For Lively’s second birthday, her sweet grandparents wanted to gift her a playhouse for the backyard. After researching and looking at lots of playhouses, we landed on this one as it was just the right size and had the design features I liked the most (my favorite is the scallop detail!). Even though it was already cute, I couldn’t wait to add my personal touches to make it extra special for my girl.
Here’s a look at the before…
After a few coats of white and blue paint + some fresh pink roses, it got 100x cuter! I painted it the same colors as our house so it is literally a mini Home Sweet Hunter. 🙂
Here’s what you need:
Playhouse
Drill
White paint: Alabaster by Sherwin Williams (1 gallon)
Blue paint for the door: Blue Porcelain by Benjamin Moore (1 sample size)
Set of paintbrushes
Rollbrush and paint tray
Dropcloth
For the assembly: Todd was able to assemble the playhouse with relative ease by following the instructions and tutorial video that came with the playhouse. Even with lots of toddler interruptions, he was able to put it together in a few hours by himself. If you have uninterrupted time + an extra set of hands, I think it could be done in less than 2 hours!
For the paint: We decided to paint after assembling. There are lots of tiny holes to indicate where the nails go and we didn’t want to run the risk of them getting covered by paint and Todd not being able to find the holes. It made my job of painting a little more difficult as I had to get on my knees to get up underneath the roof, but it really wasn’t too bad. I put a drop cloth underneath the playhouse before I started painting so I didn’t make a mess of our garage floor. I used a roller brush for the roof, and various sized hand-held brushes for the remainder of the house and the door. The smaller ones really help get in all the nooks and crannies. I did three coats of Alabaster white all over and three coats of Blue Porcelain on the door, being sure to let it dry between each coat. It took me about 8 hours total to paint the whole thing, inside and out.
I picked up these potted roses from Trader Joe’s ($4.99) and they fit the flower pot holders that come with the playhouse perfectly. I’m looking forward to putting zinnias from the garden in these later this summer, but also think these are cute for a faux option.
I’d still like to add a gold number to the front door and maybe a dinner bell (spray painted gold).
My outfit: White jeans, blue and white flower top
Lively’s outfit: Dress (we have been wearing this non-stop! It’s so soft and I’m in love with the English Garden print), bow, socks and shoes
I am not normally a DIY-er, but I really enjoyed painting this and doing something creative with my hands – especially knowing it would be something our whole family would enjoy. If you are thinking about making over a playhouse, you definitely should! It’s a bit time consuming, but super easy. 🙂
Photography: Red Fly Studio
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