Playhouse Update

The exterior of the playhouse is moving right along! The cedar shingles and windows have been installed, and Kev's dad created some really amazing detail pieces for the peaks:

Next up: trim, window hinges, doors, and more paint. I feel like I need to get a paint sprayer for the inside though - it's going to be intense. All. That. Wood.

The funniest part of this is that girls are so over the whole finishing phase of the playhouse - they're already playing in it! I can't wait to fancy up the inside for them a bit though. We're loving the privacy it is already giving us, and we can't wait to plant our little vegetable garden behind it next year. Yay for fun new backyard getaways! xo, Lauren

A Playhouse Update

The playhouse is moving right along, thanks to the hard work of Kev and his dad. I can't even express my admiration for how they have worked from morning til evening day after day in the hot grueling sun. The middle of July is probably not the best time of year to be roofing. But they pushed on, and it is really starting to take shape. I'll tell you what, these are two very lucky little girls. When I asked Kevin to build a playhouse for them I imagined something much smaller and simpler. But he was smart and thought long-term. Not only will this have longevity for the girls as they grow, but when they officially grow "out" of using this space, we'll be using it as our garden shed (unless of course I take it over as my she-shed? Just kidding honey!) We'll be planting our vegetable garden at the back of the shed next summer, and I can't wait to be able to walk out the door and pick the produce that I need from our back yard. I really miss having a constant steady supply of juicy tomatoes at my fingertips.

At some points during the day Kev could barely even touch the roofing materials, it was so hot. They eventually got smart and worked on it in the evenings, but then after a while his dad would end up having to point a flashlight at the roof so Kevin could see!

We also got *almost* a coat of paint on the outside, and WHAT a difference. We're putting cedar shingles on sides of the peaks (they just came in today - hurray!), and I think we're going to leave those natural. The windows are going on, which I painstakingly painted. Normally I say you can never have too many windows, but not when you have to paint them all!

Still to come, the front will be getting a pergola, which I think we're going to leave natural, and there will be a Dutch door on the front, barn door on the back, and window boxes will all add pops of color. And then! And then. I get to decorate. I am SO excited. I've been collecting odds and ends from Craigslist and consignment shops with the girls and we have found some really fun stuff. Stay tuned, I think we're in the home stretch! xo, Lauren

Violet & Lucy's Playhouse: Week 1

This is a project we've been wanting to start for the girls for a long time, but we knew that we weren't going to be at our first house forever, so we waited. We were super excited when we finally found our forever home that we could make this a reality for the girls. Since we're thinking long-term, we decided to make a playhouse that had a future function when the girls have outgrown it. Kevin really misses his little vegetable garden from the old house (and I miss walking out the door when I need some fresh tomatoes!), so we decided to make the playhouse adult sized so that someday it can become a garden shed. We'll be planting a vegetable garden on the back side of the play house - it's a spot that gets a lot of sunshine and we thought it would be a great natural way to create some division to the yard for our little patch of veggies. Kevin and his dad have been working on it from morning til dinner for a week now and it's really starting to take shape!

The plan is to paint it white, with a wooden pergola off of the front, and some fun accent colors. The front door will *hopefully* be a Dutch door, and the back door will be a sliding barn door. We're also going to plant lots of pretty bushy flower and things around it. The girls are so excited to walk out the door every day and see it transform.

I'm crazy excited to decorate the inside. I'm kind of a freak like that. In this section we're going to paint, and probably add their play kitchen and some fun accessories:

On the opposite side, we're planning to build a lofted area with a ladder or some ship stairs and some sort of lounge area. The girls have requested beds. We've thrown around a bunch of ideas from suspended rope beds, a hammock, bunk beds, or even moving the toddler bed out here:

I seriously can't believe how hard Kev and his dad have been working on this thing, and I am so impressed with what they've done so far. Hopefully someday the girls will really be able to appreciate the hours and hours of hard work were put into creating this for them. We're three really lucky girls.

I'm planning on sharing some inspiration photos for the space tomorrow! xx, Lauren