LEGO Creator’s retiring Modern House is a Paradisa set in disguise
LEGO Creator’s retiring 31153 Modern House looks contemporary at first glance, but with just a few small tweaks can become a retro throwback to LEGO Paradisa…
In our recent review of 31153 Modern House, we mentioned how you won’t want to miss out on this set before it retires at the end of the year. This will ring even truer for fans of a specific theme that has been largely overlooked by the LEGO Group in the modern era, save for a couple of minifigures in a recent release.
The Paradisa pair in 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine don’t have as many homes in the current portfolio as the knights, pirates and even the Fabuland duo of the LEGO Ideas set, so we’ll have to make them one ourselves. 31153 Modern House is the ideal foundation for a LEGO Paradisa set with current-day details that still align with the aesthetic of the relaxing 1992 theme.
Taking those minifigures from their spherical capsules, I set out to transform the retiring LEGO Creator model with a more vibrant colour scheme, and only a few pieces are needed to pursue the Paradisa form for yourself.
I used 6416 Poolside Paradise as inspiration for what to change and include in 31153 Modern House, while keeping in mind current-day LEGO sets and designs, as well as how Paradisa might look with a 2025 revival. 6416 Poolside Paradise already has a lot of similarities to the retiring LEGO Creator model – namely the palm tree, pool, loungers and house. However, it lacks a few pieces of outdoor furniture and some additional floral decorations to make it feel like a Paradisa home.
Adding some flowers in front of the pool to emphasise the little natural space featured in the build, as well as moving the palm trees to accommodate a slide in place of the diving board seen in 6416 Poolside Paradise, was the first step. This swiftly transformed the pool area to have more play value and natural features, without distracting from the house, the main focus of the build.
The slide itself uses only a handful of parts taken from 40589 Pirate Ship Playground, but there’s plenty of space to expand on our idea with a bigger build, provided you have the necessary elements. This will require a bigger foundation, though. Looking to the right of the pool, we’ve moved the two loungers included in 31153 Modern House to the beach and added a transparent pink parasol for the minifigures to relax under, while drastically shifting the colour scheme of the original model.
To further this colour scheme shift and better reflect the pink tones of Paradisa’s original run, we changed the nougat tiles on the house’s tower section to Magenta and white, modernising the look of Paradisa while also staying true to its calming colours. While we didn’t need to change anything inside the house for this Paradisa retrofit of 31153 Modern House, there’s still one aspect missing compared to 6416 Poolside Paradise.
LEGO Paradisa’s cars aren’t exactly masterworks compared to the brick-built cars we see on shelves today, but the four-stud-wide concept can be upgraded without losing that Paradisa touch. We turned this model by Rebrickable user De_Marco into a convertible, as per the car in the original set, and modified the colour scheme to better suit the wider build. It offers the Paradisa minifigures a stylish ride that maintains the aesthetic of the original theme, while upgrading it with modern-day techniques.
The finished result could be mistaken for a current-day LEGO Paradisa set, even though the theme’s only major inclusion in recent years has been the two minifigures in LEGO Ideas 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine. Fans of the original beach-centric range can at least relive the glory days of LEGO Paradisa in 31153 Modern House, and with parts that won’t cost much to acquire, even on Pick a Brick.
Act fast, though, since the LEGO Creator set is retiring at the end of 2025. It is still available at the time of writing for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99. Click here to check out our review of the set as it comes in the box.
This LEGO set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, but Brick Fanatics purchased the additional pieces required.
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