OHHHHHHHHHH YEAH! We have come full circle and Ethan and Autumn’s playhouse is finished (well…almost). This past week, we (mostly Laura while I was at work) finished painting it to the delight of Ethan. He was a bit antsy all week when he couldn’t play in it. We’re very excited about what we designed and built and look forward to years of use.
Interest in building a playhouse started last winter. I had an outstanding playhouse as a kid that I used almost everyday. It was three stories and slowly built and added on over the years. To this day, many of my friends still talk about that fort (as we called it) and how it defined our childhood. I thought Ethan should be able to have something to help define his childhood.
The design phase for his playhouse started in January. I scoured the internet for ideas to consider. There a ton of wonderful designs to consider which made it difficult to choose one. In the end, I took ideas from a few designs, added my own touches, scaled it to Ethan size, and dove into the project.
The first piece of lumber was cut a week before Autumn was born (March 18). Much progress was made those first few weeks as the frame was put up. A couple weeks later, the stairs were built, and accessories added on. The red roof was added in May and then we stopped.
A late May windstorm almost took out the slide when a large branch from our maple tree came crashing down the slide. While it pancaked the slide, the slide was able to form back to it’s original shape and save from another $150 slide. In July we started back up again as we put on a door (Ethan’s only request for his playhouse) and we completed the project with our painting in August. There are few minor touch-ups we have to do, but otherwise, it’s good to go.
It’s been a great experience that has allowed us to learn new skills, obtain new tools (perks!), and provide Ethan, and soon Autumn, with a playhouse they will never forget.
Did you have a playhouse as a kid? Let us know about it.
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