $200-450. I like the artist's renderings, it is a shame that the original shipping carton will have to be defaced for and during shipment. Its also amazing to me that they have been in storage for all these years. I wonder how many are still rotting away in attics, basements and storage facilities. If anyone out there knows the difference in size between the furnished and unfurnished house boxes please add a comment below. Note it is furnished with pink and white furniture.

keyword terms: barbie doll house dollhouse vintage 1970s 1978 1979 a frame malibu chalet orange yellow red white pink hot free for sale ebay pinterest etsy new old renovated dolls fashion clothes clothing lot estate parts wall walls door doors window windows part balcony closet flower flowers planters planter plant plants box boxes accessory accessories small pieces info information instructions how to put together where to find buy purchase locate available collector collectible gold silver platinum label individual post posts covers sides custom 3 three section sections patio triangles floor floors dark light build scres pictures club group rare custom ook htf oop in mint clean complete 1980 1981 cottage 1982 1983 1980s color colors anniversary 1984 1985 1986 large bog 3 ft 4 feet long high tall huge large open moveable arrangeable craigslist online forum question questions 40th 50th 45th 55th 60th 35th reproduction remade retro nostalgia nostalgic memories childhood play display mini miniature set up sections  mid mod mid century modern 60s kitsch fun playful open new design designer interior decorator decor designer  

architect architects idea ideas goal aesthetic eames eichler palm springs by the sea malibu granola earth tones earthy autumn wexler wood slats open playful fun 1960s 60s open playful play timeless heirloom 

Blogger's Own: A Closer Look At My Own A Frame Smallhouse

An important aspect of getting undamaged windows is nice, tight hinges that haven't been broken or worn down with repeated removal. All my windows hold position well like a new house. PS This is an unpainted house, so it is possible to find a house still white with minimal discoloration. The panes themselves are like glass, surprisingly minty. 

I decided to move all the original flowers upstairs as that seemed more natural as window planters to have the most flowers. I added a few sprigs of family dollar and micheal's silk florals in there to round it out. 

I recently redid the downstairs planters as well. The monstera was a one time find at family dollar, the fern looking ones in the back were a recent, one time find at family dollar i was going to put in my refurbished one for sale, but liked them so much decided to incorporate them into my personal A Frame. The small yellow flowers are the ones featured in another post, also from family dollar, and the rest is original Mattel 1978 Barbie DreamHouse plants. Plus the reddish one in the middle is aquarium plant from petco. I am really happy with the final product.


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

keyword terms: barbie doll house dollhouse vintage 1970s 1978 1979 a frame malibu chalet orange yellow red white pink hot free for sale ebay pinterest etsy new old renovated dolls fashion clothes clothing lot estate parts wall walls door doors window windows part balcony closet flower flowers planters planter plant plants box boxes accessory accessories small pieces info information instructions how to put together where to find buy purchase locate available collector collectible gold silver platinum label individual post posts covers sides custom 3 three section sections patio triangles floor floors dark light build scres pictures club group rare custom ook htf oop in mint clean complete 1980 1981 cottage 1982 1983 1980s color colors anniversary 1984 1985 1986 large bog 3 ft 4 feet long high tall huge large open moveable arrangeable craigslist online forum question questions 40th 50th 45th 55th 60th 35th reproduction remade retro nostalgia nostalgic memories childhood play display mini miniature set up sections  mid mod mid century modern 60s kitsch fun playful open new design designer interior decorator decor designer  

architect architects idea ideas goal aesthetic eames eichler palm springs by the sea malibu granola earth tones earthy autumn wexler wood slats open playful fun 1960s 60s open playful play timeless heirloom