Adding A Little Wooden Playhouse: a house log

Yup, we are following the blogger trend that seems to be sweeping the internets: our children officially have a playhouse. It was in fact a gift from my mom for their joint birthdays back in the spring (yes, our 7-year-old and 3-year-old both agreed on precisely one thing, and it was that they hoped a little outdoor house to call their own). “No grown-ups allowed” was in fact uttered during the request. So we looked around for one we thought they’d both like that would not break Nonna’s budget. We came across this cute playhouse that was made of solid cedar, was the right price, and even had little flower pot holders out front.

So we sent my mom the link, enjoyed a plethora of excited emojis that she sent back in return, and along with the text that said: “it is going to be delivered in seven days, and it says you have to assemble it. Hope it is not too complicated!”

Turns out it was fairly straightforward, but it did require a couple hours to put together. Perhaps it would’ve gone faster had we had this especially-handy looking “Adult Helper” pictured in the instructions. That guy looks like he’s ready to kick butt and take names. Although his swollen thumb concerns me. And why is he showing up with a saw?

Every piece was pre-cut, pre-drilled, and labeled so it was not much distinct than putting together a piece of Ikea furniture. I’d simply recommend laying all of the pieces out so you can see their labels and grab things more swiftly than keeping half of the materials in the box and digging around for hours looking for L2.

Once it comes together, it all feels especially solid. You can see how the roof slats are not only firmly attached, but they interlock. And there is a full kitchen inside (which I did not even notice when we picked it) complete with burners with knobs and a sink for…. washing squirrels? I do not know what goes on in there. Remember: no grown-ups allowed.

At first, we had it up on the deck (this was still back in April, hence those little “pollen worms” you can see on the deck), but the kids fairly swiftly requested that we relocate it down in the grass so they could be further away. Refer back to: no grown-ups allowed.

So here it is out in the yard. So compact and cute!

We grabbed a few $1 pavers at Home Depot to put under it so it would not sit on the ground and rot or something. Plus the kids like that there is a floor in there that they can sit on (that is our daughter in there sitting down and… washing squirrels?!?!).

It does not come with the flower pots (simply the holders) so I simply used faux flowers in a black pot that I already had from Ikea. It could be lively to plant seeds with the kids and watch them grow out there too. Although the deer would likely eat anything we’d plant in there… perhaps lavender would work?

Before it arrived, I was not truly sure how much they’d use it together (would they even both fit?!), but they end up in there together a lot. And sometimes they play a game that involves holding hands and pretending that the kitchen dials and spigots are controls and they are “driving through space.”

Also, this is a weird sidenote, but it has an actual doorknob that latches which is a surprisingly big hit. They consistently make sure it is firmly closed when they leave. It is sweet to see how nicely kids treat something when they feel like it is “all theirs.”

It is not nearly as decorated as some of the playhouses out there these days (I have seen doormats and flags and bridges and window treatments – and they can look remarkable when people paint them like this, including this adorable makeover to this exact same playhouse) but the natural cedar goes with our brick house fairly well, and John “Practical” Petersik pointed out that a painted house out in the woods could look fairly dingy, fairly fast. The good news is that even if you buy a playhouse and assemble it… the kids will enjoy it. And it in fact looks truly sweet out there simply the way it is. Like a compact log cabin, where the kids go to escape adults and occasionally to “drive through space.”

Psst – Here are a bunch of other kid-related updates and projects, including things that we built from scratch (like this dollhouse) or “hacked” (like this cabinet-turned-play kitchen).

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