Realistic Barbie Furniture-Top Five Favorites

As a collector, one of the most frustrating aspects of finding realistic furniture for Barbie is that most of the mass produced furniture on the market is truly too small. 

I’m here to take the guess work out of it for you. I have bought & sold hundreds of Barbie furniture pieces over the years. My personal collection has grown quite substantially during this time. I have gotten fairly selective in what pieces remain in my collection. Not every piece that stays is 100% suitable for Barbie to use. However, my goal is to create realistic miniature scenes so the realism of the piece outweighs the usefulness of it. I own a mix of mass produced doll furniture pieces and a large collection of non-doll items suitable for playscale use. In this post I will detail the mass produced pieces that I use on a regular basis. These items will be easier for you to find on the secondary market. Some pieces are rare and may command a high price. However, do not be discouraged. You can usually find gently played with items at garage sales & thrift stores. All they need is a little cleaning & maybe a coat of paint and they will be good to go.

Opinions expressed in this post are genuinely my own. I am not affiliated with any doll manufacturer nor am I compensated by them. Let’s get started!

My number one, most favorite 1:6 scale realistic furniture piece(s) is the My First Kenmore Kitchen set. This is NOT produced by Mattel and was not made expressly for Barbie. However, it is perfectly made in scale to fit Barbie and friends. Made by Sears and sold in 2005, this limited run playset was very popular among doll collectors and remains so today. There are a number of lower cost knock off’s of this kitchen in a variety of bright colors. I have not purchased any of the colorful knock off sets, but have heard from other collectors that they are a good substitute.

Here is what the set looked like as sold in stores:

My First Kenmore Kitchen Playset New In the Box

Here’s an example of the set in use in my studio. Notice that I painted the cabinet doors a solid white color rather than the black fake glass that was originally there.

Customized My First Kenmore Kitchen Playset

My second favorite piece is the My Scene My Café play set sofa. This piece is gorgeous in person. The scale is perfect to pose dolls on. The tufting detail, the rolled arms the turned feet, make this a prized piece in my collection. My only complaint is the back of the sofa. There isn’t one. It’s hollow. If you only need a piece that will be photographed from the front, then this is it.

The sofa is from this set originally:

Barbie My Scene My Cafe Playset New in the box

Barbie My Scene My Cafe Playset details

And here is a pic of the sofa in one of my diorama scenes:

Barbie's guard dog.

My third & fourth favorite pieces are from the same set, the 2008 Barbie french door refrigerator and kitchen cart. This refrigerator is even better than the My First Kenmore Kitchen fridge. Double doors to access the interior of the fridge, pull out drawer for the freezer and the amazing little kitchen cart are must have pieces for any serious Barbie furniture collector. The color isn't exactly my favorite, but for now it stays until I decide what to change it to.

2008 Mattel Barbie Kitchen Fridge & Cart Playset

Here's the same fridge used in a diorama scene:

Barbie's Farmhouse Kitchen

Rounding out the top five favorite mass produced furniture pieces for Barbie is the wicker settee found in a variety of 1990's garden playsets.

Barbie So Real So Now Summer Garden Playset

I have several of these wicker pieces and have updated with paint. Here is an example painted white:

Kelly Ladybug Picnic Diorama Scene

And here's an example stained brown:

Barbie's Christmas Porch Scene

Whew!! That post went a little longer than I had intended! This list is far from all inclusive and I will continue my list at another time. What are some of your favorite mass produced doll furniture pieces to use in Barbie scenes? Do you agree with my favorite choices? I will have to say though that part of the reason for my choices thus far have to do with the fact that I LOVE kitchens!! They are my favorite rooms to create and photograph. Probably why I have such a large collection of Rement miniatures as well.

Until next time....

Stephanie

Baby It's Cold Outside

Brrrr…I hope you are all staying warm! This early dip in temperature has me reaching for something to warm me up on the inside. What better way to do that then with some yummy hot cocoa!

I have enough to share. Please help yourself.

There is warm milk in the teapot and hot cocoa mix in the tall apothecary jar. Don't you just love those jars? I wish I had ten of them to fill with all kinds of sweet treats.

Marshmallows or whip cream? Which do you prefer? Me, I'm all about the whip cream. And maybe a splash of a little something, Rumchata perhaps? That will really get you toasty!

I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit and to enjoy some refreshments. Bundle up and stay warm. This is just the beginning of the cold weather round these parts.

Enjoy!!

Have YOU played today??

Stephanie

Staying Warm...With A Teddy Bear Winter Tea Party

The weather outside is certainly frightful. We have had sub zero temperatures for a few days along with plenty of fluffy white snow! It is cozy warm inside and I am thankful for blessings. 

While I wait for the weather to improve, I'm so glad you stopped in. Please pull up a chair and join me & teddy for some tea and sweets. Hope you are staying warm!

Kitchen Littles Stoves: White 1996 vs. Pink 2009

The topic of the original KL stove verses the newer one came up in conversation with a customer of mine.  I thought that I would share the comparison with all my readers.  

The Kitchen Littles brand appliances are darling, realistic replicas that work well with the  10 to 12 inch fashion dolls.  

It measures 6.5 inches high, 5 inches wide, and 4 inches deep.  

The cooktop is 5.75 inches from the floor. The center of the burners are metal with black grates around the outside.  The back of the stove has a detailed sticker decal and a silver painted dial that is molded into the plastic. The dial is decorative not functional.

 The four dials in the front of the stove are  actually buttons that when pushed will give realistic kitchen sounds.  The button on the far left makes a ticking timer sound that dings when it's finished. The second button makes a sizzling bacon sound.  The third button sounds like a whistling tea kettle.  The fourth and final button will turn on the oven light.  The oven is operable with a cute silver rack so that Barbie can bake her cakes and casseroles. 

The drawer at the bottom opens up for storage of pots and pans, a must have in a small Barbie kitchen! 

I really like the depth of this stove back. It creates  a ledge that you can prop spice jars on to make a realistic looking display. 

The battery compartment is in the back and there is no on/off switch.

The Hot Pink KL stove is equally cute, although slightly different in its design.  It measures 6.5 inches high, 5 inches wide and 4 inches deep. The stovetop height is slightly shorter than the original at 5.5 inches from the floor. 

The back stove panel incorporates a control panel decal, although I am disappointed that the back of the stove lacks the depth of the original. 

The burners of the newer model look more like a gas stove. The knobs on the front of the stove all turn and make a clicking noise as you move them. 

The knob on the far left will raise the "flame" in the left front burner. The knob on the far right will raise the flame on the right front burner. The two middle knobs turn but do not provide any function. The really neat part of this newer model is the way the stove makes sounds. If you put an item on the left rear burner, it will make a sound like a whistling tea kettle. (no more button pushing!). If you place an item on the right rear burner it will make a sizzling bacon sound!  

The battery compartment is also in the back and includes an on/off switch. This is a great addition if you want to use the stove without hearing the noises.  Sadly there is no kitchen timer feature with this model, but you do get a faux digital clock! 

The oven is also operable and I like that the oven grate is more centered in the oven rather than at the bottom of the original.  (oven decals are NOT included-I added after I purchased) A bonus feature, the light in the oven turns on when you OPEN the door! No button to push.

 There is a storage drawer as well and it's quite a bit smaller than the original.

Side by side comparison of the drawers:

Overall I think both stoves are fantastic.  I added a rub on decal to the glass door of my pink one to give it a little attitude.

One more look side by side:

If I can get my hands on any more of the original KL stoves I will certainly add to my store. I have the pink version in stock new in the box.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting ~

Stephiejo

Red Hot Penthouse Decor

This is what I imagine Barbie's Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment might look like.

Red leather chaise, modern glass coffee table, acrylic nesting end tables, chrome wall sconces and a fabulous damask wallpaper accent. 

The perfect retreat and sanctuary...

A place to entertain guests...

Or just a place to relax after a long day of work.

You can achieve this look with a few simple techniques. The papered walls are two silver colored doll boxes. If you do not have any boxes that are already silver-cover them in grey construction paper, contact paper, gift wrap or scrapbook paper. The damask pattern is a scrapbook piece. I left a large section of the grey visible to visually heighten the room. The chaise is a piece from the My Scene Party Pad. Originally purple, the legs were finished with a chrome color. The faux leather look was achieved with layers of paint. Each tufted button is a sparkly crystal accent. The coffee table base began as a bench in another My Scene bedroom playset. I removed the seat-painted it to look like wrought iron then used a smoke colored piece of oval glass for the table top.

The wall sconces are custom made using mirrored tiles, beads, jewelry findings, plastic pieces, super glue and silver paint.

Thanks for stopping by...

Happy Crafting!

Stephiejo

Creative Barbie Furniture

Furnishing a Barbie sized dollhouse does not require a small fortune if you are patient and willing to do a little leg work. I have found the most incredible and unique furnishings and accessories from a variety of resale shops and big box stores. Now don't automatically head to the toy aisle for these treasures. Instead take a little jaunt to the home decor aisle and you'll be amazed at what you can find. You may have to think outside the box a bit for some items but if you do it enough, I promise, you'll start to look at everything in 1:6 scale. Some items will be great as is and will require only a cleaning or repainting. Other items I use as a jumping off point to transform into something more suitable.


One of my favorite pieces to use in a Barbie room are candle holders. They are so versatile. Sometimes on their own they can make a fantastic little table. I look for ornate pieces that resemble table legs then pair them with a decorative coaster for a top.

Here's an some example of a table transformation:

Originally brass this lion head piece received a coat of silver spray paint. Super glued an ornately carved real silver coaster from a thrift store, to the top and voila.





This one isn't a candle holder but a toothbrush holder. Cut a piece of basswood to fit the top and faux finished to match the base.



Fabric stores are another great place to shop for Barbie sized furniture. In recent years I have picked up several collectible pin cushion chairs which are perfect for my dollhouse. The fabric selection varies from year to year and if not available in your local store you can always check eBay.

Around the holidays manufacturers put together great little bath or candle themed gift sets that revolve around a novelty item. I have found some great Barbie sized bathtubs filled with bottles of bath oil, soaps, and lotions. Some are ceramic-others plastic but the size is much better for Barbie to actually sit in then the ones sold by Mattel.

I painted the legs gold with a paint pen. The faucet piece is from an actual Barbie bathtub. Towel bar is made from wooden bamboo skewers embellished with beads and spray painted to match.

Don't forget the picture frame aisle. A recent trend in decorating has also provided some trendy mini furnishings. Decorative chests, dressers and chair frames are popping up everywhere. 

Ok..I have MANY more ideas but will save them for a future post.


Happy Crafting!
Stephiejo