Kids Playhouse Blog

There was a fascinating post that I recently read about how architect Bob Borson designed a Japanese-themed kids playhouse.  It was an interesting post because he laid out why he built the playhouse, what inspired him, his research on traditional Japanese architecture and how he narrowed down what elements to include in the playhouse, and what he thinks about from an architects view point as he designed the playhouse.

Some key thoughts were that he wanted the playhouse to be characteristically Japanese yet economical to build and to be appealing to both the parent and child.

Specific features to note were the wooden platform that the playhouse was built on, the decorative rafters on the outside of the playhouse, the wooden shake shingles on the roof, the small child-sized door, the uniquely Japanese shape and pitch of the roof, and because he wanted to give the playhouse the feel that it was above the ground, the lower part of the playhouse did not have sheathing and was open to the outside environment.

Two elements that were spot on for increased enjoyment by a child was the wrap round shelf or rail on the inside of the playhouse, at just the perfect height for a child to place all their treasures and knick knacks.  The second element was the inclusion of pressed paperboard above the rail for children to pin their favorite drawings or hang items that they’ve collected and want to show off.

Below is the video and end result of his 8 foot x 8 foot Japanese designed kids playhouse.

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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!

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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.

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I’ve never seen a kids playhouse that was elevated off the ground.  When I asked the parents why they built it that way, they said it was a compromise between a playhouse and treehouse and kind of a cool premise.  Besides, it was similar to what a friend had already built in their backyard so this family went ahead with their own elevated kids playhouse.

I really liked the fact that to get up to the playhouse you had to climb a ladder so it really was geared for kids.  I can already imagine pretending that the kids playhouse was a house boat, pirate ship or an oasis in the clouds.  I guess the point is, having an elevated playhouse seemed to encourage a little more creative play than a traditional, non-elevated playhouse.

The ladder led to a quaint railed deck that had two patio chairs and a small table.  The deck overlooked the backyard.  The parent’s had intended the entrance opposite the ladder to be a fireman’s pole for the kids to slide down.  There were good intentions but the fireman’s pole never was put in place.   

The actual kids playhouse was small, square and had vinyl exterior siding.  It had a full sized screened door and several windows that could be opened.  Being so small, the playhouse only had room for a couch, table and sevral smaller pieces of furniture.  The childen now used the playhouse more for a clubhouse.  Because the playhouse had electricity and the kids had a playstation hooked up to a tv, there were many visitors to the playhouse. So, the door had a lock on it to keep neighborhood children out when the family wasn’t in the playhouse.

Talking about electricity, there had been a mini refrigerator at one time in the kids playhouse stocked with soda.  This idea went over so well with the families children that they were drinking a lot of soda.  The Mom decided that she didn’t want her kids to drink so much soda so the mini refrigerator was removed.

Interestingly, the parent’s had originally wanted to put a loft in the playhouse but it would have taken up too much room so they never built that feature.

Aside from the clubhouse activities the kids enjoy, the Mom uses the playhouse as a get away and admitted to taking naps there!  I guess you could say this playhouse is for all the members of a family!

If you want to check the playhouse out, please click on this link or view the video below.

Please let me know what you think about these playhouses and if there are other questions I should be asking the owners.  I’d love to hear your feedback!

Technorati Tags: awesome kids playhouse, building kids playhouse, Kids Playhouse, kids playhouse ideas

I have always admired the Victorian kids playhouse in the neighborhood.  It was built on blocks so that if ever the family moves, the playhouse can be easily moved with the family.  I hadn’t thought of that before but after putting in so much effort, materials and money into the playhouse it’s a great idea.

The kids playhouse is one of the biggest I’ve seen to date.  I didn’t measure it, but I’d guess it was 10 feet wide by 12 feet in length.  There are two attached small areas.  The doors and windows are full size so there’s no problem with transferring the playhouse over to a clubhouse when the kids get older or even a very nice looking storage facility when the kids no longer are interested in the playhouse.

The man that built the playhouse got plans from a book.  He said he didn’t deviate too much from the plans.  Although the exterior was completed, the inside needed to be finished off.  There is electrical power to the playhouse – in fact, all the playhouses (4) I have looked at so far have had electrical power to them.  One thing the man who built the Victorian kids playhouse mentioned was that he planned on putting in a ceiling fan so there was air movement in the playhouse.  If you look at the video, there are motion detector lights on the exterior of the playhouse, entrance lights near the playhouse door and electrical outlets inside the playhouse.

Although he hadn’t gotten to painting the playhouse in a variety of Victorian colors, you sure could tell that the exterior would be fun to detail and customize.  The landscaping around the playhouse was very eye catching, can you imagine what the playhouse will look like once the family paints it?  I may have to go back next summer and update everyone on the progress this family has made on their kids playhouse.

If you want to check out this awesome Victorian kids playhouse, you can click on the link or view the video below.

As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on each of the playhouses.  Or, submit your own kids playhouse video!

Technorati Tags: awesome kids playhouse, building kids playhouse, Kids Playhouse, kids playhouse ideas

I visited a neighbor’s kids playhouse that was built in a Victorian style.  The playhouse was adorable and quaint with wonderful Victorian details.  The playhouse was painted in pink, green, yellow, white and purple.  The sides of the playhouse had a cute stenciled flowing flower pattern done by the Mother.   It was an ideal play structure for any girl wishing to have her own playhouse. 

The parents had initially built the playhouse for their young girl, who at the time, was around 6 years old.  The playhouse originally was designed from a playhouse plan but the design was modified to include a loft on the second floor.  You can get additional ideas here for kids playhouse plans.

The kids playhouse was built in the fenced in backyard, not on a concrete slab but up on blocks. The entire playhouse was made of wood with the exterior of the playhouse detailed in the Victorian style. The owner told me that they had to cut each of the layered wood details by hand but now they were available, precut, from the local hardware store.

There was a cute but small outer porch with the porch railing having window boxes for real flowers to grow in. There were 2 steps to get up to the porch before entering the door.  In retrospect, one thing the owners would have changed looking back was putting in a door that was higher in height.  The current door was only about 4 feet in height.  The reason for the change in door height was the daughter was 12 years old now and the door was difficult to get in and out.

Four sliding windows with screens attached were added for light and ventilation. These windows were added to three sides of the first floor.  A large, eight sided window was added to the second floor loft area.  All the windows allowed for a bright and airy feel to the playhouse and the type of windows were small and could easily be opened and closed by a child.  The octangular window could not be opened.  The wall immediately across from the door entrance did not have any windows, which actually made it easy to put furniture, kitchen sets or bulletin boards against it without problem.

The first floor was small, 10 feet wide and 4 feet in depth, and quite adequate for smaller kids.  However, it was a tight fit if older girls were to congregate in a ‘club house’.  The loft area was accessible by ladder.  The loft area covered half of the upper level of the kids playhouse and was really exciting to be in.  The large 6 sided window gave a child a wide view of the backyard and the small size of the loft area was cozy.  What a wonderful place to pass the time with your friends!

Although the kids playhouse was meant initially for their 6 year old daughter, the playhouse grew to be a club house for girls and now was used by the daughter to do homework and as a kids artist studio.

You can view a video of this kids playhouse here or below.

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