Review: LEGO 41730 Autumn’s House

February 4, 2023 | 3

Continuing on from my LEGO Friends 2023 reviews, let’s take a look at 41730 Autumn’s House, the 3rd largest set from the January 2023 LEGO Friends wave.

It’s a lovely blend of the old and new, and introduces us to Autumn, one of the new main characters of the Friends reboot, who has a special connection to the original LEGO Friends lineup, as she’s Mia’s daughter.

The homes of the main Friends characters are a staple of the LEGO Friends theme, so I was mostly very excited by this set as it technically also doubles as Mia’s House, and you also get a great lineup of minidolls in it.

Without further ado, let’s take a tour of 41730 Autumn’s House!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for sending this set for review.

LEGO 41730 Autumn’s House Set Details

Set Name: Autumn’s House
Set number: 41730
Pieces: 853
Minidolls: 4
Animals: 3 (Daisy the dog), foal and bird
Retail Price: US$69.99 / AU$119.99 / £59.99 / €69.99 / CAD$89.99
Theme: Friends
Release Date: 1 January 2023

Here’s a look at the sticker sheet, which features plenty of great decorations, and the fun, graphical style that’s a signature of the LEGO Friends theme. There are many fun details that inject life into Autumn’s house.

41730 Autumn’s House Minidolls

There are four minidolls included in the set, all of whom I’d consider main characters. We get Autumn, and her mum Mia, as well as two other core characters Aliya, and Leo.

Interestingly, all the characters included in the set were featured prominently in the LEGO Friends 2023 launch special episode, with Aliya, Mia and Leo having the lion’s share of screen time, making this a great tie-in set to get if you or your kids particularly enjoyed the launch special.

Here a look at the mother daughter duo, Autumn and Mia. Autumn looks to have inherited her mother’s auburn hair, freckles and green eyes. They’re both attired suitably for working with animals, and I like their very sensible laced up boots.

In addition to Autumn’s limb difference, I also like the subtle nod to Autumn’s family structure, where Mia seems to be a single mother. There aren’t any nods or references to Autumn’s father in her home, so it’s not a stretch to imagine that LEGO have intentionally chose to portray Mia as a single mum, although we could maybe find out more when the animated cartoon properly kicks off in March.

It’s a nice nod from LEGO to again, acknowledge kids that are raised by single parents.

Here’s a look at their backs.

Here’s a closer look at the Autumn minidoll. Autumn has a limb-difference on her left arm, which is true to LEGO’s vision of making LEGO Friends more diverse and representative.

I wouldn’t lie that it’s quite striking when you first see Autumn’s minidoll in the flesh, as it’s so radically different from anything LEGO have ever done, but with her big smile, and cute fox cartoon t-shirt, but you quickly embrace how unique she looks, and it’s really quite endearing.

See this story on the BBC about why representation is so important in childrens’ toys.

Interestingly, her arm has the same diameter as a LEGO rod, which allows it to be compatible with many other LEGO elements, even minifigure heads.

It’s really special getting an adult Mia minidoll, and while some LEGO Friends fans will be sad to see the original group make way for the newer core characters, I like that they’re still going to be present in Heartlake City in one way or another.

Here’s a comparison of the very first Mia minidoll (from 3188 Heartlake Vet), and her last appearance as a teenager from 41717 Mia’s Wildlife Rescue, and her current adult version.

And yes, Mia did undergo a bit of a redesign in 2018, along with the other Friends characters.

Next we have the 2 other main characters, Aliya and Leo. In the animated series, Aliya has a go-getter, ambitious personality and is determined to head girl at Heartlake International High School, and Leo is a star football player, and also a talented baker.

They’re both great, and I like that two darker-skinned minidolls are included in the set, and I also like that they both feature heavily in the first episode of the new Friends animated series, so there’s an additional tie-in there for kids to relate to.

I really like Leo’s colourful and sporty outfit, with his hooded shirt and bright yellow pants.

Overall, a great mix of characters included which complement each other nicely, and without any filler. Adult Mia is definitely a highlight, and makes me want to discover and learn more about what the other LEGO Friends characters are up to as adults!

Two animals (well 3 if you count the red bird) are included in the set, a brown foal and Autumn’s dog, Daisy! One of the new innovations in the 2023 LEGO Friends reboot are the slightly more expressive animals, and Daisy looks good with a small smile on her face, and fun features like brown eyebrows.

Here’s an alternate view of both animals – I like Daisy’s furry texture under her forelegs and tail.

Here’s the completed build which features a very fresh new colour-scheme for Autumn’s ranch-style house, with teal and mint primary colours, which also represent an updated colour palette that’s new to LEGO Friends – a deliberate move away from the overly feminine pinks, purples and magenta that has dominated LEGO Friends for so long.

This farmhouse-style house is also a fairly new architectural style for LEGO Friends, and with the booming popularity of the modern farmhouse design aesthetic offers a stylish contemporary building for fans to enjoy.

There’s a small detached foal grooming and feeding station for Autumn to tend to – like her mum, Autumn is passionate about animals, and also has ambitions of caring and finding a home for abandoned animals, so this is a great little mini-build for Autumn to care for the foal.

On to the main structure, Autumn’s house itself. Here’s a closer look at the facade of the quaint and rustic farmhouse-style home.

The colours work really well, and if you love teal, there’s plenty to appreciate with the teal roofing that contrasts nicely against the white pillars, with pops of lime green, and yellow.

There are wooden steps leading up towards the raised porch.

The porch really lends itself to the farmhouse-style look, with painted yellow wooden doors, yellow windows.

The most interesting feature of the facade are the lime green board and batten shutters that flank each window, which really give off a rustic traditional American ranch vibe. The combination of the pillars and criss-cross fencing are also really great touches.

There are also yellow and red leaves peppered throughout the porch, which are really effective at conveying the setting you can imagine the house to be in – on a farm in the remote outskirts of Heartlake City, surrounded by trees.

Along the side of the house is a brick chimney, and a small apple tree with yellowish and orange leaves.

On the left, we have a small dining room that extends out from the house, with glass windows.

Here’s a look at the upper level, which has a small balcony, but retains the same style as the ground floor.

I really like the design of the pitched roof, with the overlapping plates using some really clever techniques that I was pleasantly surprised to encounter in a set aimed at younger kids.

There’s also a fairly large balcony that doubles as an observation deck for wildlife. There’s a telescope with a camera attached which is handy for photographing wild animals, and a small table to jot down observations and notes.

Oh, and there’s also a small bird’s nest in between the roof slopes – a small but thoughtful addition to inject life into the structure!

Flipping around, here’s what Autumn’s House looks like from the back. Like most Friends buildings, it has an open dollhouse design and the space has been utilised thoughtfully to create different spaces for the characters to interact in.

Here’s a look at the living room, which has a bright coral and yellow couch, and matching coffee table. The coffee table has a lavender bag, and the classic LEGO Friends smartphone, the same printed tile in use since the theme debuted in 2012!

The vibrant couch’s design makes me think that it came from the furniture gallery in 41732 Downtown Flower and Design Stores!

The living room has plenty of Easter Eggs, like this nature documentary on lions that’s playing on the TV, mounted above the fireplace. Maybe this is something that Mia watches to remind her of her time working/volunteering at an African wildlife rescue center.

There’s also this graduation portrait of Mia and Stephanie!

And a cute photo of Mia and Autumn, further solidifying the theory that Mia raised Autumn singlehandedly.

Next to the living room across the short entranceway is a kitchen, with plenty of appliances like a stand mixer, oven and stove and refrigerator.

This new fridge/cabinet element is brand new for 2023, and when open features 3-tiered storage, with eggs, milk, a can drink and some cheese/butter.

Very excited to get this new element as it’s such a cool and functional piece of furniture.

The kitchen comes in handy for Leo to show off his baking skills, and there’s a small dining table with cushioned benches for the Friends to enjoy baked treats like a custard pie, and apple pie.

Leo must be stoked to be able to utilise fresh apples from the tree for his pies!

Moving upstairs, there’s a sizable bathroom with a bathtub, and yes, the minidolls fit in comfortably here.

Here’s the sink and toilet.

Next door is what I’m guessing is Autumn’s bedroom, which has some nice stickered sheets, with a green frog soft toy on it, and a very trendy sunset rug.

On the wall is a large sticker panel with bookshelves, a terrarium, and some potted plants, including mushrooms. There’s a large drawing of animals, presumably all the animals that Autumn would like to rescue and home.

And over on the other side of the room is a doggy bed for Daisy. There’s some really realistic details like scratches and paw prints over what was previous a couch!

And of course, there’s a photo of Daisy in Autumn’s room too.

Question is, where does Mia sleep? Who knows, but she has a set of rocking chairs and a fire pit to keep her cosy, so maybe she roughs it out here.

Autumn’s House is really well-designed with the interiors being maximised for all the amenities you’d expect from a home, but unfortunately, it did seem like they needed to make some compromises with Mia’s room.

And last but not least, here’s a comparison of Autumn’s House next to the 41743 Hair Salon and 41728 Heartlake Downtown Diner which I’ll be reviewing soon! But as you can see, Autumn’s House scales quite nicely with the commercial buildings, and that teal is a dominant colour in the new 2023 Friends palette.

What I liked:

• Great lineup of main characters plus adult Mia!
• Autumn minidoll is just perfect, and I’m invested in her character
• Rustic farmhouse design is considered and makes for an interesting play or display model
• Great use of space inside the house

What I didn’t like: 

• Could use more animals like some chickens or pigs or even a cat
• Would’ve been nice for Mia to have somewhere to sleep

Final Thoughts:

Friends main character houses have come a long way, and Autumn’s House represents a huge step up in terms of technique, design and character.

The ranch-style architecture and design is a refreshing addition, and fans of this particular rustic style will be delighted to have a home that just looks like it belongs on a farm.

The farmhouse style is still in vogue, and evokes classic American architecture, but with a much brighter and more Heartlake City-esque colour scheme, which might not be for everyone.

The home itself is well-designed, with fantastic use of the limited amount of space inside to create spaces to sleep, eat, bathe and relax. Minus a room for Mia (the sacrifices parents make for their kids), it’s almost perfect, and delivers a delightful fully self-contained dollhouse experience great for younger builders.

The minidoll lineup is also rock solid, with 3 out of 8 main characters in the set, and the inclusion of grown up Mia should be an additional bonus for fans of the original 5 Friends girls.

If there’s one thing I wish could’ve been done better, is that more animals were included. In the cartoon series, we see Autumn interacting with all sorts of animals on her farm, and some chickens and pigs would’ve been welcome additions to the foal and dog.

If I were to guess, there’s probably an Autumn’s Barn set in the future that will complement her house, based on what we’ve seen in the series.

This is also a fairly expensive set, the 3rd largest by piece count in the January 2023 Friends wave, but thankfully still priced the same as other character houses at US$69.99, which is astounding as it seems like Friends character houses are resistant to inflation.

So while it is one of the pricier LEGO Friends sets, it’s in no way overpriced, and I feel like you’re getting plenty of play and display value from this set, with the animals, minidolls and of course, a really attractive-looking house for Autumn to live in.

Out of all the high-priced 2023 LEGO Friends sets, I think that Autumn’s House is the one to get as it’s great value and balances aesthetics and play value almost perfectly.

Build [4] – A surprisingly interesting and at times, fun build with cool architectural techniques
Real Value [4] – Great minidolls, two substantial animals and a large, great looking home make for good value, especially as the US$69.99 price hasn’t changed.
Innovation [3] – The farmhouse aesthetic feels fresh, and I can’t believe that this is a first for LEGO Friends
Coolness [4] – One of the nicer looking Friends homes, that looks a lot more mature and considered, plus you get adult Mia!
Keepability [4] – Makes for a great display piece, but really, with all the living spaces, it’s designed to be played with, and younger Friends fans will get a lot of value out of this set

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Thanks for reading this review of 41730 Autumn’s House! The set is available now from LEGO.com, but it’s likely that you’ll be able to nab it at a slight discount from Amazon or Amazon Australia.

If you plan on purchasing 41730 Autumn’s House please consider using the affiliate links found in the post to support the blog, as I may receive a small commission with each purchase.

Be sure to also check out my reviews of 41741 Dog Rescue Van and 41732 Downtown Flower and Design Stores, and keep an eye out for more upcoming LEGO Friends reviews!

Do you collect LEGO Friends sets? Let me know if Autumn’s House makes it on your wishlist and if you’re excited to pick it up!

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