Early last year we started tossing around the idea of getting the girls a playhouse. Search ‘playhouse makeover’ on Pinterest and thousands of results pop up for DIYs on this KidCraft playhouse. While they are absolutely darling, I wanted something larger, that our girls could grow into, rather than grow out of in a few years. I started looking at the cost of buying a premade playhouse and was flabbergasted at the cost. We are talking $3,500 on the low end and $10,000+ for some of the larger ones. CRAZY. I knew Dave could take on this project, with time being the only thing standing in his way.
Enter COVID. Once shelter in place was announced in the Bay Area we realized this would be the perfect weekend quarantine project and when finished, would give our girls so much enjoyment over the summer while we continued to social distance. All said and done, it took Dave about 10 straight weekends to complete. Not a project for the faint of heart but I could not be happier with how it turned out.
The playhouse is the first thing you see when you enter our backyard and you also look out at it from the living room. It is quite literally the focal point – whether you’re inside or outside. It needed to be cute without being cutesy. So we painted it to match our house, opted to spend a little more to do a cedar shingle roof, add a porch, and landscaping. The only “kid” element to the outside is the pink front door. We also fully sealed and weatherproofed this puppy to further add to its longevity. I swear if it had electricity, we could rent it on Airbnb!
And when I say “we” I definitely mean Dave. I can take zero credit for this masterpiece aside from being in charge of painting and decorating which seems pale in comparison to my husband’s effort. He definitely won ‘dad of the year’ in my mind. Here’s a look at its evolution.
Aside from a few frames and a couple of things from the Target Dollar Spot like the hooks and some of the art, everything inside the playhouse was moved from the girls’ room. All the sources are below.
Exterior Sources
- Paint Color: Soot by Benjamin Moore
- Trim Color: Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore
- Door Color: Rose Pottery by Behr
- Deck stain: color-matched to the house color (Soot)
- Brass ship bell
- Cedar roof shingles
- Wood Lap Siding
- Front window
- Side window
- Brick pavers were remnants from the previous homeowner
- Plants – Japanese boxwood, dahlias, and Carolina laurels
Interior Sources
- Peel and Stick Vinyl flooring
- Table and chairs spraypainted in Ocean Mint
- Frames were various sizes and colors from the FISKBO line at IKEA
- Felt garland – old from Home Goods
- Hooks – from the Target Dollar Spot last summer
- Doll high chair
- Kitchen
- Glasses
- Storage bins
- Dessert tray
- Vase from Goodwill
*The two finished exterior photos by Jeremy Waldorph Photography
Absolutely amazing!!