Plastic Playhouse Makeover

Look at this cute little playhouse. Would you believe me if i told you that it used to be UGLY?  Well trust me, it was.

Before I talk about the process of transforming this, let me go on a side tangent. I think I’ve made it clear through other posts that I really, really hate most plastic toys. I honestly can’t explain why I hate them so much, but if I had to give a few reasons, I think it’s because they are usually super bright colors (not my preferred neutral tones) and they typically look cheap and disposable. Harsh, I know. But I really try to avoid buying plastic toys and will opt for wood when given the chance. However, Florence got a Step 2 plastic playhouse as a gift and after letting it sit in the garage for a few months, I decided to finally buck up and put it together. Okay, okay, okay, the truth is that my mom was visiting and guilted me into putting it together. She said I was more or less ruining Florence’s childhood with my obsession with aesthetically pleasing toys, which I think is a bit of an overstatement, but fine. I heard her loud and clear. I put it together, but wow, it was really ugly. Proof below.

Ick, so I decided to do some research and see if I could figure out ways to make it look better. Luckily, Pinterest came to my rescue with two makeovers (this one and this one) that were quite adorable.  So I headed over to the hardware store as soon as I could and loaded myself up with spray paint. I went bought 4 cans of white, 2 cans of black, 1 can of pink, and 1 can of clear coat. The guy at the checkout counter thought I was pretty intense. When I came home, it was raining, so I had to wait a few days for the weather try dry out. Then I went to work. First, I disassembled and cleaned all the parts.  Then I started spray painting. I did a black roof, white “stone” and pink for the shutters and door. All in, I probably did 4-5 coats for each section and then topped them with a clear coat. I thought it would be enough, but I’m already seeing scratches inside the house from Florence’s shoes. I think painting the inside was a pretty ill advised decision, but what’s done is done. It’s going to get scraped up, so I know I’ll just have to do touch ups each year. Still worth it, in my opinion. Because look at it now!

I added a lot of faux plants to bring in some color and life. And I ordered solar lanterns from Amazon, which I installed on the front.

Florence loves it now, but originally, she was pretty pissed that I painted to roof black. Apparently, pink “looked better” in her mind, which I’m not going to even try to argue because arguing with a 3 year old is pointless. But because I’m not a total monster, I painted the shutters and front door a more muted pink to appease her need for color. See… I’m a totally reasonable mom… not a lunatic who denies her daughter color.

We placed the house on our back patio and had to re-arrange a few things to make it fit, which wasn’t ideal. But she is so happy with it, so I’m trying to be a good sport about it.

Is this a forever solution? Likely not. One day, I’ll want to replace it with a house with better bones, but I’m making do with what I have right now. And I am pretty happy with that solution.