Kids Playhouse Blog

As a kid, were you fascinated by exotic and wild animals and now your child has the same love of animals?  Is your child enthralled by the movie Madagascar and dreams of going on his own wild adventures?  Your child can have a “wild” time in their own kids playhouse by creating an African Serengeti wild life refuge of their own!  It’s easy.

Here’s how you can create the ultimate safari adventure for your child:

Make life-size drawings and cut outs of African animals.  Purchase long rolls of paper, in bright colors, so can make life-sized images of wild safari animals like lions, tigers, and giraffes.  Then go to your child’s story books or do research on the web to find pictures of lions, tigers, elephants, zebras, giraffes or hippo’s to draw.

After you’ve drawn the animals on the paper, have your child color, decorate, and cut out the final images.  Now it’s time to hang the drawings all over the kids playhouse, even hanging them from the ceiling, walls and windows.

Don’t forget to draw huge animal foot prints, like an elephant, and put them outside the playhouse to pretend that the animals are on the loose!  However the images are drawn, traced, or cut out, be sure that they are really big for a more authentic safari experience.

If you really want to go “wild”, help your child choose animal print fabric for window treatments, chair coverings and a table cloth. The more animal print stuff, the better.

Kids love scavenger hunts and a safari themed scavenger hunt is no exception. Go through your child’s toy box and find some plastic and stuffed exotic animals.  Hide the animals around the playhouse for the scavenger hunt.  The kids can look for the animals, animal tracks, or other objects found in the ‘wild’.

If your child is younger, face painting is a huge hit with the younger crowd.  Go to the library and find a book on face painting, purchase some water-based face paints and you’re ready to create some fierce looking animals!

Your child can be quite the adventurer in their kids playhouse, yet still be safe from all the “wild animals” loose outside.  Try these suggestions, and you will be on your way to transforming your children’s playhouse into a wild safari adventureland.

Technorati Tags: children's playhouse, Kids Playhouse, outdoor play house, Safari, Serengeti

If you’ve ever wanted to do a fun activity with your child and their kids playhouse, then this blog post if for you!  I can’t take credit for this activity as I stumbled upon it in a blog post by Super woman Brittany who demonstrated how to make a very simplistic but attractive address plate for their kids play house.

Here are the easy step-by-step directions for your very own address plate:

Step 1.  Purchase a wooden plaque and paint or stain from a craft store, Walmart or a dollar store.  Make sure your painting surface is well covered with newspapers.  Don’t forget paint brushes and wet rags to clean up any spills.

Step 2.  Have your child stain or paint the wooden plaque and allow the newly stained or painted plaque to dry.

Step 3.  Using contact paper and stencils (purchased stencils or made using a Cricut), trace and cut out your kids playhouse address.

Step 4.  Place the contact paper on the plaque and use black paint to blot the address on to the plaque.

Step 5.  Allow the black paint to dry.  Remove the contact paper.

Step 6.  Time to hang the newly painted address plate on the kids playhouse!

This is a great kid-friendly activity that you and your child will absolutely love.  With a few inexpensive materials and a child willing to paint, you can have a nice looking address plate that will be unique to your child’s kids playhouse!

Technorati Tags: address plate, Kids Playhouse, kids playhouse art, outdoor playhouse

Imagine a kids playhouse that is suited for the child who loves to bake cakes, brownies or cookies.  It’s possible when your child chooses a fun and tasty baking or treats theme for their playhouse.  Your child’s playhouse will be unique and customized to what your child enjoys…baking!  With a few silly and simple design tricks, their playhouse will look and smell as good enough to eat as it is to play in.

Try the following simple design tricks:

Paint the kids playhouse a really sweet color such as Gum Drop Purple or Apple Green.  Or use multiple colors such as Lemonade yellow, Candy Apple Red, Cotton Candy Pink, and Chocolate Brown. For a sprinkling of candy effect, create striped, wavy, or spotted patterns using these yummy colors.

Have your child create a mural with all of their favorite treats!  Your child will be able to personalize their playhouse while actively engaging in a fun and creative activity.  To get started, they can draw a big doughnut topped with rainbow sprinkles as the center or paint a mirage of lemon meringue pie slices.

Reclaimed food or candy wrappers can be used to make a kids playhouse wall border. Without costing a fortune, the border will give the playhouse walls dimension and texture and add to the overall baking and treats theme . To make the wrappers stay on the wall, you and your child can use easy decoupage techniques.

Be sure that your child has lots of pretend food in their kids playhouse.  In addition to the pretend or plastic food, buy non-toxic playdough or make edible playdough!

Don’t forget to add the baking or treat smell to the playhouse.  Hang sweet smelling air fresheners that are shaped like cakes and goodies from the ceiling!

Your child’s kids playhouse may become a menagerie of sweet treats and delectable smells that will mesmerize your child and the other children that are invited to enjoy the deliciously decorated space! After you and child customize their playhouse, it is sure to be even better than anything than you both imagined!

Technorati Tags: building kids playhouse, kids play house, Kids Playhouse, kids playhouse ideas, kids playhouse plans, outdoor playhouse, wooden playhouse, wooden playhouses

You know you want to build a kids playhouse from scratch and you have a pretty good idea the dimensions of the playhouse, but perhaps you don’t know where to go from here.

Before starting, I like to have a clearly defined plan, on paper, that includes the layout of the playhouse in the building site area.  A site plan drawn to at least a 1:100 scale can help you view the overall project before you start the actual construction.

When laying out the site area, it should include the location of the playhouse in the yard, proximity to electrical sources, and where the walls, door, and porch will be positioned.

The following are four tips that can help you to optimizing your kids playhouse before you even build it.

1.  Begin to develop a basic site plan for your backyard.  On your site plan, incorporate existing buildings (yes, that includes the main house as well) and landscaping or natural areas that should remain undisturbed.

2.  Next, think about the best probable location for your playhouse.  Before you can do this you need to answer the following questions.  Will the playhouse be far away from the house so the kids can have space to themselves, will it be close to the house so that the parents can check on the kids from a main house window, or will the landscape or lot size dictate the placement of the playhouse?

3.  If you will have electricity for the playhouse, you will need to keep in mind where the main source of the electricity will be coming from – the main house or an existing outside circuit like for a garage or swimming pool.  You may need to have a separate circuit installed if you will be building a good distance from the house.  From a safety standpoint, have major electrical work performed by a licensed electrician.  If you are a do-it-yourself person, make sure you follow the approved codes within your area.

4.  Now you are ready to go to your site plan. With the desired playhouse dimensions, begin to layout where the playhouse will be located.  Because the main house is included on the site plan, you can get a sense of how close the playhouse will be from the main house.  If you have opted to be able to see the playhouse from at least one of the windows in the main house, you will be able to confirm this on your site plan.

Pay close attention to where the playhouse porch, entrance door and the windows will be located.  Many parents do not want a window or exit door at the back of the playhouse.

Also, for maximum natural lighting and air movement within the kids playhouse, you may want to indicate on your site plan where the afternoon sun will be (as this will be the typical times when children will play in the playhouse) and how air can move throughout the playhouse with the desired amount of windows and doors outlined.

If your playhouse will not get a lot of sun in the afternoon and you are worried that without electrical lighting it will be too dark, you may want to consider adding an additional window or a skylight.

In terms of air movement, many kids can tolerate heat a lot better than adults. However, knowing that you’ve planned for adequate air movement in advance by incorporating enough windows, that can be opened, will ensure that your child will have a pleasant and comfortable playing environment.

Lastly, if you plan on having a porch, which I recommend, determine if the overhang will be adequate for sun, rain and wind protection for you child when they decide to play on the porch of the playhouse.

Taking into consideration the above tips before you build your kids playhouse will ensure that you have the perfect playhouse location in your backyard and it will be optimized for your child’s enjoyment.

Technorati Tags: childrens play houses, childs playhouse, kids play house, Kids Playhouse, outdoor playhouse

Transforming a kids playhouse into a car lovers haven can happen in a jiffy. Some might think that a car themed playhouse would only be for boys, but in reality, many girls love looking at and playing with toy automobiles. Creating a space that a car buff will both love and feel comfortable in takes combining a few different design elements and accessories. While it can be done as cheaply or as expensive as parents would like, the thing to keep in mind when assisting a child in decorating their playhouse is to let them pick what they like. Above style, their happiness should be your ultimate goal.

Try these easy tips to make the space awesome:

1. Choose car themed light fixtures. From pendants that are wired into the playhouse’s electrical panel to light switch covers, there are so many different car related lighting options. Some auto themed light pendants are like real cars that hang from the ceiling on a “showroom floor” base. These give the space an authentic look that will delight young car lovers every time they enter and flick on the lights in their outdoor playhouse.

2. Look for rugs and furnishings that resonate with automobile detailing. A car shaped throw rug or welcome mat could be the perfect compliment for the floor of the outdoor playhouse. Select something that is very resilient and can hold up to a lot of dirt and play. Another option is a rug that looks like city streets that children can use to “drive” their small play cars on.

3. Make the wall decor phenomenal. Using wall decals is nice and can add a quick splash of color and auto related designs to the wall. But consider taking the look up a notch by including large murals on the inside and outside of the outdoor playhouse. Kid-sized cars can be painted on the walls to look as if there are several cars parked inside or on the sides of the playhouse.

4. Provide the child will real pedal or electric child-sized cars to “drive” around the outside of their kids playhouse. Kids will absolutely love the idea of having a real “car collection” to go along with the small pocket sized cars that they may have on display inside.

Cars can make an outdoor playhouse an auto buff’s favorite place. From light fixtures to real cars that are “parked” around the kids playhouse, kids that are car lovers will have a marvelous time in a well decorated play space that is just for them. Your little car buff today could end up growing into a car collector or race car driver tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: childrens play houses, Kids Outdoor Play, kids play house, Kids Playhouse, outdoor playhouse

As a kids playhouse goes, it’s of the utmost importance for a child to claim their playhouse as their own, and that includes being an integral part of the decorating process. Regardless of the exact style that they ultimately choose for the interior of their playhouse, just being able to pick the colors, borders, decals, and other cool wall decor could be really awesome. So, here are some tips for helping your daughter to select items that will help to transform those bare walls into the playhouse of her dreams!

1. Remember that pink is not just “pink”. There are so many shades of pink to choose from that it would be best for you to provide your daughter with color swatches and let her pick the “pink” that she wants. If she wants to go for a more funky look, suggest that she use a darker pink like a fuchsia or hot pink. For a really light and airy feeling in the playhouse or a look that would yell “tea party”, then consider a softer pink like cotton candy.

2. Border and decals can really add panache to a wall. Because most playhouses are not extremely large spaces, chances are, you won’t need a lot should you decide to go with a border. If so, ask your daughter if she wants a border that has a recurring theme or if she would like something that is more hodge-podge or grouped. Another option is to look at wall decals. Wall decals are great because you can actually get them custom made with your daughters words, photos, or artwork. What’s great with using decals is that they can be removed easily or repositioned, so that she can decorate at-will!

3. Artificial flowers and trees can make a kids playhouse feel more cozy. Wall pockets are baskets that can be put onto a wall. These add a nice element and dimension to a space. Your daughter could greatly customize her playhouse by incorporating a floral look.

Girls will love their kids playhouse as it becomes a fabulous or chic place for them to entertain their friends. With gorgeous walls and decorations that are simply marvelous, your little girl is likely to embrace her femininity and, will hopefully enjoy the decorating process. A really beautiful kids playhouse could be a glimpse into your daughter’s future home decorating style.

Technorati Tags: Kids Playhouse, outdoor play house, outdoor playhouse, wooden playhouse, wooden playhouses

Technorati Tags: Kids Outdoor Play, Kids Playhouse, outdoor play house, outdoor playhouse, wooden playhouse