Garden addition

[nanila]

Back story: The garden behind our house is a very peculiar shape. It is quite wide at the back of the house for about 10 metres, then narrows abruptly to a very skinny path alongside the canal towpath hedge. It goes along like this for about 5 metres and then ends in a round, fenced-in patch about 4 metres in diameter. The round patch has a concrete pavement in a pretty circular pattern.

We’ve been trying to work out what to do with this odd space since we moved in. It’s a fair way from the house and not visible from the back door. Jacuzzi? Too much maintenance, plus it’s too far to trek on a horrible winter night. Bike shed? Functional but boring, and also bike sheds are ugly. This is a pretty space, ringed by climbing roses and vines.

A few weeks ago we went to the garden centre and found a display of cute playhouses with trimmed roofs and windows, and an interior upper floor reached by a child-sized ladder. The 6’x6’ models were on sale. As we had to carry the children away from them, literally, we thought, perhaps this is the optimal use for that round patch.

Thus far, we have been proved entirely correct, and the expense has been justified. Since it’s been installed, both children come home from nursery, dash through the house and out the back door into the playhouse to draw, play on the tablet or just run up and down the steps and in and out the doors. (There’s an adorable toddler-sized door out the side in addition to the larger front door.) The only things that brings them back to the house in 15-20 minutes are the requests for drinks and fruity snacks, which are then carried back up to the playhouse.

tl;dr version We got the kids a playhouse for the garden. Photos below!


[Keiki on a wooden chair outside the playhouse. “Oi* shut da door on moi sister!”]


[Humuhumu tucked up on the internal balcony watching Danger Mouse** on the tablet.]


[Keiki munching sweeties on the ground floor of the playhouse.]


[Humuhumu peering through the upstairs window of the playhouse.]

* The Black Country is strong with this one.
** There is a whole separate post brewing about how I simply do not understand Danger Mouse.

Comments

[angelofthenorth]

That is awesome

[nanila]

It really is. I'm allowed to sit on the floor on the ground level. Sometimes. :P

[rmc28]

That is *amazing*.
We have a much less cool playhouse, which C is outgrowing but N still likes. C wants a trampoline, and maybe after September I'll be able to think about getting one.

[nanila]

It is quite a lot fancier than anything I had pictured getting!
A trampoline sounds like a brilliant next step. :)

[purplecat]

This is great!!! The kind of fairytale space we never quite managed to create for G.

[nanila]

I'm hopeful they see it that way. It's doing pretty well at retaining its allure now that the novelty has almost worn off!

[pbristow]

Playhouse! With Dangermouse! Dangermouse in da house!!! =:oD

[nanila]

Ha!

But seriously tho, do you have to be born English in order to understand Dangermouse...

[pbristow]

I always assumed you had to be born English *in the 1960s/70s* to understand Dangermouse, but a fresh generation is proving me wrong. =:o}

(Of course, this modern revamp totally contradicts established canon, and the new actors aren't a patch on the originals, and dammit there should be dirt-specks on every frame of the film, not all this ultra-clean looking CGI nonsense! ... Ahem. Sorry. =;o} )

[askygoneonfire]

Hold up there! We 1980s kids loved Dangermouse too! And the Clangers. Both of which have lost something in the reboots.

[worlds_of_smoke]

That's so awesome. :D

[nanila]

It's great. Humuhumu keeps asking when she'll be allowed to sleep in there. It's just a little too far from the house for comfort, but I've told her the next time we have the tent up in the back garden & one of her parents sleeps outside, she can stay in there.

[fred_mouse]

That is very cool! We also had nearly-accidental playhouse acquisition, when youngest was Quite Smol (maybe 8 or 9 months?) - we paid a pittance for it, but had to disassemble and relocate it, which we did on possibly the hottest day that summer. I'm not at the 'do we still need that, or can I reclaim the garden area' point.

[nanila]

Nice work on acquiring a bargain playhouse, but oof, the timing of its arrival sounds most unfortunate!

[fred_mouse]

It was. I have no idea what we did with the older two kids, but we had the 8-10 month old with us, and we basically filled a small tub with water and kept washing them down, to keep them cool enough (the people whose house it was were elsewhere, so we couldn't even get inside to access anything, so garden tap water was what we had for drinking).

[ironed_orchid]

That is an excellent super deluxe play house.

[nanila]

It really is. Humuhumu would move out there if she were allowed and if the wifi reached it. ;P

[purplecthulhu]

If you're having trouble with Dangermouse you might want to avoid The Goodies - it almost broke our US-ex-pat friend one New Year.

[nanila]

Yeah, that looks terrifying. Dangermouse is just baffling. :P

[purplecthulhu]

Well, next time we see you...

[davidgillon]

Possibly particularly the Ecky-thump episode ;)

[purplecthulhu]

Yes, I believe that was one of them.

[st_aurafina]

Aaah, they're so adorable in the house! Tiny people in a tiny house with blankets and windows! <3 <3 <3

What is it with Danger Mouse? WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE? WHY IS LONDON EMPTY? It's very creepy. (But I didn't realise how creepy until I was older, because it was always sandwiched between other, creepier shows, like The Ratties, and Catweazel.)

[nanila]

They love the tiny house so so much.

YES ALL OF THOSE COMMENTS RE DANGERMOUSE. With a side order of "why do all the villains have to reinforce horrible stereotypes about European cultures."

[paw_prints]

What a wonderful idea and what an awesome playhouse! It's beautiful. I bet the kids absolutely love it. So cool that they have their own little hideaway.

[nanila]

They're decorating the inside with drawings. When they get little bigger, we're planning to ask them if they want to paint the outside. :)

[davidgillon]

That's pretty adorable!

[nanila]

They do seem pretty pleased with it. :)

[slemslempike]

I have not seen Dangermouse for amnya year but I loved it then - what don't know like bout it? That playbouse is awasoem and I am jealous both for weh Inwas a hild an wnow.

[nanila]

The comedy in Dangermouse is just very...English? I dunno! There's something about the overblown stereotypes in it that doesn't quite work for me. I suspect it's one of those fundamental humour-preference things. Sort of like how the bloke really loves what I call "humiliation porn" humour, like Peep Show, and that stuff just makes me cringe and cover my head.

[silveradept]

The children clearly seem to be enjoying it, especially as a space separate from the big children.

[nanila]

Oh yes. It's definitely a retreat. Humuhumu wants to sleep there so much, but it's just a little too far from the house, and can't be seen from the downstairs windows.

[mysterysquid]

It looks great!

[nanila]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to getting them to design a colour scheme and helping them paint it.