Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A basement play house fit for royalty

Last summer we refinished part of our basement and turned it into a playroom (that Jackson NEVER EVER plays in, despite it being a complete toy store down there). When Dave was building it we had an awkward little area that we were unsure what to do with, so he decided to make it into a play house.

It's been a long work in progress.
When I was in the hospital having Sammi, my dad and Jack framed up the door )(it's an antique door I bought at a yard sale for $5) and hung it and finished out the window. Dave and I finished it up with a porch light, a mailbox and a window flower box. To the right of the window is a sign my aunt made many years ago for my grandma that always hung on the front porch of the house. I couldn't bear to throw it away when we remodeled.
They even installed a peep hole at little people height!

Shall we go in?
We put bead board on the lower portion of the walls and I wallpapered the upper half with a vintage pastel striped wallpaper.

View from the door.
The window.
Chandelier.
Laundry area.
Kitchen corner...
complete with message center.
Fridge and aprons.
And the flea market find that inspired me to get Dave to finish this project once and for all, a little hutch! God I love this thing.

I put some vintage contact paper on the back to show off the dishes.

It's still a little bit of a work in progress.

I need to paint the window ledge.

I would love a little vintage rug for the floor.

We need house numbers on the outside (we are thinking 7 1/2, since our house is number 7). We also need proper flowers for the window box, not just whatever was lying around the house!

I am working on art for the window wall. I haven't decided what to hang there.

And I want a toy iron to use with the washer/dryer/ironing board.

We still need to mount the tree that used to be in Jack's room to the right of the door.

And hopefully (please come through craigslist) we are going to find a wooden kitchen to replace the plastic set. (But not the fridge or the washer dryer, those are cool and the kids LOVE them.)

But if I waited for it to be "perfect" you would never see it! (Like the rest of the basement playroom that I have yet to show you. It is always a big mess down there.)

With any luck Sammi will at least use it! (I know my niece LOVED going in there before it was finished, she is going to adore it finished!)

Thank you Dave/Daddy, it is lovely, even if it was a giant pain in the ass. ;-)

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24 Comments:

At 9:26 AM, Anonymous Shanna said...

i wanna come play! that's so awesome!

 
At 9:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's amazing! I'm 35 and I want to play in it!!!
Joanna

 
At 9:58 AM, Blogger Chris said...

that is so cute! i love all the details - the peephole, the aprons, the windowbox, the beadboard. if i were a neighborhood kid, i would be over there everyday!

 
At 10:04 AM, Anonymous Tiff said...

AWESOME!!! I love the window, so sweet!
Why not make a wood play kitchen yourself? Did you see the one I made from the top of a hutch turned upside down? Look on CL for a free or cheap hutch or anything that you can look beyond and see a kitchen in :)

 
At 10:17 AM, Blogger Jennifer W. said...

This is soo great!! I hope you consider submitting to Ohdeedoh, etc. to share this wonderfulness!

 
At 10:20 AM, Anonymous andrea said...

Such a cool idea! I'm so envious of houses with so much space for cool things. Why not have Jack make the flowers? It'll get him more invested in the play area. We made some in home ec ages ago that used the loops from soda can holders (doubled over and stuck on a bamboo skewer). Then they got spray painted. :)

 
At 10:23 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

love it...you are a woman that i could be friends with. you are just so creative...love your blog

 
At 11:00 AM, Blogger julie (jane's apron) said...

O. M. G. ... cute!

 
At 11:05 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sooooo cute! Have you seen the darling kitchens people are making from old entertainment centers? Google and a number of them will pop up. They are really cute and vintage looking.
What a fun play area.

 
At 11:21 AM, Blogger D said...

Amazing! I want to live there.

 
At 11:51 AM, Blogger Christle (Criddle) said...

Check out this link for making a cute play kitchen out of a thrifted entertainment center! Would be right at home in this play house!

http://vermontwoodsstudios.typepad.com/vermont_woods_studios_peg/2010/06/repurpose-your-old-entertainment-center.html

 
At 12:02 PM, Blogger laurie -magpie ethel said...

Give Sammi some time and she is going to be all over that adorable make believe land! Adorable.

 
At 1:07 PM, Blogger Heidi said...

A-freaking-dorable! I would have died for something like that when I was little. Heck, Maren would die for a play house like that right now!

 
At 3:59 PM, Anonymous Karen said...

Sammi is going to love this!

 
At 3:59 PM, Anonymous Karen said...

Sammi is going to love this!

 
At 4:32 PM, Blogger Barbara at Oodles and Oodles said...

I'd have loved that when I was a kid. I'd have loved that when my kids were kids. And I love it now. (I think I would especially love fixing it up. And decorating it for the holidays. Because you'll want to do that, I'm sure.)

 
At 5:05 PM, Blogger Jane said...

So sweet!

 
At 6:15 PM, Blogger My Vintage Mending said...

We had a playhouse/room growing up and they are my fondest memories. Love what you have done...the kids will love it...smiles...Renee

 
At 6:26 PM, Blogger lisa said...

Um, can I move it? :)

My favorite part was the cat clock! So cute! If you guy can build that, I'm sure you can make a little kitchen. Especially with your yardsale and craigslist luck. I'm actually working on one right now.

 
At 8:18 PM, Blogger Kim K. said...

It's just adorable. All the little details are perfect. That hutch with the vintage wallpaper is just lovely. As you can imagine, I totally appreciate all the work that went into it. Our furnished treehouse took nearly 8 months to complete. Kuddos to you, your husband and Dad. Have fun playing!

 
At 10:00 PM, Blogger Heidi said...

Wow. Where'd you get that kitty clock? Adorable! You are amazing...

 
At 7:31 AM, Blogger barncat said...

Who knew you had something like this hiding in your basement? I see your daughter and her little friends spending lots of time down there in a few years. Just perfect!

 
At 10:45 AM, Blogger roseylittlethings said...

I love love love it! Check out my pin boards... just taged a bunch of DIY wood kitchens!!! SOOO cute

 
At 8:16 PM, Blogger Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage said...

Okay....if I ever end up in living near you, I will become the babysitter! Maybe not, cause I don't think I'd want to leave. That little house is sooo cute! My nephew would love it! You truly are SuperMom! I just passed up a vintage metal stove, fridge, and washer dryer combo. They were PINK! I don't know how I passed them up, but the part of not having kids / sharp corners put me off!

~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage
www.shabbyfrenchcottage.com

 

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