How a Children’s Book Inspired Me to Transform the Playhouse

Several months ago I had the crazy idea to buy a basic playhouse kit and transform it into the perfect little cottage for Ronia. I pictured it being a haven for our daughter and her friends for many years to come. The project itself took months more than expected, but the end result was worth all the stress and delays. Read below to discover How a Children’s Book Inspired Me to Transform the Playhouse.

1. Assembly.

The first step of the process was assembly. We bought our playhouse from Wayfair on sale, but I will link the Amazon version here. It’s the same playhouse and similar pricing. Now, I want it known far and wide that I assembled this playhouse 98% by myself. Colton helped me get the roof on, but other than that I am proud to say I put it together solo!

It was a bit of a process doing it alone, and there are many parts, pieces and steps. If you are someone (like my husband) who dislikes these types of assembly projects, then I would prepare beforehand.

2. Re-visiting the Components.

The kit came with a little plastic grill and cook-top. However, those components were damaged and not usable. Nothing else was damaged, so rather than contact the company and ask for a new part I just decided not to use that component or the shelf. We just have an open window on one side, which I think looks better anyway. We have plans to put a little flower box there when she gets older so she can care for her own little flowers.

There is also a bright red curtain and a chalkboard included in the playhouse kit that I elected not to use.

3. Painting.

I chose to paint the playhouse after assembly, which had it’s pros and cons. Many of the wood pieces were branded with their part number, so I was worried if I painted first I would mix up all the pieces and have a harder time with assembly. Painting after was tricky, because I had to climb in and out of this little playhouse. If you choose to do a project like this, make sure you have clothes to ruin.

We painted the inside using some spare white paint from our home build, Extra White by Behr. The white plastic windows were spray-painted black. The door and mailbox I painted Pink Sea Salt by Behr. Ronia helped me pick between several colors at Home Depot, so that was special. Then I finished by painting the picnic table and roof Black by Behr.

4. Window Treatments.

I’m honestly not sure at the time of writing this post if I will have figured out the windows. We will either have shutters or curtains, and I will update this post once we figure it out!

5. Sea Shell Touches.

When I was a little girl my mother gave me a book called Mandy by Julie Andrews. To this day it is one of my favorite books. Mandy is the story of a little orphan girl who finds an abandoned cottage, and in that cottage is a room with walls covered in shells. Mandy works hard to make it her own safe place.

That book is what inspired Ronia’s playhouse. In honor of that inspiration, I found a shell stamp on Etsy and stamped along one of the walls using paint we had from the home build (Quietude by Sherwin Williams). The stamps aren’t perfect, but this entire playhouse isn’t perfect. It was made with love and that’s what matters to me.

6. Outdoor Tiles.

We already knew we were going to have an area of the yard that was gravel, and that would be the ideal spot for the playhouse. However, I wanted Ronia to be able to play barefoot in the playhouse if she chose, so I decided to get this outdoor tiles to connect and place under the playhouse. Originally I wanted to get them from Ikea, but they were never in stock in the months I kept checking. I caved and got some on Amazon eventually. They would be cheaper at Ikea.

7. Sealing for Outdoors.

I wanted to protect the playhouse at least somewhat from the elements, so I spoke with a gentleman at Home Deport who recommended Varathane Ultimate Spar Urethane Exterior Spray. It took about 30 minutes to dry, but I let it dry completely overnight before Ronia played in it. The spray does dry clear, but I noticed if you spray too close it can create a thicker spot here and there that stands out. Again, not an expert. Winging this. Learning as I go.

8. Adding the Finishing Touches Inside.

I chose to be a little extra with the finishing touches, because well… I could not help myself. Like I explained above, this was meant to be Ronia’s Shell Cottage, a haven for her to imagine. I found a cute little rattan mirror in the Target dollar spot, an outdoor rug at Marshalls and a little wicker chair at Home Goods. The chair was my favorite find by far. It’s so precious I could cry. I did seal it with the same spray we used on the exterior and let it dry to hopefully protect it from the elements.

The final interior touch was a little diy ice-cream stand. The plastic play ice cream is from Target dollar spot and the stand is from Amazon.

9. Adding the Finishing Touches Outside.

The wreath on the door is from Target. The front door mat is from Ikea, but I cut it to fit in front of her door. We also added little house numbers, which I found at Home Depot. The final touch on the entire playhouse was a wood sign I ordered on Etsy. It’s currently hiding slightly behind the wreath, so I’m trying to think of another place for it or a better way to display it on the door. It says “Ronia Ann’s Cottage.” And that’s exactly what this is.

Thank you for reading about How a Children’s Book Inspired Me to Transform the Playhouse. I hope I could be of help to someone or inspire you to take on a new and challenging, but fulfilling project. For more fun content, check out these posts below:

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