Extreme Home Makeover: Toddler Edition

We recently inherited a third-hand molded plastic playhouse. You know, the kind that blend into the beauty of the natural landscape so well? Oh wait, I mean the kind that stick out like a sore thumb and proclaim "a child lives here!" to all passersby.

Yeah, one of those. We have one now.

It's actually pretty cool. Once Minh graciously agreed to allow it in his beautifully maintained garden, I allowed myself to get excited about it. And Tai loved it from the moment he laid eyes on it (before it was even assembled).

But, being third-hand, it came to us "well-loved" and sun-bleached. We probably would not have been concerned about this at all, if our neighbor hadn't suggested a fresh coat of paint might do it some good. Suddenly I was scheming another complicated painting project (what is it with me and paint?) I had grand ideas of bright primary colors, while Minh wanted to paint it like you would a real house -- beige with muted accents of green and blue, or maybe maroon.

First Minh blasted the entire house with sudsy water from the pressure washer. Then he painted the door dark red. And then we realized how much (a) time, (b) effort, and (c) paint it would take to do the whole house (he used two cans of spray paint on the door alone!) So we opted to just do the door and shutters--a slightly less "extreme" makeover than we first envisioned, but enough to breathe new life into an old playhouse.

Finally, we cleared out a spot in the back woods and laid a bed of woodchips over some weed-blocking cloth. And Tai really does enjoy it. He has even learned to say "house" when he sees it.

BEFORE

AFTER ----->