LEGO Friends' new housing used to look much different

A concept sketch for LEGO Friends 42620 Olly and Paisley's Family Houses has revealed a much different version of the model than we're getting.

Launching on January 1, 2024, 42620 Olly and Paisley's Family Houses is a new development in housing for LEGO minifigures and mini-dolls alike. Now that the set has been officially revealed Designer Wes Talbott has shared insight into the model's development and the surprising number of changes made.

While the general shape of the model has been clear since the concept stage, the sketch reveals that 42620 Olly and Paisley's Family Houses was at one point going to include a car as well as a space to park it in Paisley's house.

Paisley and Olly's homes have also switched sides, Thankfully their colour schemes, while overall different, are still similar enough to denote which home belongs to which character between the sketch and final design. Paisley's uses a light yellow with open bricks as well a blue hue that was switched for a teal colour in the finished model.

Olly's opts for cooler colours including hues of blues and pinks but both houses have received architectural makeovers to make them far more distinct from each other as well as houses from other LEGO themes. Some things have stayed the same from the sketch phase though including the treehouse in the middle and the set, the pavement chalk.

That also includes the houses being based on these two characters to reinforce that Olly and Paisley have been friends for longer than the rest of the new cast.

The designer also offered some insight into 42639 Andrea's Modern Mansion, though there are no sketches to accompany the set this time. Talbott instead was inspired by real-life architecture with no need for any sketch drawings. The exterior was his responsibility while those for the interior and graphics fell to other members of the LEGO Friends design team – Ewa Zyba?a and Anne Godsk respectively.

Both 42620 Olly and Paisley's Family Houses and 42639 Andrea's Modern Mansion are launching on January 1, 2024, alongside an extensive list of new LEGO Friends sets, all detailed in the following table.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by buying your LEGO sets using our affiliate links. Thank you!