Outdoor Playhouses: A Comparison Guide For 2024
Do you remember being a kid and loving to play pretend? Kids love it. They play as kings and queens, doctors, police, and you name it. Whatever they dream, they can imagine into fruition. Giving them one of the many children’s playhouses available today is the best way to encourage this playful and imaginative spirit. They can have their own imaginary worlds while playing outside safely.
Whether your child needs a secret hideaway, a spy treehouse, or just a pretend home all to themselves, a playhouse creates amazing childhood memories. Moreover, your playhouse can easily become anything you like with the range of accessories and toys available.
The best outdoor playhouses provide your children with a fun place to play that encourages being active outside and promotes creativity and learning.
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What Makes A Good Playhouse?
First, it is crucial to establish a budget and price range to start looking in. Furthermore, an idea of size and type of material is a must. Children’s playhouses range in size, and so the child’s age will correlate with the size of your outdoor playhouse. There are many pros and cons to the different types of materials available, including ease of assembly.
Next, with your budget, size, and material decided on, you’ll need to decide which of the accessories options are the best for you. Do you need a working window? A slide? A built-in kitchen? Will you add to the playhouse as your children grow? The options are endless.
If you are unsure, it is always easy to ask relatives and friends about what worked best for them and compare feedback.
Outdoor Playhouses: The Main Categories
There are several types of outdoor playhouses available that range in size, material, and price. Here is a look at the main categories and the pros and cons attached to each.
Ultra-Budget
This kind of playhouse is made of cardboard and is by far the cheapest type available.
Pros:
- This kind of playhouse is the easiest to assemble; it only consists of bending the cardboard into a box shape.
- It is fun to decorate. Your children can have hours of fun designing and coloring the inside and outside of their new playhouse, and some also come with designs on the outside to help guide them.
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- This option is exceptionally light. It can be easily moved around and folded up again to store away.
- It is the most inexpensive type of playhouse.
- It is recyclable. When you’ve gotten the most out of the playhouse, it is easy to fold up and recycle, and some out there are biodegradable.
Cons:
- These types of playhouses are not designed to last outdoors and are more widely used as fun weekend activities or for birthday parties.
. You will need to keep rebuying if your children love them or end up buying a different type of playhouse that lasts longer.
Budget
Budget children’s playhouses are generally made of plastic and come in many varying types with accessories attached.
Pros:
- This type of playhouse will last outside in changing weather and is fairly durable.
- These are very popular due to how colorful and themed they can be. You can buy a brightly rainbow-colored house or a themed ice castle.
- This type of playhouse is a very affordable option, especially if you decide to buy second-hand.
- They are easy to move around and are generally on the small side, so they will fit easier in your garden.
- It will come with plenty of accessories like a kitchen, a bbq, folding seats, opening windows, and even slide options.
Cons:
- As these types of playhouses are smaller, they are generally for smaller and younger children who can outgrow them quickly.
- Being made of plastic, they are bad for the environment both in production and disposal.
. While the plastic will last, the bright colors will fade over time.
Mid-Level
The most customizable and durable option is wooden playhouses.
Pros:
- Wooden houses are the sturdiest option and are the most weatherproof in comparison to the other types.
- This type of backyard playhouse can be added to and customized. You have the freedom to add any options you like, and the possibility of customizing and adding expansions as your child grows is a fantastic feature.
- Outdoor wooden playhouses are also of the highest quality and are made to last.
- Being made of wood, they also have the best environmental impact.
- Moreover, due to them being more spacious and resembling a real house, older children find more enjoyment as they can be seen as more of a place of their own rather than a place to play.
Cons:
- They take the most effort to assemble.
- Once they’re built, you can’t move them around, or you’ll find it tough to.
- They are generally a pricier option and more of a big purchase.
They sometimes don’t come with the extra accessories and will need to be purchased extra or built yourself.
Full-Size
Full-size playhouses are even bigger and add more options to your child’s outdoor space. With the potential for multiple rooms and purposes, it is an excellent option for bigger kids or families with multiple children.
Pros:
- Like a regular wooden playhouse, they are sturdy, durable, and have the best environmental impact.
- They have plenty of space and can fit several children at once. They are perfect for a bigger family.
- Older kids love them as the customizing options are endless.
- Double-story versions can easily have full-size slides and swing sets attached.
- They look like a real house and can even have multiple rooms inside.
Cons:
- They take a while to put together. Just like regular wooden playhouses, full-size options can take even longer with an extra story or porch attached.
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- They are a pricier option.
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- They take up more space and cannot be moved easily.
Luxury
Luxury children’s playhouses are the creme de la creme. These resemble real houses and are often double story and available in many architectural styles or able to be custom ordered.
Pros:
- The sky’s the limit when it comes to possible floorplans, aesthetics, needs, and size. Your playhouse can match the style of your own house or can be made to look like a Tuscan villa, Victorian townhouse, etc.
- These do not always require self-assembly. They come with the option to be assembled for you in the space you’d like.
- As they come with incredible amounts of space, your children will feel like they have their own house.
- It can come with all of the accessories you like.
Cons:
- These are the most expensive options due to the nature of them being built to order and the freedom of choice you have.
- Depending on the size of your space, they can be pretty dominating.
They also take longer to order than others and need to be ordered and paid for further in advance.
Getting A Full-Size Outdoor Playhouse
With a large number of playhouses out there, it is hard to know where to go to get the best one. Here’s a couple of our in-stock playhouses.
Feel free to view our inventory page to see our full selection of in-stock playhouses.
Where To Buy Outdoor Playhouses
We specialize in outdoor wooden playhouses and have everything you need to acquire one, including helpful advice.
What To Put Under An Outdoor Playhouse
With the higher-end playhouses, you will need something sturdy as your base. Grass or dirt is unstable and would not be the most suitable. It is recommended to place your playhouse on top of a solid level surface to avoid it being crooked or not sitting correctly and potentially being a hazard.
How To Paint An Outdoor Playhouse
Painting your playhouse is a similar process to painting a real house. You’ll need the usual essentials such as paint, brushes, rollers, a paint tray, and painter’s tape if you’re attempting detail work.
It would be best to start by checking your timber type and how it’s been treated. You’ll also need to check for cracks or splinters that need to be sanded to allow a smooth finish.
Next is the cleaning and priming of the entirety of the exterior. After your primer is set, you can apply an undercoat of your chosen color, sand to even out bumps, and then finish by applying one or two topcoats in either gloss or satin for a smooth and shiny finish. Alternatively, you can purchase outdoor wooden playhouses that have already been painted if you’d wish to skip this step.
Setting Up A Full-Size Outdoor Playhouse
Setting up your wooden playhouse with your child can be an extremely fun step, and it allows them to express their creativity and vision for their new space.
What To Put In An Outdoor Playhouse
The options for how to decorate your backyard playhouse are endless. For younger children, you might like to consider a play kitchen. For older children, it could be a safe study or reading place. You can decorate with authentic furniture and even let your children bring home comforts outdoors.
How Do I Decorate My Outdoor Playhouse?
Decorating your playhouse is the most enjoyable step for children, and you can follow a style or their favorite theme. It could serve a purpose such as a reading nook, craft room, study space, or even a pretend cafe. As the playhouse grows with your child, you can enjoy switching themes and purpose.
Your playhouse can be furnished with beanbags, shelves and storage, kid’s furniture, or hang a blackboard they can endlessly scribble on.
For a more personal and cozy touch, you can add blankets and pillows, books, fairy lights, homemade curtains, board games, and even sleeping bags for sleepovers!
How Do You Dress Up A Backyard Playhouse?
Soft furnishings, like the aforementioned, can easily dress up a space. Moreover, dressing up the outside can elevate the look of your backyard playhouse and the entirety of your outdoor space.
You can add planter boxes and flowers and even make it another activity for your children to partake in. Providing children with something to take ownership over will make it feel like their own house they need to take care of.
Conclusion
Outdoor wooden playhouses will add endless enjoyment to your children’s lives as they grow. Playhouses provide the opportunity for your children to be creative and imaginative in their own safe space and promote responsibility and autonomy. By the way, playhouses are similar in size to our chicken coops; if you would like to learn about the benefits of backyard chickens, read this article.
To see examples of some real-life playhouse options, go check out our playhouses page. You can also see our inventory of playhouses for sale in Kentucky and Tennesee or request a quote on a custom playhouse!
