Tips and Tricks For Building Your Own Playhouse

As I first mentioned in this Summer Bucket List post, I bought this playhouse at the beginning of the summer. I thought it would be a fun project to do in the backyard while we potty trained Leo {and was also 100% influenced after spotting this on Pinterest}. Welp, Leo was up and potty trained before I even painted the house. It. Was. A. Project. But, the good news is, I did it! And I learned how to use a power tool and finish a “manly” project.

I wanted to share some tip that I learned along the way, if you want to recreate this home project yourself.

Read the Manual

While this seems obvious, it was something I didn’t think to do until the entire box was open and I wanted to jump into the project. Plan ahead, lay out the pieces and see what goes where before you start screwing things together. It didn’t matter in the long run, but because I didn’t read the manual, I had the back panel of the house “upside down.” If I had laid out the pieces and planned ahead, by reading the manual, I would have seen which pieces went where and and planned accordingly.

Learn Your Tools

I was using the simplest screwdriver I could find in the garage, but after I hit a page that had 12+ screws, I asked my husband for help with the electric screwdriver. Boys and their toys…even though my husband is not that guy, once he started using the electrice screwdriver, I had backup and it went a bunch quicker. When I picked up where we left off the next day, solo, I felt comfortable using the electric screwdriver and busted through the next couple of steps. Which leads me to…

Look at the Screws

Look at the screws and match then up with pages in the manual and pieces of wood. I would loooooove to go back and re-read the entire manual and number the bags {and bags} of screws for each page. Who knew that 1/8 of an inch could make such a difference?! I had been using the wrong screws, so when I needed a shorter screw, I was using a longer one that make the sharp, pointy, non child friendly edge break through the other side of the wood. I was able to sand it down, but still! Plan ahead!

Ask for Help

When I got to the roof, this step would have been nearly impossible to do alone, unless you are an octopus. I would also think that if you did it with backup, not your toddlers, the building would go triple as fast. Also, when you get to the painting, if you choose to for go the natural wood, and stay as a couple…wait, wrong show… If you decide to paint, one could paint the outside and one could paint the inside, again cutting down on assembly time by, like, A LOT. Which leads us to…

Paint Before you “Install” the Kitchen

I was so excited to be almost done after day 4 and the third trip to Home Depot, that I was so excited to hit a step that was easy: screwing in the stove top and sink. Yet, when I circled back around the next day to paint the interior, I had to make another trip to Home Depot to get a smaller paint brush to paint around the detailing.

DO NOT, I repeat, Do NOT paint all the pieces before assembly! I found a family that did this, which seemed easier at first, until they realized that each piece has numbers on it to identify what attached to where. Paint before the finishing touches, do not paint first.

Take a Break

I found myself getting a little overwhelmed at times and would find myself rushing through steps, thus the longer screw issues mentioned above. Take a break! This is supposed to be fun! You don’t want to get frustrated and have the roof be unstable or screws sticking out and causing your toddler to have a poked out eye ball.

Remember the Reason

Please, remember the reason you are hassling yourself in the first place: the kids! Was this more work than I realized when I simply clicked “Order Now” on my phone? Yes. Did I laugh and cry? Yes. Are my kids happy? Yes. Do they use it of every waking hour of the day? No… But we had fun being in the backyard together, they play in it occasionally and if it brought them joy for 2 minutes, it was worth the week of hassle. When I am feeling guilty that they aren’t using it, I plan on buying new play kitchen ware for them to be enticed to used it again.

Painting Tips

My no means, must you paint. I just thought, before starting this project, that that would make it cuter and more fun for me. Just keep in mind that the painting does take a day or two due to the detailing and the coats required.

Lay down construction paper with some work space: this allows you to have space to put the paint down, that if it spills or drips, you don’t ruin your flooring.
Get a paint that requires limited coats: I got a primer, just because the dudes at Home Depot said it would make the color look nicer. If it was cloudy, I painted the exterior. When it got hot/sunny, I would paint the interior.
Paint the entire house before doing accent colors, if you so choose. Painting with an accent color, like I did with the doors and windows, the color will stand out more if painted on white or a primer.
Get this handheld bucket. It has a magnet inside so the paint brush attaches there, instead of sitting in your paint.
Get this knee pad. We actually use this for bath time, but I was very thankful to have it for painting, mostly the interoir
I found hand brushes were easier for the project than a roller, but get the tools you want.
Don’t tell yourself, “Oh! I will just do one coat really fast!” in your favorite workout leggings. Because before you know it, you’ve been painting for 2.5 hours and your favorite workout leggings are ruined and you will have to buy another pair…just saying.
Buy these little paint brushes for the window trim and for touch ups when you are finished.
Buy this painter’s tape to make painting the trim easier and less messy.

Paint Colors:

White : Behr Marquee in “White Lie”
Interior Ceiling: Behr Marquee in “Jet Set”
Trim and Door: Behr Marquee in “Midnight Sky”

Styling Tips

Do this last! It will be a fun thing to do to celebrate the project being over and a great way to see your hard work come together!
I plan on styling it for Christmas, mostly because what a cute idea and also to try to make my kids exited to play in it again.
I bought this toy cleaning set and this kitchen set for when I was done for the kiddos. Every house needs a broom and some food!

As always, let me know if you have any questions or end up doing this yourself! Tag me! I want to see.