Appliances and Furnishings: Another Solution to the Nonexistent Kitchen Sink

This is the 1970 Ideal Mini-Matic Kitchen with real working meat cutter, blender and mixer (and metal utensils with metal hanging rack). This lot also features the rarer 'yellow' version of the '73 townhouse dining table (the small counter came as an add on set with the mixer).  I picked up this great little lot for $30 total for everything (including shipping). It was very dusty and I cannot get the appliances to work, but overall it was a great deal and I am happy with it. Theoretically, the wall/window panel can be placed in the open outer wall of the A Frame house to finish the kitchen. The set features all 3 colors of the 1978 Barbie Dream House - orange, yellow and white.  The avocado appliances are oversized, but totally optional in your set up.

Enjoy this gem of a jpeg, an exquisitely installed kitchen set up utilizing Sindy cabinetry. I love the commitment to only yellow and white and the room divider bookshelf. One day I hope to e organized enough to put something like that together. A+

Real life pots and pans thanks to Rachel Ray's line at Kmart. 

Can you find our harvest gold lovelies? Custom painting a sink/cabinet wall is a GREAT idea for customizing a space for the 1977 appliances to go with. 

Homes For Sale: 2014 - Now

The vibe has definitely changed since I started following, collecting, restoring and blogging about this house in 2009. It used to be that I (or anyone) could easily snag a 'pre-renovated' house for $25-$65 plus shipping (generally $25-$40). Of course they were disassembled, seller packing ranged from no packing material (or care) whatsoever to each and ever piece being labelled and wrapped in styrofoam wrapping (not cheap). Nowadays (6 years later) I noticed more and more, number one: you definitely cannot obtain a house for less than $100 total, regardless of completeness or condition, secondly: people are throwing away (or 'I'll try to look for them') the post covers due to their condition (which I have blogged several times about how to restore brown, shattered ones) and three: sellers are too lazy to disassemble these for the prices they expect (not to mention their poor grammar and syntax). It seems that they often are not Barbie collectors, are ignorant of keeping all the parts together (and just how much is missing) and perhaps picked these up at yard sales or thrift shops for $20-$30 and are trying to make a quick buck. Sometimes they hose them off (which rusts the screws) and that does not properly remove 35 years of dust and bug crust. Its a very unfortunate situation; if I was wealthy I would purchase some of these and restore, but often they are thousands of miles away and there's just no way to get them since even if I got them to agree to ship, I would not trust a complete stranger to actually send a house if I sent them a check, and have them pack it in a way to prevent damage in shipping. Today there are SEVEN houses, all unrestored and incomplete and the owners refuse to ship them!!   Sigh..............

2026: 

I think $40-$60 would be more reasonable since there are zero doors, windows, flower boxes, balcony, closet and it is filthy nasty dirty and it looks very faded and discolored. I could still renovate this one but it would take weeks, lots of extra materials and custom made parts to complete it. It looks like a prime project for updated colors. Maybe they did ebay sell all the small parts off of it and dont care to disassemble or ship this, so FB marketplace is the end of the line for the old, uncared for shells.

Box: 1982 Cottage : Closer Look

Recently, a never opened Cottage went for sale on Ebay. It was a few hundred dollars, which may seem high but it did have an interesting history of not only being a foreign issue box but also having belonged to original retail buyers. Also, the box was especially crisp and minty, an unusual trait since most boxes are faded, torn, dented and wrapped in tape by now.

Somehow, this one escaped color fading. Often the 4 post covers have yellowed but that's an easy fix with a $4 can of white pray paint AFTER cleaning them really good. 

Period decor: the remolded pink version 82-87? 

Perhaps the precursor to the inspiration behind the 82 Cottage. 

Ready to go:

Restoration: Restoring Faded, Discolored Old Windows: From Yellow to Clear Again

Maguiar's does not turn yellow panes to clear again, but they will make them very shiny and eliminate the small scratches and any scuff marks. 

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

Furniture: 1978 A Frame Dream House European Boxed Furniture Sets

Someone asked awhile back about whether or not the furniture ever came as a complete set. Though it did not I did find this bedroom box set online, perhaps it is a foreign issue. It would have been great if they at least did a special box set of all the living room furniture (with lamps) and kitchen and dining room together. Maybe someone good at graphics can cook up some cool images so I can post here.

Notice the different TV and a lamp. 

European issue. 

2nd version

Custom Repaints: June 2014

2013 Beach House (nay A Frame). 

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

Vintage Ads: 1984 Wishbook

This lower ad features a rare house circa 1985. It shares many similarities to the 1970's Barbie Dream House such as having a red roof with white balcony railing and gables, 6 total rooms, double front doors and large scale. It's essentially a house version of the townhouse style construction. It would also make a great Starlight house for Jem and her girls.

Here's more of the Cottage, circa 1982-1983: 

They always picked the smallest child they could find to model this home, but the house sure always photographs nicely enough on its own. It is a good marriage of crisp, geometric architectural lines paired with bright, whimsical colors which is why I cannot understand the desire to coat these in black, brown and gray. 

Customs: 3-story 1970's Dollhouse

To make this house you will have to snap off wall posts to make everything fit, which I do not recommend. The better option is to make a custom first level out of any material you wish, or the 1982 Cottage and then stack them up for multiple levels. Some may like the original yellow and '80's pink together. Its fun and colorful, but just not for me.



Gray roof, purple floors, double deep lower level:

The only other house fit to compare with our beloved, Barbie's Magic Mansion from 1990, here it is repainted/modernized: (I'm generally on board except for black columns, nice work on the window foliage, though). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctinnMRmmKM