Another Playhouse Concept

I'm thinking of changing the orientation of the playhouse in our back yard to make better use of the limited space.    Renée always wishes we lived in a 2 story house.  So I would like to build a quasi-second level loft for the kids to play with.  That's why I sketched 2 windows stacked next to the front door.

Playhouse on the cheap

I really want to get started on building the playhouse before I loose my motivation.  But I have to get taxes out of the way, and it's still kind of rainy season weather where I live.  So until I can get started, here is another quick and dirty sketch.  In the interest of saving money, I am thinking of making a smaller playhouse to avoid having to pay more than $100 for a building permit.  If my structure is less than 96" tall, then I don't need a permit, but that would mean the door(s) would have to be pretty short for grown ups, probably about 65" tall.  I'll probably bite the bullet, pay the permit fee, and build a structure to fit a normal size door on the back.

Playhouse Concept Sketch à la Sharpie (for Thursday 2/17/11)

Our main computer crashed around an hour after I posted Wednesday's sketch, so I don't have access to Sketchbook Pro right now and I just set up our laptop to work with the scanner last night.  It will be a while before I can further develop the Victorias's Secret sketch.

Didn't have much time to sketch on Thursday or Friday, so I resorted to a new genre:  the Sharpie sketch!  This is another design I have for the playhouse, which I sketched with a Sharpie.  Yes, it's slim on details and in a sense it's a lazy way to do a sketch for the day.  But I think it's also a good exercise, because every sketch stroke counts.  Every stroke must be deliberate and executed pretty much correctly, unlike pencil or pen where you can erase or sketch lightly and darken later.  So it's a good sketching challenge.

As for this playhouse design, the noteworthy detail is that I moved the kid's door to the south side of the playhouse instead of the west side.  I think this will work better with the layout of our backyard, so the playhouse entrance will look out to the open space of the backyard instead of the back of our house.

Playhouse Concept 2

This is a follow up to my January 6 posting for a playhouse concept I am thinking of building this year.

We have a small back yard, so there is not much room for both a play house and a large dining table for back yard summer barbecues.  So I have an idea to make a structure that can do both ...

In this concept, the west side of the structure will have the kid sized door and windows to give the appearance of a play house.  The kids can have fun using the doors and windows that fit their size.  Then the south side can completely open up with French doors and the east side can completely open up with something like accordion doors.  So adults could also use the structure like a gazebo.

I did a quick Google image search for accordion doors and about all the results were for the cheap looking vinyl accordion doors I've seen in offices, hotels, and restaurants. I don't want that look.  I was thinking of doors that fold up like accordion doors.  But I want "slatted" wooden doors styled like those in a tropical beach house. 

Now for something different ...

Now for something different ...

For the past several years in January, I typically have great aspirations to accomplish a lot of stuff in the coming year.  This year, one of my developing aspirations is to build a play house in our back yard for the kids.  I first got this idea towards the end of last summer just before the weather turned cold and rainy, so I put the idea on hold.  It's still cold and rainy now, but I can take this opportunity to draw a concept or two for the play house.

My motives for this project would be two-fold.  Initially, we would let the kids play in it.  But the reality is the kids are destined to abandon the play house when they get older.  So I would want to make a structure that would also be useful to me as a study or workshop.  My wife sees through this last part of my plan and says it's just going to be my "man cave!"  She might be right...

As I illustrated in my sketch, I am thinking of having two doors.  One that's kid sized, and one that's adult sized, so grown-ups wouldn't need to stoop down to enter.  I've never built a shed, or a house, but from what I can tell, building a wall with a window is a lot more work than putting up a big window.  So I've drawn the south wall of the play house as one big window.  This might save me some building effort and give us a way to keep an eye on the kids in the play house.