Kids Playhouse Blog

Pirates are popular with children and turning a kids playhouse into a pirate’s hideout cove is easy to do.  There are plenty of pirate movies and engrossing books like “Pirates Don’t Change Diapers” that kids have a hard time putting down.  So, bring that trend to your family’s kids playhouse!

Try these awesome tips to bring the playhouse up to p-AARRHH:

1. Add a telescope to the window ledge or porch railing of the kids playhouse. For any sea-faring pirate, a telescope is a necessity. Imagine all the foreign lands your child will see! Of course, don’t forget watching out for approaching pirate ships or spying on others that may be after their treasure chest.

2. Fill up treasure chests in and around the kids playhouse. Pirate costumes and plastic or foam swords can fill up one treasure chest while another may be used as a drink or snack container. To create a drink container “treasure chest” purchase one of those foam travel chests from a local dollar store. Together, with your child, paint it and embellish to look like a real treasure chest. Fill it with ice, drinks, and fruit snacks! Of course, you can’t forget about having a treasure chest that holds all of the real “treasures”. Your child may get really creative and keep their favorite books, games, or trinkets in the treasure chest or they may go the more traditional route and keep fake jewelry, golden coins, and dazzling crowns.

3. A flag pole and pirate flag readily transforms a kids playhouse into a fierce and mighty pirate strong-hold. You can purchase a ready-made pirate flag or you can make one. Making a pirate’s flag is simple. Purchase an inexpensive black pillow and some white felt. Cut the pillowcase down to the desired flag size. From the white felt, cut out a skull and cross bones and glue it to both sides of the black pillow case. Now, string it up the flag pole and everyone will know to beware of pirates!

Your little pirate’s kids playhouse could be the talk of the neighborhood.  You may even want to provide a water slide or water sprayer on the outside for those that have to “walk to the plank”. Have fun with it and let your children be as “arrhh-tistic” about it as they would like.

Technorati Tags: Kids Outdoor Play, kids play house, Kids Playhouse, kids playhouse ideas, Pirates, Treasure

If your daughter has been pining for her own kids playhouse and your wife has been asking you how long it will take to build it from a kit, the easy answer is a few days!  That is, if your day job doesn’t get in the way.  Although many of us wish that we had 2 days of work and 5 days off, that’s just not reality and we have to work around our job when building a playhouse project.

Doug McCaughan, from Reality Me, and his wife have been documenting the building of their daughter’s playhouse and so far they are up to day 10 (and still counting!).  They are building a playhouse from a kit and so far have made great progress.  In the picture below, you can see what was delivered as part of the playhouse kit.

Ultimately, the playhouse will look like the Little Miss Kit available from Wood Manor.  The playhouse is 8 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 8 feet high and is extremely quaint and adorable.  You can see what it will look like at the end of this post.

After 10 days of working on the playhouse, the playhouse is almost fully constructed.  Once the roof is put on, there most likely will be a huge sigh of relief that they’ve made it this far in the process.

Although there still is decorative mill work, painting and finishing off of the inside that will still need to be done before the playhouse is completely finished and ready to “move in”, the sense of accomplishment of getting the playhouse to this stage is huge.

Here are some pictures during the building process of the kids playhouse.

The ground was prepared and the foundation was constructed.  You can see the outline porch entrance.

The channel shiplap panels were added to construct the walls of the playhouse.

This picture shows the finishing of the walls, addition of the windows, and the rafters that have been added to the playhouse.

You can see the three cute hexagonal windows.

If you look at the porch floor edge, it is being protected until the railing goes up.

This is what the kids playhouse will look like when it’s fully completed.  I’m sure Doug’s little girl will absolutely love her birthday present when it’s finished – especially knowing that her Dad built it for her!

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Here’s an exceptionally cool kids playhouse, except it’s for dogs.  Not only is it for dogs but you won’t believe the cost.  $22,000.  Yes, that was @22,000!!  I don’t know about you, but that must be a very special dog.  Here’s the link to the playhouse.  Do you know of any other luxury playhouses?  I’d love to see them.  Let me know and I’ll post them on the blog.

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I love finding playhouses that other parents have built for their kids.  Here’s a kids playhouse that I came across that is quite colorful and that Mike and Beth Castillo recently finished for their family.  It’s really cute!

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Here’s a very unique kids playhouse that is made of felt.  This playhouse has four panels each with a different theme and a “roof”.  What’s great about this playhouse is that it fits over a card table to make an instant playhouse!  The playhouse stores and travels very easily.  So if your child needs a playhouse while visiting the grandparents, this is an amazingly simple solution.

I fell in love with it because it is very interactive for young children.  The front of the playhouse has a felt flap for a door, a mail box that opens, and a flower pot that kids can “plant” their flowers.

A side panel of the kids playhouse is dedicated to a garden theme with apples that can be “picked” from the trees due to the wonders of velcro.  There are carrots and corn that can be tucked into the “ground” for easy garden growing.

The back panel has a window where the curtain can be rolled up and down.

Another side panel was custom made as a baseball diamond with pockets to hold baseball cards at the various positions around the baseball diamond.

This clever felt kids playhouse was made by Katie who was inspired by another Mom blogger, Jill.   If you’ve ever wanted an indoor kids playhouse that was fun, interactive for kids, portable, and stored easily, then this playhouse may be something to check out!

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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

Instead of just using that wonderful and amazing kids playhouse for playing, consider making it a spot for your child to do homework .  Homework time can often be stressful for the entire family.  This stressful time can be reduced once your child is treated to doing their homework in their own playhouse.

Doing homework in a kids outdoor play house breaks all of the “rules” for getting school related tasks done .  This rule-breaking is intriguing for a kid and an unexpected deviation from the norm of doing homework at the kitchen table.

Homework doesn’t always have to be done while sitting in a chair and at a table. Why not spread out in the playroom’s loft or on the floor?

Another way to integrate homework time with your child’s kids playhouse is to use it as a reward when your child completes a homework assignment.  Set it up that for each half-hour spent working on homework your child can play for a half hour in the playhouse.  Some kids may not want to use their extra play time right away, rather, they may want to save it up to splurge on one big fun day.

A kids playhouse is an important part of your child’s life.  A learning component and an appreciation for the quiet time that they will have while doing homework can be combined which ultimately helps your child to develop focus and to be more conscientious.  These studying skills will be value from elementary school, through middle school and then on to high school!

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I recently took my two girls to the American Girl Doll Store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that Kit and Ruthie, two American Girl Dolls, had a kids playhouse or rather a tree house.  My girls went wild over the playhouse, so I took a picture of it. Even American Girl Dolls have a kids playhouse to call their own!

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When is a kids playhouse not a playhouse for kids? It’s when the playhouse is built in the tree tops and is used specifically for adults and families looking to unplug and get away from the constant running around, overwhelming work stresses, and distractions of every day life to experience the great outdoors in a unique and memorable way.

Playhouses and tree houses aren’t just for kids. They can be unique get-aways for adults and family members. There are several tree house resorts that cater to people who want a memorable outdoor experience. These tree house resorts move beyond the generalization of the Swiss Family Robinson.

These tree houses don’t require you to rough it, which most families will appreciate, while enjoying a tranquil and rustic outdoors adventure.

If you are in the upper northwest, there are two tree house resorts that are located in the Cave Junction, Oregon area and a third in central Washington, near Mount Rainier. The first is the Out ’n’ About Treesort with 10 different tree houses. The tree houses range from small and cozy to almost grandiose with a tree house suite including a kitchenette.

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There are two story tree houses with an observation deck or a family complex where the kids and parent tree houses are connected by a swinging bridge. The upper observation tower can be used by all family members for creative kids play, to enjoy the forested mountain view, or for bird watching.

There’s plenty of excitement and uniqueness in getting around the resort using suspension bridges, “Tarzan swings”, and ziplines.

The second resort, Vertical Horizons Treehouse Paradise, offers three tree houses from rustic cottage, enchanted grandeur (The Shiitake), to elegant Tudor-style (The Calypso) with access only via a bridge.

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The final tree house resort, Cedar Creek Treehouse, is upscale and luxurious.  It is nestled in the 200-year old mountainous red cedar forest of central Washington.  It boasts a five story staircase leading to a wondrous tree house.

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The tree house has a kitchen, refrigerator and bathroom. There are breathtaking views of Osborne Mountain and the Sawtooth Ridge Peaks. Getting away from civilization, it makes connecting to nature and all it has to offer easy in this tree house setting.

Although technically a tree house is not a kids playhouse, it will surely capture the imagination of your children and encourage family interactions with each other and with nature enriching, positive and extremely memorable.

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If you’ve ever wanted a Hansel and Gretel or Bavarian-style kids playhouse, this one has all the exterior features that make it Bavarian.  This type of architectural detail includes “square” and “X” patterns on the windows, sides, and doors of buildings.

On the roof line, there are decorative, scrolled and scalloped facia board that have been painted dark brown.  In the video, you can see the detail of the facia board.  The window grills or muntins, as well as the cedar shingles, add another authentic dimension to the Hansel and Gretel theme.

The Bavarian-style playhouse is quite large, 12 foot x 12 foot, and has a high ceiling, close to 12 foot at the peak.  There is an adult-sized door and a total of 6 windows on three sides of the playhouse.  There are no windows at the back of the playhouse.  The light from the windows and the height of the roof give the inside of the playhouse a very spacious, open and pleasant feel.

The kids playhouse is built on a concrete slab, the first playhouse that I have seen with a concrete slab.  The concrete extended out from the front door of the playhouse to form a patio.  The concrete patio is a nice feature for placing kids furniture, using chalk to draw creative art work, or for bouncing balls.

Interestingly enough, the inside of the playhouse was done up as a school house theme where there was a pull down United States map mounted on the back wall and a black chalk board.  There were also two old time kid-sized desks.

The playhouse had already been built and came with the main house of the present owner.  The present owner plans to expand upon the interior school house theme with a school bell, a small teachers desk, and posters of the alphabet and number since kids have so much fun pretending to play school.

This kids playhouse is unique in that it has the authentic Bavarian-themed exterior and, with a twist, the interior of the playhouse is themed as a kids school house.

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