Why work on real house projects when you can do mini ones instead? That was our mindset this summer when we worked on Elizabeth's new playhouse. Back in May I got the urge for a fun project to distract my mind from the million things going on with work (anyone else add more on their plate to distract? Ha - maybe not the best idea). When doing a Target wander, I saw a cute
little wooden playhouse back in the spring. Fast forward a few weeks and I decided we needed it. It was on sale and I figured now or never. Plus, it'd be fun to have for the summer instead of waiting until her birthday in October (and we all know she'll get plenty then from family!) Loaded up Elizabeth and off we went on our little adventure. I will link all the items at the end of the post.
At our Target out West, they had a floor model, which was helpful to make sure it was what we wanted. I knew I wanted to paint it, but liked this one for the style and cute accessories. Plus it was affordable (watch for a sale!) and a good size for her. After loading up the box, we headed to Lowes to pickup our paint. I was on a mission. I picked up the cheapest outdoor white paint option and then grabbed a sample of pink paint for the door (we ended up needing a couple more sample containers because that's what Dustin ended up using on the roof after doing a coat of plastic bond spray paint). First coat went on during nap time and then I had to admit my impulse to Dustin when he got home - luckily, he's more of a sucker for Elizabeth projects than I am. He naturally took over when I went out for a meeting that night.
Naturally, summer schedules took over and we got a little behind on finishing up the playhouse, but this past weekend we finally got it out and put together. It comes as folded walls, so you screw together two sides and then add the roof and door - actually pretty simple. The balloon garland was me being over the top for photos, but when balloons are your thing, why not!
I struggled a little bit on what to put inside the little house. She already has a play kitchen in her playroom, so I decided against that (if I would have done one,
Ikea has this great small one). Since it has a cute shop/stand aspect to it, I decided to play off that. I originally thought I would do a table with chairs and a side table to hold the accessories. Apparently I'm not good a dimensions in my head because obviously that was too much! Luckily, the Ikea side table I purchased was perfect by itself. I got cute glasses to make it like a little lemonade stand (Parker Palm Springs inspired of course) and then my mom ended up getting her this fun ice cream set. The lemon stools are my favorite! Perfect size and my bossy child likes to move them inside vs. the outside lemonade bar situation I was going for. To finish off the space and add a little cushion on the concrete, I found this cute striped outdoor rug from Ikea. It is longer than the house, so I folded it in half (thicker that way too). Dustin of course added his tech-y touch by adding a strip of LED color changing lights along the inside of the room - ice cream shop by day, club by night.
The big reveal was better than we hoped and little miss is officially obsessed. She would live in there if she could, and if we aren't outside she's staring out the backdoor asking to go outside. Her favorite part? Ringing the way too loud doorbell - my one complaint of this beauty - I'm sure our neighbors feel the same. We (I) wrote cute letters for her mailbox and it came with a fake phone, so naturally she has been making lots of calls. First play date was today with her little neighbor friend, and I think this early birthday present is one of the best we'll do!
Cost Breakdown:
House $299 (on sale)
Paint ~ $50 (white & samples of the pink)
Accessories ~$60
Shop this post:
Playhouse |
Lemon Stools |
White Plastic Table |
Colorful Glassware |
Metal Pots |
Striped Rug |
Ice Cream Set |
Doormat |
Lemon Napkins |
Daisy Sunglasses & Hair Bow - Shop In Store at LOC |
Balloon Garland - Order Here
If you come visit, we now have a guesthouse for you! You might need to bring something to sleep on though.
Lots of Love,
