Fisher Price Friday - Play Family Play Rooms

If you love (and collect) vintage Fisher Price Little People then this photo should bring a smile to your face.  Let me introduce you to the Play Family Play Rooms #909.  This very special set was made only between 1972-1974 and is one of the hardest original sets to find.  It was made for the Sears Company and sold only at their stores.  It is unique set that has no outside walls or roof, just 4 rooms and a porch.  It is carried by a "handle" made from the door between the living room and kitchen.

This is the entire set.  I have every single piece, which is a feat and extra special since there were exclusive pieces made just for this set.  

The Play Rooms came with 4 people and a dog.  The people were either wood with wood heads or wood with plastic heads.  The Lucky dog is straight sided and has a metal rivet holding his ears down.  He could have either a red or yellow collar.  The girl could also be red with a blond bob.  Note that my girl is the right girl but her braids have fallen/broken off, a common problem with that piece. :)

Let's start the tour shall we?  The rooms are made of masonite (base and walls), with lithographs decorating every part.  Here in the front you can see the house number as "909" as well as many little touches like a doorbell, lamp, flowers, a bush, fireplace stones, walkway stones and grass.  Even a little butterfly!

The other side of the front has a window to the kitchen with blue shutters and more grass and flowers.  The patio furniture includes an umbrella table with 2 matching captain chairs, a yellow grill and a swimming pool.  The patio set was also sold as the #726 Patio Set (not exclusive to the #909).  The set could have either a turquoise table/chairs/pool with a yellow umbrella and grill (as pictured), or have the opposite with yellow table/chairs/pool and turquoise grill/umbrella.  As long as the chairs match the table and the pool matches the grill you're all set!

From the front door you walk into the living room.  This serene blue colored room has a brown floor and came with 5 pieces of furniture.  All of the living room furniture is exclusive to this set, and there are 2 color variations.  It came with 2 arm chairs, a coffee table, a 2 seat sofa and a television.  The television is the same size as the #938 Play Family Sesame Street but instead of Grover it has a lithograph of a boy with puppets on each hand.  Also the Sesame Street television is brown.

The sofa, tv and the coffee table could be either red or blue.  However, the tv should match the coffee table and the sofa match the bedroom furniture (as pictured in my set).  Also, the arm chairs should be blue and red, not the same color.  Whew, got all that?

The lithographs in this room are also quite detailed.  There is a shelf on the wall with a bowl of fruit and 2 candlesticks.  A cabinet and shelf combo with a cat batting at a fishbowl, a trumpet and some books.  The other side of the room has a clock, houseplant, picture of a sailboat, butterfly and a bouquet of flowers.

As you walk through the living room you come to the bedroom.  Now this house has a little secret, only the kids get to sleep in it.  Not sure where mom and dad go at night, ha!  The bedroom came with two exclusive twin beds that can be either red or blue.  The lithographs in this child's bedroom include a colorful circle rug on the floor and sheep prancing on the wall.  The other wall has a shelf with books, blocks and even a little music box tv much like the Giant Screen Music Box #114.  On top of the shelf is a mushroom lamp and two paintings on the wall of a lion and a clown.

Around the corner from the bedroom is the bathroom.  This room has blue square floor tiles and green painted walls.  The lithographs include a mirror with cosmetics on it, a hanging lamp, towel rack with three towels on it (2 bath and one hand) and a soap holder with bar soap.

The bathroom came with 4 pieces, two that are exclusive to the set.  The bathtub and scale are exclusive in the white color.  Other colors (yellow, turquoise and green) were found with the #725 Bath/Utility Set.  The white sink and toilet are found in other sets in the including the Play Family Camper #994, and Play Family Nursery School #909.  Other colors of the sink and toilet were also included in the Bath/Utility set.  By the way, the little people scale lithograph shows about 44 lbs on it.

Last but not least is the heart of the home, the kitchen.  The kitchen has a orange linoleum looking floor, yellow walls and a window looking outside.  The set came with a green table and 4 green captain chairs, a refrigerator, stove and kitchen sink with two bowls.  The appliances are a butter yellow color.  The kitchen pieces are not exclusive and were also sold as the #729 Play Family House Kitchen set.

There are many lithographs in this room including a clock (the time is 10:10, same as the living room clock), spice cabinet, two shelves, curtains (including ribbon ties), hanging utensils, salt and pepper shakers, cookie and candy jars, pot holders, measuring cups and kitchen jars (flour & tea).

Both the table and the stove have lithographs on them.  The table includes four place settings (empty plates, no food) and a bouquet of flowers.  The stove top has 4 burners and controls.  The refrigerator has doors that open and close (top and bottom) and painted handles.

Isn't this set impressive?  So detailed and yet so simple!  Another exclusive from this set is the cloth Play Family Storage Bag.  The drawstring bag was made from a thin fabric and is the hardest "piece" to find.  I've seen people selling the bag alone on Ebay for $80!!  I am thrilled that my set came with the bag although it does have some yellowing from age.  

So a little confession, I haven't let my kids play with this set much.  Because it is valuable I am having a hard time letting them use it for fear they wreck it!  The bag is worth $60+ for goodness sakes, ha!  However, in my house Vintage Toy Rule #1 is that we only have toys we can play with.  So...I either need to sell this beauty or let my kids have at it.  Sigh.  Decisions decisions. :)

Whether you're inside....

Or outside....have a great weekend!!