The One & Only Mattel Barbie 1978 A Frame DreamHouse Website For Devoted Fans

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Other Houses: Some Similar, Most Modern, All Rare and Cool

Old school wood kit plans.

Hmm, so if I was a designer at Lego, I am pretty sure my love of the 78 Dream House would seep into my plans. Moohahaha.

1972 Beter Homes and Gardens Gifts to make yourself issue. just get some acrylic squares and wooden blocks and boda boom, boda bing, there you go!

Vintage, or wanna be? Who cares, its cool!

I think I like this one. Not great on space saving tho!

smaller scale, but cozy. looks like emersons answer to the A frame.

Looks like Real Good Toys to me. nice colors.

I'm in love. not sure what this is made of but looks custom./OOAK

Meanwhile in ye old faerie land.

Ruth Handlers actual Malibu beach house.

Generic Kaleidoscope house?

I love this one too. OOAK I assume.

Hmmm..this looks really familiar....

Dont know the manufacturer, country of origin or dates, but came up on a google search, soooo cool. Very similar to the brinca dada house.

This is a tin litho ranch house that occasionally comes up on ebay. it has cool features like ability to lift the entire roof off to arrange furniture, detailed mid century pieces and even fireplace wall shelves and metal art.

Keep looking out for more of those that dare to compare

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

Friday, November 9, 2012

Miscellaneous: There's Power in Numbers

As I was going through my storage totes visiting my various treasures, I realized something. The 1978 A Frame Dreamhouse was not the only playset that featured 3 movable sections with the center being the largest. Mattel was also not the only toy company to reissue lots of things in different colors over different years. Kenner and Hasbro was notorious for that and now, 30 years later it makes the different versions all that more collectable as some colors will undoubtedly be rarer than others. Indeed, there must be some magic to the number three!

1983 Hasbro GI Joe Headquarters. Even has an extra patio piece! Well, that or a helipad.

1983 Kenner Star Wars Return of the Jedi Ewok Village. Even has an elevator like the Barbie Townhouse.

1985 Mattel He Man/Masters of the Universe Eternia. Main entrance features a reflecting pool.

Not a 3 piece playset, but this is like when Barbie was Super Sized in '77, so was Star Wars characters, 12 in all!

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

Miscellaneous: Further Commentary

Curtains, and tie backs and rugs Oh my! Obviously I dont like this house. Its the opposite of what I like but its another shot where you can see how turning the center piece 90 degrees not only opens it up for play/display but truly turned the upstairs side sections into outdoor patios complete with glass doors on one side and an exterior wall on the other. Everything here looks really faded and orangey-peachy-pink. Though that could be a terra cotta roof from 78 or 79.

Here is perfect justification for respraying white parts white and solid yellow doors vivid yellow again. The colors on your house should be very crisp and distinct. You can buy colored detailing tape from the hardware store/section and trim it out with an exacto knife for freshening up window edges. This is outlined further in a previous post.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Pink A Frame DreamHouse: Pics and Opinions

I dont think I have ever seen the pink house in so good a condition, all complete and with a box also in great shape. Either someone really took good care of their stuff, or it wasnt played with at all. If anyone knows the year this particular box art and window version came out, please post here. I am trying to get together the years that the 3 different window variations came out on the pink house. Sadly there is no variation on the original red roofed house. Although that does make replacing windows easier.

Mattel always did have a pentient for drawing/diagram art on the back of the box. My 1985 Masters of the Universe Eternia set had the same type of artwork. And was equally as large a playset with three different sections. Maybe this house is where they got that idea from. It had to be a succesfull house as it was issued for 7 years not counting the reinvention in 2011.

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Pink and green do go well together.

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 since the house first appeared in 1978.

Here is the pink house decorated for the mid to late 80s.
Color and packaging were modified for the second generation of the Dream Furniture china cabinet. The pink one is still rather hard to find, though not as rare as the white and orange one issued in Europe.

Furniture: Foreign Color Variations

European (German?) issue furniture. Notice the couch print. Lol

Red and white bedroom set, from France I believe.

From Germany the desk is yellow, the strange yellow piece on the right is the cart that came with the dining room set which had orange translucent table top and china hutch doors. Notice the 70's sofa pattern.

I think this is just repainted, but still very cool and I approve.

Though a bit hard to see, here is a PINK 1978 VETTE PINK 1982 COTTAGE and a PINK 1980 DREAM POOL.

This is the German issue dining room, I truly wish it was an alternate color in America, as I feel as it has passed the test of time for good Mod design that still looks cool today. The only exception the the chair fabric, while authentic to the 70's, is kind of hideous today. I suppose if you had a machine that heated/cut and shaped plastic or lucite pieces, you could fabricate the translucent pieces in any color you wanted to.

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