When our family moved to a new house we were unable to bring the swing set from our previous house with us. My 4-year-old daughter really missed it and was quite persistent in asking when I was going to build a new one. The challenge with this playhouse was to make it blend in with the back yard and trees around it, but close enough to the house to be able to watch the kids. By building rather than buying one, I was able to maximize the space while sizing it to fit within the existing tree footprint. As well, use materials like cedar with textures and color that blend in with the landscape. I had never worked with cedar before, but learned that it is a very easy material to work with and well worth the extra cost. The cedar shake shingle roof is actually 6’ dog ear cedar fencing cut into 18’’ pieces and overlapped. This saved quite a bit of money. The kids seem to like the hand-built windows that flip open the best, even better than the double-dutch door. The points at the end of the roof were inspired from old barns that have hay hoods … maybe a cupola or weather-vane would be a nice addition in the future? What I have learned most is to start with a plan, but let it evolve with your creativity as you are building. Also, take a creative risk that challenges your skill level. A big thanks to my father-in-law for pounding in hundreds of nails!
When our family moved to a new house we were unable to bring the swing set from our previous house with us. My 4-year-old daughter really missed it and was quite persistent in asking when I was going to build a new one. The challenge with this playhouse was to make it blend in with the back yard and trees around it, but close enough to the house to be able to watch the kids. By building rather than buying one, I was able to maximize the space while sizing it to fit within the existing tree footprint. As well, use materials like cedar with textures and color that blend in with the landscape. I had never worked with cedar before, but learned that it is a very easy material to work with and well worth the extra cost. The cedar shake shingle roof is actually 6’ dog ear cedar fencing cut into 18’’ pieces and overlapped. This saved quite a bit of money. The kids seem to like the hand-built windows that flip open the best, even better than the double-dutch door. The points at the end of the roof were inspired from old barns that have hay hoods … maybe a cupola or weather-vane would be a nice addition in the future? What I have learned most is to start with a plan, but let it evolve with your creativity as you are building. Also, take a creative risk that challenges your skill level. A big thanks to my father-in-law for pounding in hundreds of nails!
