Our Playhouse Barn
This past weekend was not what I was expecting or planning for, but we did manage to get several errands run. And since we saved money on our aborted trip out of town, my upstairs project budget of “practically nothing” got expanded to “a little bit of something.” Not Better Home and Garden “something”, but a little bit more than the couch change I had before.
I’ll be sharing our adventures with chalkboard paint tomorrow! But today I wanted to share a project that Mr. Fix-It did a while ago that is not going anywhere in this decor update.
Our Playhouse/Barn.
We call it "the barn" because we used left over barn paint for it.
Mr. Fix-It made it for the crew a couple years ago, I guess. (Wow, time flies!) It’s just two walls, cut to fit snug under that slope of the roof, and then a separate roof piece that fits over top and holds it all together. It has a double door on one side, and a window on the other side.
It’s completely sturdy. They’ve never knocked it over or down, and the roof is actually flat with a ladder because he made it sturdy enough for them to climb up there. The rule is one person at a time, but it can hold all 3 of them without endangering anyone.
The Cowboy in the doorway.
It’s tall enough that the kids can stand up inside of it and there’s room for 3 sleeping bags, if they squish. The biggest drawback has been that it puts the thermostat right in fingers reach when they’re up there. I can honestly say I don’t think they’ve messed with it on purpose. We laid down that rule pretty firmly when we set it up. But it’s been bumped more than once all the way up and all the way down. They’ve gotten better about it as they’ve gotten older–and had to sleep up there when it got bumped down to 60 and up to 90.
The window side. It has a window box, but we've never put anything in there.
I was wondering if they were starting to out grow it, but I’ve watched carefully the last month or two and they’re not. It’s like a fixture of their space. They don’t even seem to realize that they’re incorporating it in their pretend games or play time. They’re just in and out constantly. Sometimes they shut the door and window and use their flashlights. Sometimes they play hide and seek and you hear the door slamming endlessly. Sometimes it’s their winter den, or their dog house, or their cabin and they’re shooting the bad guys out the window.
I thought at first he was missing a foot, but it turns out he's just wearing mis-matched socks.
We did have a unfortunate series of events involving the roof and the air mattress. It turns out that an air mattress has a lot more bounce than one would expect–which we discovered after someone catapulted the little guy into a bookcase. By accident. So I was told.
But hey, these are the things childhood is made of, right?
We sacrificed quite a bit of space in our upstairs bedrooms and bathroom to fit the playroom in. We didn’t design it solely as a playroom, but these little years have certainly validated our decision. That playroom is the hardest used room in our house other than the kitchen.
My sister and I shared a room and had a playroom when we were that age too. Do you have room for a playroom?
That is a cute idea! My son would have loved that when he was little!
I love the barn – it’s great 🙂
Our playroom {aka the Train Room} is in our basement, and the girls are down there quite a bit in the summer and fall. Right now the tile floors are too chilly for their little toes – and we can’t put carpet down because it’s the room that can flood.
When I was little my older brother and younger sister shared one room with a bunk bed and a twin bed. Our play room was right next to it. It was the messiest room in the house… When we moved it was really hard to clean!
Love it! My husband made an outdoor playhouse a few years back, too. Of course he has dreams of it being his hunting cabin one day, but for now it’s outfitted pretty well – curtains, furniture, rug, pictures on the walls. Children love it when they have miniature versions of adult things.
When our oldest was small (she was the only child until age 13) she had a playroom. It was always a disaster! But it helped to keep her living space neater. When our family expanded (via adoption) we did not have space for a playroom. They each had their own things in their room and all the outdoor toys stayed in a big tub in the garage. As a child my sister and I also shared a room and had a play room. We were so spoiled by the grands that we had to have a room for all our stuff. (we are from poor, divorced parents to back then the grands really doted on us.) It was shameful really all that stuff we had.
You are creating wonderful memories for your kids! I know you already know that! 😉 have a great day! We are on snow day number 2…