Real Life Versions: Volume 1

Front and balcony yellow doors. L-O-V-E it!

Just west of downtown Palm Springs, California, in the good ol' US of A.

Exposed brown beams. A little crispy from the 118 degree temps we get here in the summer.

Verticle wood beams.

I recently moved to Palm Springs in Southern California, and took these pictures. I was excited to see real life examples of my toy passion. There are better examples out there I will be posting in the future, but for now these are what I have. They are by a renowned architect (Alexander?) and were constructed in the late 1950's in the mid century modern style. One even shows real life exposed beams (they would be better if the owner painted them white or cream) Enjoy.

Talk about living in a real life 1978 A Frame Dream house!!!

What a cute patio and yard, too! 

Kind of a stretch, but what the heck, its a super cool house. 

Every town will have a neighborhood like this 1975-1985-ish: 

In every configuration you can think of, even a 1 level ranch style, best enjoyed in a hilly, large lot neighborhood with an abundance of green space, a lake and even two swans kissing and forming the heart shape as they do! Only $750,000 (in 2023)

By the mid 1970s this new earthy, yet ultra modern architecture was storming the country. Ostensibly, this is what became of our beloved "Atomic Ranch" house of just 20 years prior. Space and light were held in the highest esteem, thus not only walls, but ceilings pushed out and up, challenging the very limits of cubic footage for the average American middle class family. Now, the husband had a generous study all to himself (think of Mike Brady's den), the wife almost certainly had a home spa jetted garden tub for her to luxuriate in whenever she pleased and the kids' generously sized rec room first established in the 1960's remained unabridged for the new home video gaming systems now increasingly available to consumers at finer retail outlets and electronic stores. Here, the perfect marriage of magnificent nature and modernism remained not only intact, but better than it's ever been before. 

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 time

less heirloo

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Furniture: The Lost Furniture Knockoffs

12" scale

3" scale

In this rare photo you can see the 'knock off' line of Arco brand furniture. Clearly, these were knockoffs since the style, color and inventory was nearly identical in every way, living room set not withstanding. There was a clear blue dining room table not shown here. I know because i had the dining room set as a kid, circa 1983. I cant believe Mattel didnt sue them (unless Mattel was a parent company or had some deal with Arco). This scale would just about fit the 3-D paper centerpiece posted below as they are approximately Marx scale. UPDATE: the two top photos i just found online and is a full 1:6 scale. extremely rare, each went for about $40 and are dated 1984.

Customs: Conglomerations Volume 1

In these never before seen photos, you can see the possibilities of constructing more than one together. The top photos are of my current inventory. I just keep finding good deals on evilbay and recently scored one for $9.99 plus shipping. In those photos are approximately 3 and a half a frames and one partial cottage. They are in what used to be called a bedroom. The pink one is not mine, btw.

Mega mansion and custom front walk and yard:

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

Other Products: A Frame Birthday Party Centerpiece: Volume 1

Initially, I thought this was contrived and unecessary. But if you think about it, its a birthday party, and the big gift is the A frame house, what better decoration, especially since most birthdays have a significant portion of the time at the table eating cake facing the center of the table. I do like that it shows different characters in a cartoon likeness. They sure did remember to have lots of potted plants around and it does show a banister and staircase absent in the real house. It probably didnt cost alot when new, but being so rare now it is an intersting find. I think it only went for about $10 on ebay.

Parts: The Elusive Patio Triangles...

I thought it would be good to devote an entire post to the patio floor sections. They are very rare to find when purchasing an A frame these days. I still dont know what years these extra pieces were issued. I would say less than 1/4 of the ones i see online still have the sections included. So, at this point the only way i can see getting them is to purchase one that has them ($100-140), and sell the house back without them, or for parts. You will probably net them for 20-40 bucks. I think its almost worth that since it fits the house into different configurations better. I was thinking about getting some pieces cut out of high density mdf, priming, and painting them until original ones could be obtained, but havent had the time to try this yet.


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

Other Houses: Volume 1

Newer playmobil set.

1970's fisher price playset

1970's lunby wooden/electrical house

Target 2011 Welcome Home balcony dollhouse.

Newer kit.

The wooden house is so similar to the 1978 Mattel house that it had to be knock off. I guess this is ok for toddlers, but seems primitive compared to the 35 pound plastic orange and yellow one we are all so fond of. I just thought i would throw in this post for contrast. It sure makes me appreciate the Mattel version. The house with the red roof is a 1990 Norrland Lundby house. In all fairness, it is well made, has actual electrical lights, and tons of accesories to boot. The Swedes did a good on this one (as all their houses). I still prefer the 1978 Orange and Yellow house. The upper right is a 1970's Fisher Price A Frame. it has a groovy interior with stickers, and the roof unfolds for better playing, its cute, but is scaled for wee people, so theres only so much you can do with it. The upper left is Playmobil country house and farm.

Other Topic: Every Diva Needs A Hot Ride

no website devoted to the A frame house would be complete without the wheels that went with it. The house, camper and vette had several things in common. Age, color and size. They all came out in the late seventies, were bright sunshine yellow and were GINORMOUS (well except the vette). There was a beige western version of the camper, circa 1982, and they both retailed for around $37.95. I would have liked window 'glass' for it, but i am sure by now most of it would be missing or scratched anyway. I liked the vette, but the wire made it kind of lame, remote control isnt that remote with a short cord attached. Back then the only place people had room for all these huge toys was either in the rec-room or carport.

Box: Teeny, Tiny Boxes of the A Frame Collection

Found on ebay this week for 10 bucks. i have seen the oven box this size before, but never the whole set. pretty cool. this would be a great accesory for staging the A frame house. 1:12 scale and were made in the U.S. by Farrow Industries,Inc. with Mattel's permission.

On sale for $11.....

small box collection, usually orangish, not sure why.