Kids Playhouse Blog

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.

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I came across this unusual, older, kids playhouse custom-made from a wood frame with a stone accent front and tan, vinyl siding.  The vinyl siding was the same color as the main house, and although the playhouse did not match the architectural style of the main home, the consistent use of color between structures worked very well together.

Two unusual features of this playhouse make it a particularly interesting structure.  The two level shingled roof and the stone facade combine to make a unique playhouse.

The lower roof extended over the porch by about 3 feet. The door to the kids playhouse was kid-sized, about 4 feet high, and was reached by stepping up onto a raised, 4 foot wide by 3 foot deep, wooden porch.

The kid-friendly door had a pull to open the door – just right for little kids hands.

There were four windows of various sizes, not including the window in the door, so the interior of the playhouse was very bright and pleasant.  There was no electricity to the playhouse so having all those windows was nice.

The first window was to the right of the entrance to the kids playhouse and was glass only and not meant to be opened. There were no windows directly opposite the door.

On the lower level, there were two double hung widows on each side of the kids playhouse adjacent to the door.  One of these windows was long and narrow while the other window was more of a standard size.  These windows could be opened for air flow through the playhouse. The last double hung window was on the second level and again, this window was tall and narrow.

The interior floor was wooden and the walls were finished off with wall board that had been painted white.

There was a ladder to a second floor area spanning the entire length of the playhouse.  This area was just the right size for 2-3 small kids and could certainly be used for a sleepover.

The stone exterior to this kids playhouse made it very unique and memorable.  The brightness of the interior was refreshing due to the amount of windows.

The second floor was a nice addition for extra fun and especially for slumber parties and sleepovers.

Overall, this kids playhouse was very unique and nice looking.

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Who doesn’t love a tea party especially when it’s held in a kids playhouse?  A tea party in a kids playhouse can be a very memorable “kids only” event.  An event that your child would be happy to hostess and be excited when the big day finally arrives.

To make this an amazing event for your child and her friends, it doesn’t have to be hard to organize, but for best results you should plan it out in advance.  There are invitations to make, a menu to decide, food to prepare, tea to steep, and a formal table to set.

I like to start with the menu which I try to keep as simple as possible.  I also keep in mind what little kids would like to eat versus what an adult would like at a tea party.  That’s why I recommend serving food items in the “mini” form or a smaller portion size.  Food that works well in the “mini” form are:  brownies, slices of lemon pound cake, scones, and sugar cookies.

Finger foods like strawberries, grapes, carrots, celery sticks, and snack mixtures such as trail mix or a blend of gold fish crackers, raisins and M & M’s tend to go over very well with kids.   Small ham and cheese sandwiches or PB and J sandwiches with the crusts removed and cut into fun shapes are also big hits.

Try to avoid foods that are sticky, that can stain, or desserts that are too crumbly.  I also try to stay away from foods with frosting and minimize serving chocolate.  They’re just too messy.  However, because the tea party is in the kids playhouse, it’s not as big an issue as if the tea party were in an adult house.

Kids don’t generally like tea, so pink lemonade, apple cider or fruit-infused teas may be served in place of traditional tea.  Having sugar cubes in a sugar bowl is a fun addition to any tea party.  “One lump or two?” is a qustion that they can playfully ask each other.

For tea sets, if you don’t have real tea cups, saucers and a tea pot, you can scout out local yard sales, flea markets or thrift stores for these items at reasonable and inexpensive prices.  Preferably, you would want to get tea cups that are smaller for little hands.  While you are out looking for these things, you might want to pick up several small spoons used for adding the sugar cubes and stirring the “tea”.

A real linen table cloth and linen napkins make an elegant touch to the kids playhouse and the tea party theme.  When setting the table for tea, I like to use silver flatware, small china plates, tea cups, and saucers as well as the tea pot.  It makes the table formal and grandiose.  The girls really enjoy it because it’s so grown up.

Girls love to dress up and the tea party should be no exception. Ask your young guests to come already dressed up or you can provide a clothes chest that have a variety of dresses, hats, boas, tiaras, high heels, gloves, purses, necklaces and bracelets.  If you are really ambitious, you can have perfumes, hair barrettes and make up available so the little princesses can be Queens for the day.

The invitations are always fun to make and your little girl will love to help out and even design them.  Tea pots or tea cups cut out and decorated with paints and sequins make an eye catching invitation.  Don’t forget to request your guests to come dressed up and to arrive directly to the door of the kids playhouse.

Having the tea party in a kids playhouse will provide the perfect environment for this themed-celebration and an incredibly fun experience for your girl and her friends.

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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!

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Fill up a kids playhouse with a menagerie of six or eight legged insect friends and everyone involved is sure to have a ball! A playhouse makes an ideal gathering spot for a birthday party that has a natural theme such as those involving the world of insects. From ladybugs to wiggly worms, there are so many ways that a parent can incorporate these little colorful arachnids and insects into a party that is fit for your little doodlebugs! Here’s how:

1. Feed your guests lots of “bugs”! This is one of the easiest steps for creating a bug themed party. Provide bowls full of “worms” (gummy worms) and “spider legs” (black licorice bites) for the kids to snack on. You can make another interesting bug food out of celery, dressing, and carrots. Simply shred the carrots into “hairs” or use tiny stick carrots. Dollop dressing in the middle of the celery and place the carrots on it so that they look like legs hanging out. This will make a funky and delicious millipede that guests won’t be able to get enough of. A bug themed cake or cupcakes are a must have for real “authenticity”!

2. Put bugs all on the walls and table! You will need bug themed decorations such as party plates, cups, and balloons. Another option is to make your own bugs out of brown paper bags and chenille stems that can be put onto the walls or hung from the ceiling. Wooden playhouses make a perfect place for setting up a  bevy of bugs. You can even introduce some real life bugs into the fun by having some bugs in a few bug boxes that kids can look at or touch when they are not eating, of course.

3. Put bugs on the guests, in their pockets, and bags! Kids will love having “bugs” stuck to them. You can either get bug stickers and have a contest to see who can wear the most bugs in the shortest amount of time or parents can hide bug stickers all over the wooden playhouses for a fun bug gathering race!

Letting bugs invade a kids playhouse for kids birthday parties will be a lot of fun for the parents that have to come up with creative ways to add in insects and the kids that will have to wear them! Whether they are actually chomping on a worm or putting a bunch on their jeans, the fun will definitely be non-stop and the birthday party will be an event that will be well remembered!

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Imagine trekking into a kids playhouse after enjoying a warm batch of grandmom’s cookies. For a kid, life just doesn’t get much better than that. That’s why it’s so wonderful when grandparents recognize that there are ways to add to their little one’s time away from home during their visits. Some grandparents have found that purchasing a kids playhouse, like the KidKraft Kids Playhouse, can make the time spent in their backyards extra special. Here’s why:

1. After being with adults for an extended period of time, children want and need to get some serious playing in, just to feel like a kid! Often when they are visiting older adults such as grandparents, they may be in an environment with lots of antiques, important mementoes, or just expensive stuff that they are not allowed to touch, or even brush up against. Being able to retreat to a fun place like a kids playhouse makes these types of environments more bearable for a child, and actually gives them even more reason to want to visit again.

2. A kids playhouse is great for sharing moments with grandchildren. Whether grandparents decide to share stories from their own youth when they may have had their own playhouse to creating new worlds and stories with their grandchildren now, the possibilities are endless and the fun could be non-stop! Playing in a playhouse can help the older adult to feel less inhibited and more open for being silly or experiencing things on the child’s level. It could be incredibly refreshing to break away from the rigors of everyday life and get in some light and playful moments with their grandchildren.

Grandparents everywhere love having a kids playhouse in their backyard because it is an integral part of the relationship that they relish with your grandchildren. No matter how the time is spent playing, sharing experiences, or being creative together, there is sure to be plenty of opportunities for everyone to relish and hold on to.

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It’s amazing how a kids playhouse can make a regular run to the mall seem like a really cool play date! Many malls around the country are adding children’s play areas to give the children a respite from the in and out shopping activity that adults so love. While it may be fun for a child when they first head out to the store, by the third or fourth trip through the aisles, they are ready for a break and a kid-style respite. Some malls are more forward thinking and provide a “fun area” for kids. These fun areas are always made better with the incorporation of a kids playhouse.

As a parent, you can create a little strategy for your next shopping trip that will allow you to maximize the time that you have in  the stores, while giving your child a chance to be a kid also. Hit the stores that you definitely want to shop at first because your child will have the most patience. Then, when you realize that he or she is about to melt down, whisk your little one away to the kids playhouse in the fun area. There, you can start a play session that will be have multiple steps. You may say something like, “While we take a break from shopping, let’s bake a cake! Then, we will shop a little bit and come back when it should be ‘finished’”! That will give you a chance to run to other stores for a moment.

The kids playhouse at a mall’s fun area is also great because it is not a “don’t touch” zone like most stores are. With the playhouse, kids can touch all over and get out that sense of curiosity and that need to have a tactile experience. For an adult, you are touching clothing and looking at tags as you shop. For a child, they aren’t really doing all of that, but they have that need also.

Shopping can be fun. A kids playhouse can help to break up the monotony that kids sometimes feel when they are out for a day of buying with parents. It can give them a sense of relief from the stuffiness and “restrictions” that they deal with in stores. From touching to pretending, all of that can make a shopping trip a lot more enjoyable and manageable for a young child. A kids playhouse can be a big part of making that happen.

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Having a kids playhouse is fun. But what is even more exciting for young children is the chance to invite a friend to come and enjoy the playhouse with them. Parents are often the orchestrators of play dates, but when a child has their very own playhouse, they often feel more inclined to extend invitations for play dates. There is something wonderful that happens as a child becomes more independent, self-assured, and in turn more social. Being the “owner” of a kids playhouse can bring those attributes out of a child, and so much more.

Taking the initiative to give an invitation to a new friend could be a big step in the development of a child’s social skills. It signals that your child is starting to understand that he or she is not only a part of your family, but is an individual, with individual feelings, likes, and dislikes. Your child has a desire to establish his or her own relationships that may or may not include you. In all honesty, for some parents, feeling excluded from their child’s play may be something to which they will need to adjust.

Children may also want to simply “show off” their kids playhouse. Much like adults, their playhouse is likely to have many cool features such as those found on the KidKraft Kids Playhouse, which has real functioning window shutters and a mailbox for all of the invitations that are sure to come after their great playdate. It will make your child feel great knowing that his playhouse can be admired by his peers for its fantastic styling and, of course, his own decor!

With a kids playhouse, your child may change in a more positive and social way. Of course, each child develops differently; but, learning to enjoy time with friends, on their own, is something that they will need in life. Whether your child was a social butterfly before getting a playhouse or not, your child may become very welcoming when he or she realizes they can have even more fun just by sharing their place with a new or favorite buddy.

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