DIY Playhouse + Swing Set: Product Links
I say this about almost every DIY project as it nears completion, but I mean it when I say THIS WAS THE BEST PROJECT EVER! My husband and I recently took a Bristol Point Backyard Discovery Swing Set from simple to spectacular just in time for our daughter’s third birthday.
There’s seriously SO MUCH to share about this project- I think it’s going to work best to break things down into a few different posts to tell the full story! I’ve documented our progress on my IG account (@hearts.of.romain) which has sparked a lot of interest from our friends. Today I’m sharing some pictures of the transformation, the theory behind our design, and all the Amazon product links I used to make our playhouse feel like home!
A little backstory for context: It has become tradition to make our sweet Sophia a gift for her birthday, rather than to buy her one. For her big UNO, while we were living in Miami, FL we upgraded an Ikea play kitchen. For her second birthday I flipped an old bookshelf into an armoire for all of her dress-up clothes. She will be young, wild, and THREE on August 22nd, and I had it on my heart to make her a small playhouse. This is our second full summer in our new home (last summer was a total blur as we were all still living apart due to Dre’s fellowship training), and I wanted BOTH of our kiddos to have an outdoor play structure this year. Since we needed to invest in a swing set anyways, I decided I would modify some of the features that didn’t jive with the outdoor aesthetic of the Romain Domain to make an epic playhouse. It’s sort of an all-inclusive outdoor play destination. I’m so thrilled with the results!
My main objective in creating this outdoor living space for our family was to offer the children physical and sensory play outdoors. I wanted to keep them interested, exploring, entertained, and a little bit surprised! We have been observing pretty strict social distancing practices, and while I know it’s the right thing for us to do right now, my mama heart is grieving for all the childhood these kids are missing out on. Not just my kids- all of them, and in so many different and complicated ways. It was my deep gratitude for my two small humans who have been so brave in weathering the fierce storms raining down on our world that inspired each loving and personal touch.
To be completely candid, I did not have warm and fuzzy feelings about looking out our family room windows at the bright yellow and green accents on the stock version of our swing set. I have used the words “visual sedative” to describe my home decor vibes and I stand by that. I follow a very neutral color pallet indoors because for me, visual tranquility equates to mental clarity. I am a profoundly anxious person who is easily disturbed by sensory input of all kinds. You know those dogs who wear little vests that read “ANXIOUS” to warn people they’re easily overwhelmed? That’s me! I did not want to wear my fancy anxiety vest to the swing set party. Spoiler alert: We painted everything that came green or yellow different shades of black and grey. Even the tube slide. Stay tuned for more on that in future posts!
When it came to selecting accents and additions for our playhouse, I tried to pick things that were complementary to our real-life living spaces. Many of the colors, patterns, and aesthetics are those that already feel like home to us. For example, this fall I’ll decorate with buffalo check pieces inside to create a cohesive motif between our indoor and outdoor living spaces. When decorating, I feel like I’m always walking a thin line between “farmhouse” and “barnyard”- I try to keep it clean and classy but I’m always honoring the look and feel of the places that made me. While we reside in the suburbs, the way my heart feels in the country is where I come home to. Always. That sentiment is by and large what guided my decisions about what to decorate the playhouse with: would the freckle-faced little girl who ran barefoot to greet her horses be delighted to find each treasure in that space? She is me, and I can answer for both of us: emphatically, yes!
It might seem a little silly to spend weeks personalizing a swing set. After all, birds will poop on it, the paint will chip, and the boards will warp in time. A small voice whispered in my head each time I put another finishing touch on, “Will it last?” Tenderly, I arrived at this answer: We never know what will last. Not the good things. Not the bad things. But we can’t let that stop us from trying to make this world more beautiful. We’re all going to get a little beat up over time, we’ll all show our wear and our wounds. All that means is that we’ve lived. I can’t wait to watch the living my earth angels will do in our special new space. I’ll watch the curves around Sophia’s face animate as she makes imaginary phone calls. I’ll watch Aiden swinging higher and higher, trying to etch the images of what he looks like at this age into my memory. When my son or my daughter checks the mailbox, I’ll open a letter from heaven that reads, “Memories are the additions that make a house feel like home.”
Both the freckle-faced girl and I receive that message. We aren’t embarrassed by our scars and imperfections any longer. We’re wearing them like badges of honor, in plain sight, signaling to the whole wide world that we’re here to do more living. We’re here to make more memories. We’re here to make this world feel like home to all.
If you’re inspired to take on your own swing set up-cycle, here’s a list of products we used and would highly recommend! I’ll be making several blog posts in the weeks to come sharing our process in great detail. If you have a specific question, drop it in the comments or send me a message and I’ll be sure to get you the answer directly or include it in a future post!
Be sure to tag me on socials if you give this project a go- I can’t wait to see the beautiful spaces you’ve been inspired to create!
Please Romain Well,
Amanda