The offer of cubby houses on the market is so wide, colourful and so wonderfully designed it would make you feel like you entered Wonderland and all of a sudden you are Alice who needs to choose a house to live in. That magical. And how wouldn’t it be, after all children are one endless inspiration source. Being an interior designer myself, and a mom who wants to see her children play outside in the sun and fresh air, I decided to buy a cubby house and place it in the backyard. But instead of one already fully equipped and decorated, I decided to get delivered an unpainted cubby house so I could do magic for my kids. I got carried away by everything I saw in magazines, online, took some ideas of my own and succeeded in making magic happen. Let me introduce you my work of art.
Since my order came unpainted, I had to paint the walls first. I have two kids, a boy and a girl, so I had to choose two colours to make the place evenly enjoyable for both of them. I went for red and green since pink and blue are too mainstream for me. I like my kids to have a healthy sense for colours and not to be limited by the wide stereotype for male and female colours. After painting the base, I employed my artistic skills in drawing a nice caricature landscape, a few cars and I even managed to draw a Barbie and Batman! Okay, I had a little help with the Barbie and Batman, I won’t lie, and if you have trouble with drawing figures, you can always buy wallpapers or stickers. Also, make sure the paint you use is UV protective.
The cubby house is placed in the backyard, so I didn’t think I should put too much things in its outer surrounding and limit the playing ground. Instead, I just placed two small chairs and a table for ‘tea time’ as my daughter would call it. It should look like a real house with a yard right? Flowers are inevitable here, not because they’re flowers and instantly make you think of the perfect garden, but because they have colour and children love anything with strong colour. I chose a few baskets with brightly pink and blue flowers and attached them to the roof creating a flower line that instantly catches your eye.
In order to be original, you need to do things as you think they should be done, instead of going by the book. The interior simply cannot be without some of the few most important elements: a kitchen, a bed, a few racks, window curtains and items such as books, a telephone, a radio and even a small TV my husband installed for our kids to watch cartoons. I installed a few racks on one side of the wall and placed all my daughter’s barbie dolls and little figurines and my son’s action figures and small cars. Also, there are is a small area for sitting in the form of a round mattress on the floor just below the TV so kids can sit and watch. And of course, two beds equipped with blankets and pillows on the upper floor for sleeping, with one small nightstand between them.