Real Life Examples of the Mattel 1978 A Frame Dream House: Summer 2022

Hello, devoted obsessives like me! I am now on the east coast in the Carolinas. While there is a plentitude of the California Dream home from where I moved from in Socal, even out here in any given city there are streets upon streets of groovy Brady-Bunch-esque homes to peruse, pervey and otherwise admire these 40+ year old gems, these moemnts in time that I do not believe we will see again as new construction. So, here they are:

There were many, many others, but this gives you an idea. When my friend asked me what years did I think these were from, in all my years as a realtor, and as a kid in the Dallas area in the early 80s, I would say 1976-1984, with a concentration between 78-82. By the mid 80s it was rounded arches, demilun paladian windows, Dutch gable roof lines, garage doors with the corners angled and the European styles that continued through the 90s and even now I see a 'story book' or Craftsman revival happening since people miss charm of houses of yesteryear. Many of these are repainted, some in original moody earth tones and some not so much, one is even black. Most of the yards were pretty well tended. The prices in this market are $600k-$800k depending on siting, square footage and condition, some are on a lake, golf course but mostly abut to woods.

Does this house look familiar? It should. It's the house from 1982's "E.T." film.

Vertical instead of diagonal wood slats, same balcony railing, red eave edges, and rectilinear window and door configuration. This classic still looks amazing after 60 years! Here are some great inspiration interior shots thanks to the ever helpful Pinterest:

If you do come to Charlotte, these are in the 'Raintree' neighborhood; all the homes are well laid out on rolling green, wooded hills with several lakes, wide roads and all is peaceful and quiet. The only offenders are some of the homes had newer updates like Home Depot Victorian style doors and craftsman stile porchlights indicating the homeowners don't at all get the whole point of the 'Mid-Mod' aesthetic and likley thought they were cold and needed 'charming up':

Being on larger wooded lots with long curving driveways helps accentuate the modern motif of these ultra groovy homes:

With a 3D front sectioned into thirds, this one's a winner:

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How to Make Your House a Real Life Mattel 1978 DreamHouse

Yes, it is quite possible. First, check out the current issue of Atomic Ranch magazine (if reading later it's September/August 2021). They gutted a 1950s shoebox ranch house, raised the roof and now it's an asymmetrical mid mod house with insanely cool breeze panel patio accents in the front. 

Once installed, these beautiful, maintenance free panels will give your house a unique, fetching look for years to come. 

Contractor white paint is slightly cheaper than tinted, two coats are better than one. Railing easily found in any home improvement store, or custom made by local carpenters. 

Easily ordered online, or custom made on site, you now have your white planter boxes! New Age nothing; these are groovy, baby! 

Don't be afraid to add color, you'll need to complete this step if you truly want that 1978 DreamHouse look. Remember to purchase exterior semi gloss paint, and use a micro fiber foam roller after sanding and cleaning thoroughly. 

Never be afraid to embrace a shocking yellow floor AND ceiling. Here we see it is smartly and correctly implemented into this bright, white space. It will be the talk of the neighborhood for years to come. 

See, yellow floors DO work. Try not to clutter it up, we want to actually see the yellow floors. You can also try yellow carpet, or if your rent then large yellow shag rugs will do in a pinch. I consider it a non-chemical mood lifter for all. 

Get ready to cross those rail road tracks into the spooky part of town to get these rare, vintage Harvest Gold appliances. Trust me, they still exist, you just may have to 'haunt' these used appliance stores for awhile and give them some elbow grease to clean them up good as new once they are delivered. Keep a bucket handy. 40 year old ice makers tend to leak every 3rd or 4th ice cube making cycle. Remember to pick up some orange and blue ice cube trays from the dollar store, too! 

I clean mine with Lemon Pledge. Keeps the wood grain looking so new and attractive. 

Thank you for letting me indulge in a sardonic, ironic post. It was fun, we must do this again soon. 

Here is your newly staged dining area. and if you design the ceiling like the center piece has, it would look like this:

And if you can find this linoleum in harvest gold, you are set: 

For a groovy Dream House door, simply paint the door yellow, and custom cut the breeze block pattern into plywood and attach. 

After all the above made changes have been made, you should have a home resembling our beloved. Short of remodeling, here is what I think the closest thing you could find "in the wild" on real estate apps. The price is average, great lot and so forth. I would likely add green shag carpeting and mid mod light fixtures and decor. 

Natural wooded lot, shed roof shaped sections, slat siding, vaulted ceilings, lots of natural interior light, large decks and even a cool carport make this one a winner! While 78-79 was the peak of this architectural movement, I have seen similar homes dating to as late as 96. Presumably, you could take old plans to a builder and get a brand new one. There are lots of books online with hundreds of similar options. 


architecture houses designand if you just want a larger playhouse outside that can withstand the weather, then with some modification, this may be for you: 

Make Replacement Windows and Glass Doors Using This:

 Ever wanted to make affordable window replacements for your renovation restoration project? How about filling in those big empty skylights with skylight 'glass'? Of, you could make your own floor to ceiling glass walls. As I was shopping at my local big box home improvement store, Home Depot, I noticed these plexiglass sheet in varying sizes near the lumber aisle. Finally, you can obtain the material inexpensively to fully customize your 1978 A Frame DreamHouse.  

As you can see it's not expensive and is readily available in different size sheets. Not only can you use this as faux glass, you could frost it with basic plain window frosting, or any of the faux stained glass appliqués they have now in the bathroom aisle for $24 a roll. 

So, while my A frame is currently in storage, when I do get it out again and set up, this is definitely going to be my next project. I will: fill in the skylights, add window glass to my 4th wall made from foam board and back the front doors with this so they are like the real life storm doors for real houses plus fill in the back doors window opening. 

I need to look up how to cut these, but I am guessing it is with a table saw after taping the cut line to avoid chipping. Then sand the edges as needed. Most likely, a simple model or airplane glue will suffice to secure into place. For replacement windows, I would use the yellow auto tape in the car aisle or Amazon, I outlined in an earlier post to create the yellow frame edges for the windows or rear glass doors. For hinges, I would either tape into place, or if you are dexterous, use the smallest drip bit and drill tiny holes in the correct spot to create the hinge peg holes as found on the original windows. For the for pegs, you could drill the holes then fill with a small peg like I did in the closet door repair post. Use search terms in the search box on this page to quickly find posts mentioned. Good luck with it. =-) 

Some dollar stores now carry yellow contact paper which could be used to make the edges yellow.

If you wanted to fill in upstairs openings, here is one solution: 

A Frame Goes Hollywood!

 Was flipping the channels yesterday and saw an old Olson twins movie with our beloved property. It reminded me of when I would watch Grace Under Fire, and the son's room had the Masters of the Universe Eternia play set (on Roseanne, DJ's room often showed Castle Grayskull), and the daughter's had the Strawberry Shortcake Berry Happy Home house in the back ground. 

When this came out, the pink house would not have been that old, and I wonder if they didn't use the middle section because it would have been too large and stolen the focus. Glad I found this 90's 'gem'. 

In Married with Children, season two, episode 14, titled 'Guys and Dolls', features Peg and Marcy recapturing childhood memories with Barbie while Al and Steve go off baseball card hunting.

Now where have I seen these diagonal slat walls before? Here is Lindsey Wagner on the Dina Shore Show, year unknown, but likely 77-79. 

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