Baby will turn one at the end of the month and as I have blogged about previously we are going to buy her a play house. I love the idea of her having something long lasting for her first birthday. Well yesterday, after much deliberation, we placed the order and it will be delivered a few days before her birthday. We have a little bit of work to do in the garden before it comes, but I can’t wait for it to be in place and then I can paint and start prettying it up.
As this weeks theme in The Theme Game is ‘Gardens’ I thought it was a great opportunity to share my ideas for our outside play area.
O.k so we haven’t got a massive space to work with, but I want to make it fun for Baby. For it to be somewhere she will love to play with her friends for years to come. What you can’t see on this picture is a patio on both sides of the path, next to the house.
We have ordered this play house! (eek!), thanks to my mum who chipped in. I have plans on how I am going to beautify and add character, which I will share in a later post. We decided to go for this one instead of a tower, as we thought it would be easier for her to play in from a young age. We compromised and went for this one as it has a bunk inside, so still fun when she gets older.
These are the inside shots, I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
This will be positioned in the bottom left of the garden on a section of patio, next to the house, facing down the garden.
We have already got a lovely wooden swing, a hexagonal wooden sandpit (which was £15 in Sainsburys sale!) and a plastic little tikes slide all ready for the garden. We have two paddling pools, so when the weather improves I thought one could be for balls and one for water.
I have been looking at ways to put character into the garden and make it a really fun space.
I adore these ladybirds, how cute?! Easy peasy too, just some rocks, paint and varnish. I think these would look great all nestled together. We have a huge old Christmas tree at the bottom of the garden, that was put down there post Christmas when Mr Hubby was a boy (so ALONG time ago!). This has taken root and grown to epic proportions. I think it would be perfect for a Fairy door. I love water in a garden, but with a small child a pond is out of the question. So I think this water feature would tick all boxes, giving me the sound of running water, water that Baby can touch, but safety that is of paramount importance. Creating a hopscotch game and noughts and crosses from paving stones and paint, make for perfect activities that still look natural.
So these are our plans for the garden. Have you got any child friendly garden features?
Comments 57
Wow! I love that playhouse! We are also in the middle of creating our perfect garden. We moved here just over a year ago so it is work in progress! The twins absolutely adore being outside playing! I’ll look forward to seeing how your garden develops xx
Author
Thanks I can’t wait to get going on it all. Would love to see pictures of your garden too when it’s done x
Fab playhouse- I think she will get years of fun from that!
Author
I hope so! x
Love the idea of the fairy door! None of our four have ever played with wendy houses, they dislike the spiders which quickly make their home there!
Author
Mr Hubby will be on spider removal duty! x
I absolutely adore this e ladybirds. So simple yet so very pretty. Perfect for any garden!
Author
I can’t wait to make the ladybirds x
Love the playhouse, great idea
Author
Thanks x
Fantastic Playhouse, did exactly the same for my daughter 16 years ago when she turned 1 and it became the best thing ever to play in. I can remember many picnics and friends playing inside it as well as being a great storage unit for outside toys in the winter.
Author
Good to know, hubby thinks she is too young. But I would rather get it now while mum offering to chip in, than next year when we will have less money x
Oh that is the playhouse of any little one’s dreams, she will love it! Looks like you have a really nice blank canvas to work with and you don’t need a lot of space to get outside and have fun!
Author
Thanks, I hope so. I think we will be able to do a fair bit and make it a fun space x
Your garden is so neat and tidy, I wish mine was.
Author
I must admit that picture was taken the weekend we had the lawn laid! It hasn’t looked exactly like that since 🙂
That playhouse is incredible!! I would love something like that for my two!
Author
Thanks, I really like it and hope she does too x
That play house is so cool, you’re gonna have all the kids in the neighbourhood round all the time!!
Author
Thanks, My plan is to make the garden so lush they would rather be in there than out on the streets! (as they get older) x
It will all look so lovely. That playhouse looks fabulous, and I do like those ideas you’ve come up with, too. We’re in the middle of redoing ours, too. Boo has her own little fairy garden, which she loves, and she has her own garden for planting and strawberries. We’re also planning to put in a wildlife garden soon, with little bug hotels, and a small raised water pod for spawn and pond life etc. Should be fun, just have to do it all! We already have a trampoline and the mud pie kitchen is about to be expanded!
Fun to read, thanks for sharing with #TheThemeGame x
Author
That all sounds great! I might have to make a mud pie kitchen! x
fabulous we have a great size garden and have a hut but its only smalland im looking for a larger one for our 7 lil ones x love the lady birds x
Author
Hope you find something suitable x
You’ve got some lovely ideas there, especially like the rock ladybirds and the water feature. My mum has something similar in her garden and the children love it-it’s safe to play with and there’s nothing quite like a bit of water to have fun in for hours on end is there?!
Author
I need to find some rocks! 🙂 I think a water feature is a must have x
Aww some lovely ideas and that playhouse looks fab! #thethemegame xx
Author
Thank you. I can’t wait to see it xx
That looks like a fun playhouse! I love the idea of the raised part inside. Your little one will love it!
Author
Thank you, I hope so x
I love the idea if a themed garden making it a magical place
Author
I can’t wait to arrange it all 🙂 x
What a nifty looking playhouse! Love the ladybird and magical vibe – I really fancy giving Kitty a space of her own in our garden and seeing what she wants to do with it!
Author
I can’t wait to get stuck in and sort it all out. You should and I want to see the evidence x
Aw I love everything you’ve mentioned here – the fairy door, the ladybird stones, your plans for the adorable little house! I shall look forward to seeing some pics of all your efforts!! #TheThemeGame
Author
Thanks, I can’t wait to see it all done x
We made ladybird stones too, great for hiding around the garden!
Author
I can’t wait to make them x
What an amazing playhouse. My kids really love playing in anything they can turn into a den. My eldest is seven, so I think you’ll get years of use out of it.
Author
It’s lovely isn’t it, can’t wait to get it all sorted out and pretty x
Wow, your garden may not be the biggest but what an amazing blank canvas. Our garden is so big it’s completely unmanagable, totally overgrown and every time we spend a day trying to dig out overgrown bushes etc it still looks the same at the end! I would love a garden like yours so much so that I could put a play house in for the boys etc! I love the idea of a fairy door too!
Author
Thanks hun, yes it is manageable, which is great as we are not very green fingered x
Love the house and all the accessories, good luck with planning your child friendly garden. I’m revamping ours too!
Author
Thanks, I look forward to seeing what you do with yours x
OMG I LOVE the look of that playhouse! x
Author
🙂 It is cool isn’t it, I am painting is light pink with cream trim x
I really want to do something with the garden too and that playhouse is amazing
Author
Thanks, I love it x
Whart a beautiful idea love the playhouse.Visiting from Blog club group G
Great garden plan!
#TheThemeGame
Author
Thank you x
I love those ladybirds. I can’t wait to see the end results, it’s like an episode of Ground Force. We didn’t modify our garden it is very flat with a large patio so mine had space to ride around on a very noisy red tractor when he was little.
Author
Ground Force I wish! 🙂 x
I’ve got a similar playhouse. It has an upstairs to it so when it was built I got some off cut carpet to lay up and down. I also used left over bedroom paint to paint inside and got some black board paint for one small section of it. My cherubs can chalk when they want. I also have a barked area for the trampoline and a slide in the grassed bit. I do love the garden
Can send some pics if you want x
Author
That would be lovely. Sounds great. I can’t wait to get it all sorted for her x
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