Approximately 5,248 days after purchasing the $250 playhouse from the swap site- we officially have a 42 square foot playhouse that is nicer than my actual house ;). I still can’t believe this playhouse remodel project is complete!
This project was a labor of love- and a few cuss words. Originally, when we purchased it, I was going to “fix it up a little bit.” Then I jumped down the rabbit hole on Pinterest and blew all of Addison’s college fund on a playhouse (just kidding- maybe.)
Let’s take a look at where we started with the playhouse…
The first plan was to paint the playhouse, put down some nice carpet, and move in some of her toys. Then I thought I would put in a new window. After that, I decided shiplap was necessary. Lastly, I found gray laminate flooring at Costco and it magically ended up in the cart. Let’s just say it kind of snowballed- but it was TOTALLY worth it!
The Playhouse Remodel Process
Like I said, one thing led to another when we started this project. I knew the outside needed to be painted, and I wanted to “spruce up” the inside. I am the absolute WORST at taking progress photos, but this is the best I could do!
Painting the exterior was the first thing I tackled. We went with white to match our house, and then added black trim. When I was working on the trim, I decided the current window wasn’t sealing well enough, so we purchased a new window to replace it.
Interior Updates
When it came to the interior, I tore up the old carpet and put down new sub floor. Then I tackled the shiplap. I have shiplapped 2 other places in our house (the laundry room and the bathroom closet), but I never use actual shiplap- I purchase 1/2 inch MDF from Lowes and have them cut it into 6 inch strips (hack from @ourfauxfarmhouse– go follow them!). Super easy, and very affordable! Before I installed the shiplap, I put a light coat of paint up so the wood wouldn’t show through the cracks of the shiplap.
I was torn with what to do on the ceiling, and finally decided to go with corrugated steel. A.J. helped me cut it down and install, and then we started to paint! I recruited my nieces to help, and they had so much fun!!! I cut trim for the new window and the door frame while they painted, and it made the process go so much faster.
Once we finished with that, it felt like the end was in sight! A.J. helped me lay the laminate flooring, and then I cut baseboards and cove trim for the corners.
My nieces also helped me paint the exterior trim and door. I had the hardest time deciding what color to paint the door, neutral or a pop of color, and I’m so happy I went with teal! It adds so much character to the overall look! I still need to add the flower box to the window, but that will wait until next year.
The Finishing Touches
FINALLY, I was able to move in the furniture! Here are the quick links for everything I ordered:
Darling Sign- Smallwood Home… no longer available 🙁
Colored Buckets- The Container Store
Shelf Decor- miscellaneous local stores
There are still a few details I want to add. My plan is to add 2 little wooden chairs from my childhood that I need to pick up from my parents house to go by the “craft table”. Also, I want to buy large letters and put READ on the blank wall above the reading nook. I ordered dishes from Amazon that will go on the floating shelf directly above the kitchen, and we might add a place to hang her pots and pans. We will also need to get crayons and craft supplies to put in the colored buckets.
Overall, we’re going to call this project DONE. When we started to tackle this, I never imagined we would still be working on it almost 4 months later. I also didn’t imagine it would look like this! Overall, I am so happy with how it turned out- quite honestly, if my WiFi reaches this far, I’ll be setting up my office out here! I hope you enjoyed our mini tour and found some inspiration for your own playhouse!
