Playhouse In A Day ...

Last Christmas we promised our niece and nephew a playhouse. I always wanted to try timber framing techniques, and this seemed like a good opportunity. As you know, of course, E! and I are busy enough with fixing up Gunk Haus, so there isn't much time to work on a playhouse.

I had all these grandiose ideas and plans, when one day I watched the kids on a playground playing in a little shack-like playhouse. That's when I realized, the whole playhouse idea was all about me, not about them. The best playhouse for kids is the one they have, not a fancy palace with bells and whistles.

So I set out to devise a more simple design, and here is what happened today:

Collect a few palettes, ...


cut holes for doors and windows, and fit the sides together, ...


put the roof on, and celebrate Richtfest (a traditional celebration in Germany, after a house' roof frame has been erected) ...


throw on some slats, and done!


Now, you may say this looks unfinished, and to some extend you're right (although you may want to re-read the beginning of this post about why this is a great playhouse), but at the same time, it gives the kids a chance to work at it themselves (they also did get child-size tool sets last Christmas).

Dirk