Tuesday, May 01, 2007

In search of a wee bungalow

I'd like to help build Lucia a little outdoor playhouse. I don't want anything like this or this, but would prefer to build something more like this (or even simpler). If any of you have any recommendations or experiences to share regarding the building of playhouses, please let me know about them in the comment section. As much as I admire fancy dollhouses, I think outdoor playhouses should be simple and leave much to the imagination. Also, building them shouldn't cost as much as a down-payment on a bathroom renovation. Please. Then again, I'm sure I could happily trade in any house renovation plans for this:


I found the photo here.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh. My. A Hobbit house. I have always wanted a little tea house in our postage-stamp back yard, but now I think I want this.

limpy99 said...

That hobbit house rocks. I think my kids would move into it.

You can get a decent, and cheap(ish) house made of plastic from Fisher-Price. Not much room, but they're weather-proof and provide a good base of operations.

Of course, ours is about ten years old so I'm not sure about the current status.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Make sure that you ensure the floor sits above ground as if it sits directly on the ground you will invite problems with damp and bugs etc.. Little Lucia will love it and surely this is the summer for such a thing. It's easy. A frame. Bricks for the floor to sit on. A little window. I am sure your hubby and Gorillaman could knock one up this weekend. Tell em to get off their fat asses and do it! As you're a lady you can be responsible for internal decor!

Saints and Spinners said...

YP: You give good advice. Thank you. I'm afraid that if we let Gorillman "help," he'll end up ruining the house when he tries to sit in it. I've done my share of sawing and constructing, but when I tend to hit nails crooked.:( Internal decor? Nuts and berries, of course!

Limpy99: I would totally move into the hobbit house. I've seen the plastic houses, and I don't like how they get all mildewey. I'd like Lucia to have a house made out of a material that smells good in the rain

Ladyhawk: How about both? :) My husband has planned about five different things for our backyard, and truly, if they were to come to fruition, we'd have to stack one thing on top of another.

Vivian Mahoney said...

Oh how sweet! Here are some links to help you get a start...

http://web.diynet.com/diy/web/searchResults?searchString=playhouse

http://searcha.familyfun.go.com/?q=playhouse

http://www.ronhazelton.com/howto/childs_playhouse.htm

Have fun!

Lady K said...

I am LOVING that last little bungalo. You might even get some flowers to grow on top of it!

The only thing I can think of is Home Depot, they have some pretty cool ideas, and if not, they could certainly direct you. Those guys are pretty informed.

Saints and Spinners said...

HipWriterMama: Thanks for all the links! I appreciate them.

Lady K: I'm smitten by the last bungalow, too. What a little paint can do. Check out HipWriterMama's last link-- it gives general directions on how to build a playhouse. We're going to wait until after Lucia's birthday party to start building.

Noodle said...

Alkelda, that's absolutely lovely! I'd love to have one of those little hobbit houses for me! :)

Lone Star Ma said...

I adore the hobbit house! I would move in!

Our playhouse is not so cool as your third this, but it will probably outlast our real house. We built a frame and then built the walls and roof from two-by-fours...simple and sturdy. I didn't really have much to do with it...my stepdad and LSP and my baby sister built it.

Saints and Spinners said...

LoneStarMa: I just knew there was a way to build a playhouse for less than a thousand dollars... not that you'd know from the internet shi-shi lalala models.

Saints and Spinners said...

Noodle: I've heard there are whole communities of hobbit houses out there. I'd be happy to live in one as long as I didn't have to sign some sort of covenant that said I could never get more than dial-up access.

Noodle said...

ROFL! Dial up? Pox on you! :)

Anonymous said...

"In a hole there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

Ahhh, sooo jealous!