Dreaming of the Playhouse…

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Last spring I randomly met a local family and somehow in that very first conversation it was mentioned that they had moved into a house with a run-down playhouse out back that they were planning on tearing down. I honestly have no idea how this came up, I was just so overcome with visions and making sure they knew I absolutely, 100%, without a doubt wanted this playhouse. I wanted it. Bad. It was FREE.

My husband, consistent guy that he is, quick jumped in with a little “hey maybe we should see this first”. But, nope. I wasn’t having any of that nay-saying. I wanted it and they wanted it gone and in my mind that was all I needed to hear.

Then came the rain. And it rained and it rained and it rained. My patience was put through the wringer. We had to wait till the ground was nice and dry so that they (and us) wouldn’t get ruts in the yard from the truck and trailer. Ugh, it just kept raining!! So I did what any normal, sane person would do… I stalked their house. I drove past it constantly, just staring at my little house and dreaming of the possibilities. I never got out, because that would seem psychotic, right? So I never saw it up-close, always longingly from afar.

Finally, my husband declared the ground dry enough and we assembled our team of good sports and a friend’s trailer and off they went. And the girls waited at my house. Nervously. I had all kinds of visions of backs thrown out, deep gouges cut in yards, the playhouse falling off the trailer and hitting a car. Finally, the truck rolled down the street pulling the trailer and at the same time, all the girls gasped and said, “oh wow. that’s big.”.

Now remember, this is the first time I’ve seen this thing up-close and all I could think was, “don’t let them know you’re having second thoughts. Keep all doubts to yourself. Smile and tell them you’re thrilled.” And I was! I truly was thrilled, I just knew they probably thought they were going to SO much trouble for a pile of crap. Well, and for me, but mostly for a pile of crap.

So now to figure out how to get it into The Spot…

They had a moment here where they thought they were Superman and could just wheel the whole thing straight across the yard and into The Spot. Fortunately, sanity returned and they hooked it back up to the truck and just backed the whole thing up. Now to figure out what comes next. Don’t things like this come with an instruction manual?? Notice the row of spectators in the sunroom?? We were trying to be their instruction manual and they did a spectacular job of not hearing us.

But they came up with a plan and while there were many gasps and grimaces while it happened, in the end, they positioned it perfectly in The Spot! This picture cracks me up, because I still remember the horror I felt watching this happen thinking that the whole thing was going to end up sitting on the back wall, and after I looked at the pictures I spotted my neighbor on the far right behind the playhouse. Clasping her hands to her mouth I imagine she was thinking the same things I was!

And here she is in all her glory! And now my to-do list starts… #1: Teach my daughter not to be so Children of the Corn-ish and get away from doors when I’m taking pictures.

Each of the front corners had 3 thin white “poles”… yep, I think 5 got broken during the move. They are not meant to used for support. I believe the intention was decoration, but I’m confused on that also.

Then there was the inside. In this picture it looks like they tried to paint over the blue sponge painting but the other two walls they hadn’t even gotten that far and it was just terrible blue spots (in the shape of the sponge) thrown about everywhere. The windows were tiny and had these rusty screens stapled all over them. And it was dirty. Oh so much dirt.

And every side was just screaming and begging and pleading me to give it a good ole scrub down!

So after a thorough power washing and lots and lots of paint. Voila!

Except for the roof, every single other surface got painted! We tore out the old porch, porch posts and door and replaced everything. We had to buy the wood for the porch posts, but everything else was just scraps we had laying around! I was set on a Dutch door and luckily my husband came through and was able to make me one! I used my Cricut to cut out the address numbers and made a wreath using things I found laying around. My best friend gave me the chairs in exchange for doing the cakes for her kids’ birthdays (I think I made out on that deal!). I still want to find an old mailbox to put on the other side of the door and over the winter I bought a lantern with a flameless candle to hang from the center peak.

I found a guy on Craigslist selling the windows from an old trailer that were the perfect size! He wanted $20/each but I talked him into selling me both for $20! Score! After a thorough washing they are fabulous and SO easy for my daughter to use!

My husband built me the window seat from scraps we had laying around from other projects and I found a crib mattress on Craigslist for $10 for the cushion. A family friend sewed me the slipcover for it and I just love how it turned out!

For now, I’ll just give you a sneak peek of the inside, but you’ll have to wait till it gets warmer to see more! I’ve been collecting stuff all winter for it and can’t wait to get out there and start decorating! And there’s no way that’s happening today!