Shabby Chic Playhouse Makeover ♥

Back in Christmas 2016 my boys received the best present ever from Santa, their very own playhouse. You can read all about the playhouse and watch the video of Tyler seeing it for the very first time here.

In that video you can see that the playhouse was basically just a shell. It had nothing in it, the walls weren't painted - bar the outside and it wasn't very cosy looking at all. Overtime the playhouse became a great place for the boys to play and an extension of our home really, acting as a playroom of sorts, but it still wasn't decorated.

Roll on to the beginning of this summer and a house move later the playhouse was sitting neglected in a damp and dark part of the garden. The boys wouldn't play in it as it just wasn't seeing any light and it was at this point that I decided that the playhouse needed to be moved and that it deserved a little TLC to get it back to being a happy and cosy little play space again.

My eldest son Tyler absolutely loves playing house. He has all the accessories to enhance his imaginative play - how adorable is his little wooden clothes line and chunky pegs? His little brother, Beau, is now two and is just getting into playing house and playing kitchens too, so getting the playhouse ship shape and beautiful for the boys seemed like a perfect project to work on this summer.

The playhouse is 7X5 and has a loft space, so it has a lot of space to play in. The inside has been painted completely in a duck egg blue and a slightly darker blue colour, with white on the banisters. I just used some old Rust-Oleum paint I had in the shed as I wanted to makeover the playhouse on as little budget as possible and the paints actually match the outside of the playhouse too.

The playhouse is home to two kitchens, the beautiful blue Tildo Country Kitchen which Tyler received off Santa for his second Christmas in 2014 and a larger corner kitchen from Kidcraft featuring a washing machine - Tyler's obsession!

These lots of lovely little additions to the playhouse that I've picked up quite cheaply over the last few months. I found the Cath Kidston spotty oilcloth tablecloth for just £3 in a charity shop. The kitchen accessories were also from Tyler's second Christmas and we were given the beautiful wooden cake stand as a review item.

The curtains in the playhouse are handmade by myself and Jacek. The fabric is Cath Kidston cowboy print which I picked up in a charity shop for just £4. We made the curtains by cutting fabric to the size of the windows, using a piece of net curtain hanger to hang them above the windows and attaching them together with fabric glue. I then tied them back with spotty red ribbon and I love how they turned out. They are the perfect finishing touch!

The upstairs of the playhouse is where I wanted to make a cosy 'bedroom' type space for the boys to snuggle up in and play, read or watch their tablets. I used old blankets and cushions we had lying around to make it a warm and comfortable space. The boy's 'baby' Sammy now sleeps in the loft!

The Cath Kidston cowboy theme continues up here with some toddler bedding I never used - I'm glad it's gone to good use in the playhouse.

For lighting the boys have their lightbox, ice-cream and lamb nightlights gifted to us by A Little Lovely Company. These are all super sweet and perfect additions to the playhouse. I may also add fairy lights to the playhouse in the winter.

The inside and outside are decorated with handmade bunting, which I bought at a car boot sale for just £1 each. The window boxes are decorated with fake flowers, which are from a discount shop and were just €1 each - next year I might plant some real flowers in the window boxes... but we'll see.

The playhouse is now a well-loved space once more and a great little play space for both boys. I've nicknamed it 'the boys club' and it's great to see them and their little friends playing in it when they come round.

It took quite awhile to paint, but I think the after effect is so worth the effort. It looks beautiful and it's such a lovely addition to our garden - people have likened it to a beach hut! The makeover didn't cost much money at all and I'm delighted with my little charity shop and car boot sale finds. They've all made this little playhouse a lovely little home for the boys once again.

Where everything is from -
Playhouse - Waltons 7X5 Snowdrop Cottage Playhouse with Loft
Paint - Rust-Oleum Duck Egg Blue and Porcelian.
Corner kitchen - Kidkraft Ultimate Corner Kitchen
Blue kitchen - Tildo Country Kitchen 
Table and chairs - Delta Children Wooden Table and Chair Set 
Curtains - Handmade in Cath Kidston cowboy fabric
Tablecloth - Cath Kidston blue spot oilcloth
Blankets and cushions - Penneys, The Range
Slate hanging heart - Penneys
Lightbox and night lights - A Little Lovely Company
Wooden cake stand and clothes airer - BigJigs Toys
Cupcake sign - Penneys