Rust-Oleum Projects

Plastic Playhouse Makeover

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This plastic playhouse makeover has been a topic I have brought up a few times over the past year. We were out hunting local yard sales and saw this little diamond in the rough. The girls loved it and used it every time they went outside, but *I* didn't love how it looked! It felt drab and dingy and I had this romantic dream that a playhouse is even cuter when it matches your actual house. This summer that little dream came to light thanks to Rust-Oleum Canada

  1. Before painting could happen, I waited for the PERFECT day. It needed to be warm but not windy and humidity couldn't be too high, either.

  2. The first step is to take the playhouse apart. These plastic houses snap apart, so start by disassembling the roof (two pieces), shutters and then the doors.

  3. Scrub the house thoroughly with soap and spray it down with water. Once everything is bone dry, use sanding blocks to lightly sand the entire piece. These plastic houses are made to be durable against the potential messes and colouring little ones might do, so the plastic is slippery. Sanding the plastic lightly made the surface a bit easier for the primer and paint to adhere to.

  4. Once the sanding is done, wipe everything down with a lint-free cloth so that there is no dust. Lay all of the pieces of the house down where you want to paint, on a drop cloth or flattened cardboard box. (I painted outdoors because you need GOOD ventilation when using spray paint). Give each piece a light coat of primer.

  5. Let the house dry for an hour before applying paint. For the roof, apply Painter’s Touch in Satin Black, for the walls use Blossom White and for the doors and shutters use Ocean Mist. Spray the first coats on lightly, using back-and-forth motions, not worrying about missing spots. Multiple light coats are better than spraying too much and risking drip! Ensure you allow for dry time in between coats. The house walls can be a bit more tedious, but continuous light coats will eventually provide even coverage.

  6. When I finished and used the last can it looked AMAZING! I was so excited and couldn't wait to put it all back together. We let everything sit a full 24 hours to allow the paint to cure properly. We snapped the pieces back together and then added those finishing touches!

  7. The girls have played nonstop in their 'new' house. There are some requests for a few chairs to be put in there now (we will add it to the list!) and the girls want to add more flowers and flower pots. My favourite part? This was a gift of love and hard work! It was easier than I thought, but required some patience between coats. It took an entire day but was worth every minute. Now, when the company sees the playhouse, they all gush over how cute it is! The girls are already planning for fall and Christmas decor. We took a second-hand plastic playhouse and sprayed some new life into it!

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Carla is a DIY Lifestyle Blogger from New Brunswick. She lives with her husband and five young children in a century old home overlooking the water. Visit Enchanted Hill Life for home décor inspiration!