Last summer our neighbors gave us their daughters old playhouse that she had outgrown. Luna was pumped and I was like…eh? We had just started our backyard renovation but no where in the plans did we have a space for a playhouse. We came to the conclusion that since Luna loved it we would make space. So one of the patio areas got turned into the ‘kid corner’. But of course, I was going to make sure this space went with the whole design and flow of the yard that we wanted.
Luna loves playing with kitchen sets, pretending to cook and make us food. So I thought I would turn the playhouse into a little ‘cafe’ of sorts. First up was paint! As you can see the playhouse was cute before but in some desperate need of a little TLC. With the graphics half washed away and a dingy looking wood, I knew a little paint would freshen it right up. Little did I know that painting the playhouse would actually take one million coats of paint (okay, like 4) and actually be more work than I originally thought. BUT, it was totally worth it. I went with the classic black and white combo, would you really expect anything else from me? I started with the outside and after a couple days the exterior paint was basically done, minus touch ups. I had planned to paint the inside too but guess what? I got lazy. The thought of sitting inside a tiny little playhouse on a hot summer day painting sounded freaking terrible. So I left the playhouse, half painted, for almost a year.
Then this past February rolled around, along with a few sunny days and I decided I was going to finish this playhouse plan if it was the last thing I did! I touched up all the paint on the outside and then started on the inside. The interior was not exactly easy to paint, but two days later it was done and I wondered “why the hell did it take me so long to get to this?”
After I got everything painted the real fun part started! Luna made it known her playhouse needed curtains. I am not someone who sews. I have a sewing machine, and my husband can sew, but not me. So I decided I would create no-sew curtains. I bought some fabric at IKEA, cut them to size and used hem tape to hem all the sides. I then added a loop at the top for the curtain rod using stick on Velcro strips. I did this so that I could easily rip the curtains down and throw them in the wash if needed. I also wanted to make a little awning for one of the sides so I again bought some fabric from IKEA in a black and white stripe and applied the same method as the curtains so no sewing was involved! Turned out pretty cute too, don’t ya think?
Next up were some fun accessories for the exterior. I added a light above the door with a battery operated button light I attached inside. I added address numbers, painted on a chalkboard using chalkboard paint, added a hanging pot and last but not least a sign. Because what cafe doesn’t have a sign?
I left the interior pretty simple but I did add a pot rack to hang her pots and pans from and a little shelf to store cups/plates ect. Speaking of the pots and pans, I wanted them to be copper so I spray painted the bottoms! So cute and totally helped complete the look I was going for.
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