If you’re a crafty mom or dad, you’ll know the excitement of setting out on a new project for your kids.
There’s the planning, then the getting started, and mostly winging it until you’ve finished. You don’t quite know what you’ll end up with, but you have a vision, and you’re determine to see it through.
One Maryland mom, Serena Appiah, went viral recently after her own choice of spring crafting proved a big hit.
Serena decided to give her kids’ playhouse – you know, the plastic little hideout with windows that most families with children have in their gardens – a makeover. And luckily for us, she shared the entire process on YouTube.
As it turns out, Serena’s kids’ playhouse wasn’t made for her children, who must have outgrown it by this point.
She was approached by a charity with a simple brief: to make her playhouse look as modern as possible.
So Serena jumped to the challenge, starting with some blue spray paint, which she used to color the whole roof.
She then took some slate grey spray paint and colored the bricks with it, covering the doorway to prevent the color from getting where she didn’t want it. Next, she spray painted the doorway and the windows a bright white color.
Things became interesting when Serena lined her doorway with rocks and pebbles from her local hardware store.
She glued each stone in place to make them secure, then grouted to fill in the gaps between the stones.
While she knew that the grout might crack, as she’d used it on a plastic surface, she was keen to go ahead with her idea anyway, because she knew it’d look great.
The project didn’t run seamlessly from start to finish, as Serena was quick to point out.
She mentioned that she’d had issues with accidentally removing the paint when she pulled the tape away, which had led to multiple touch-ups along the course of her construction.
Serena admitted that she’d never done a project like this before – she’d never “thought this creatively outside the box”.
But the hard work must have been worth it, because the finished result is almost unrecognizably beautiful.
It started off as a plain, block-color, yellow playhouse with a red roof. After Serena’s work, the playhouse was adorned with a beautiful cobbled wall, slate grey bricks, and a teal blue roof.
On either side of the door, there are educational numbers and letters that look like house numbers, and, despite its modern-ification, this is still clearly a playhouse for kids.
But it’s the adults who have taken to YouTube to express their appreciation for Serena’s creation.
One person joked:
“How much is rent for this place? Asking for a friend.”
Someone else commented:
“I’m a diy enthusiast and this is amazing, When I’m out and about at yard sales , I won’t walk pass these toy houses, My 👶🏼 would love this”
While not everyone has a child who they could offer the playhouse to, a couple of people mentioned that they would totally make this for their pets, which seems acceptable to us!
If you’re looking for an easy project to keep you busy this fall, Serena’s project is a must-copy.
You could even turn your upcycled playhouse into a Christmas present for your friends’ kids – you’d quickly become the Best Auntie Ever.
Take a look at the video below for the step-by-step on Serena’s playhouse transformation.
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