At the beginning of July we started building the playhouse with a few pieces of plywood. And now there’s a whole structure and we’re FINALLY at the fun part- decorating! I better get started because this’ll be a great place for Don to play once it’s complete. I thought it’d be fun to show how the interior currently looks and the playhouse mood board.
the playhouse mood board
snake wallpaper / prehistoric wall print / brass pendant light / Back to Nature wall paint / explore pennant / brass wall sconce / peg board inspiration picture / dinosaur wall print / microscope
Let’s start with the playhouse mood board! I know this looks a little serious for a kid’s space, but let me explain. Every time I talk to Don about playing in his playhouse, he explains to me that he’ll be working in it. He wants tools and a place to have a lab to examine his bones. So I’m giving it to him! I think it’ll all look playful once it’s in place.
The ceilings on the 1st and 2nd floor will be wallpapered with the Serpentine wallpaper. This will add personality and pattern. Plus it’s the perfect compromise between spooky (Don loves Halloween) and sophisticated/cute for me. I gave Don 3 options for wallpaper and this one was his favorite- hands down. It helps that it has green, his favorite color.
For the art, I wanted to find dinosaur paint by numbers. But Don was not a fan of that idea. I looked on Etsy with him and we ended up both falling in love with using vintage scientific posters. These are super affordable to print and I really think they’ll be perfect!
The lighting in here is going to provide for a few really cool moments. Once again, I asked Don his opinion as I selected everything. He saw the sconces and decided that they look like pumpkins, so those are his favorites. I’m happy he choose those because the style is gorgeous, affordable, and they match the chandelier in the Florida house!
I really like the brass pendant because it’ll be hard to break (important for a kids space though he has promised he’ll be careful with the glass sconces). It took a few days of wiring to get these functional. We have a few plugs too! This will be a fancy playhouse- lol.
playhouse interior
When you first walk into the playhouse, you see the back window with the new pendant over it. There will be a green table under the light. The ladder to the second floor is on the left.
To the left of the door we’ll be adding shelves for Don’s bones. He’s collected these while camping at my in-laws property. Right now they’re in a big pile in my she shed and I can’t wait to get them out! We can’t have them where the dogs can reach because they like to chew on them. This will be his “museum.”
If you remember, this photo from the Natural History Museum in Paris is my inspiration for these shelves. It kind of goes with the vibe of the mood board- right?!
To the right of the door is the area where we’ll be building a desk for Don for his “lab.” I’m planning a pegboard behind the desk so he can hang paleontology supplies. I’m thinking a microscope for the desk will be fun so he can examine specimens. Once we get walls up in here (I’m planning on shiplap since I have some leftover from another project) it’ll really look great!
Here’s the inspiration image for the desk area. Except I’d like to paint the pegboard green. I think this will be one of the most used and loved areas of the playhouse! At least I hope.
In the picture of where the desk area is, you can see a little table. I brought it outside when Don mentioned wanting a “gift shop” next to his museum. I thought this would be fun for little play cash register. Personally, I loved playing store when I was a kid so hopefully I can make that happen too.
the second floor “school”
This is a terrible photo- sorry. But on the second floor there’s a pitched roof and on one end, this window. My husband just put up the wall and next I’ll paint it with chalkboard paint. We’ll be doing a slat ledge to hold globes. It’ll be so cute!
We’re doing a “school” because Don wants to teach his little friends about dinosaurs. Which I think is adorable! The vintage little desk I redid last month will come up here.
I’m planning on wallpapering the ceilings up here too. I’ve always wanted to try the trend of wallpapering a ceiling and I thought this was the perfect opportunity since the ceilings are low so it’ll be easier AND I’ll be able to cover up the plywood.
Before wallpapering, I started painting the beams in the roof white. They already look so much better! From this view, you can see the open window on the opposite side of the playhouse. This needs to be closed up somehow for the window. For now, the breeze is really nice though! Don also wants to climb in from outside so this is open for that. 
You can also see the walls my husband started to install. We’re hoping to finish up the second floor this week! So hopefully I’ll have more progress to share soon.
What do you think? Won’t this be a great place to play?! I’m excited to see it come together!
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I’m positive that a he will LOVE this!!!!!
Thanks Jewel! I think he will too 😘