Ideas on decking out a Cubby House?

[*EJ*]

We're building a cubby house at the moment it's a decent size and will also have an undercover decked area to the side of it. I'm want to put a kitchen in it, watching some items on ebay, they cost more than i expected But apart from the kitchen what have you put in the cubby house for your kids? Things that maybe don't cost all that much? Things to make a real interactive play area for the kids to get many hours of enjoyment out of. We will have a sandpit underneath the cubby house also.

Thanks in advance for any ideas ladies

[nothing2lose]

What about a wall/board that has chalkboard paint on it??? That way they can play schools.

[*EJ*]

I like the idea of a chalk board. Thank you

[~Kim~]

We have a cheap plastic table and chairs from the reject shop in ours.
I just gave one of our old kids couches (had a sturdy wooden base) to a GF for theirs as it was much larger than ours.
Perhaps instead of a true kitchen what about more of a cabinet/bench of sorts that could be either a kitchen or a shop cash register desk or a work bench with tools...or what ever their imagination chooses? Then you could just have little containers of tools/kitchen stuff/shop stuff/school stuff etc.

[SammyRo]

DH is in the process of building ours a cubby, and we're doing the chalkboard thing. Ours already have a kitchen that my dad built last xmas that is going in there, but I like Kim's idea of the bench so that it could be anything they want! But if you want to go the kitchen route, Dad got his plans off a blog by a lady that converts Ikea flat packed furniture into different stuff - so the kitchen used a couple of bedside tables. It is an absolutely awesome kitchen.

Otherwise, what about a cot or little bed for babies? maybe put a mail box in to it, so the could play post man (hmmm, I think I might get DH to do that!) chairs and a table? window boxes for plants?

[peanutter]

sometimes you can get kid stuff at Ikea cheaper than you can on ebay ...

I like the idea of things that get the imagination going, or which they can use for lots of different things ...

For the former: chalkboard paint works, or a sailor's wheel, or a play telescope, or a "control board" ...

For the latter: shelves which could be a kitchen one day, a shop the next, and full of toys and books another ...

[RhiChiChi]

DH plastered the walls & I painted three of them pink (it if for DD) and the back wall was in blackboard paint. She has a plastic table & chairs set and she got a stove and dishwasher from Aldi for Xmas one year & that is in there plus anything else she wants to take out from her playroom. DD cubby house is on stilts so hers has a sandpit underneath with shovels and stuff

[*EJ*]

Thanks ladies, there's some great ideas there

SammyRo the the kitchen your dad made sounds great, do you remember what the blog address was?? I think we might look at making our own also. I was watching some gorgeous kitchen items (wooden stove, cupboard, microwave) on ebay that went for over $200.

I do want to make it girl/boy friendly as DD will play in there soon enough also.

peanutter i was thinking about ikea, haven't been to look around the new springvale one yet.

RhiChiChi i might look into the blackboard paint also, the kids would love that.

Thanks ladies, DH has had the fun of making the cubby/fort (it looked pretty fun anyway ) and i'll have the fun in decking it out for the kids and then the kids can go for their lives and enjoy it for years to come.

[FabFiona]

A letterbox. Hours of fun. If you can make a whole cubby house a letterbox is a piece of cake.

[SammyRo]

Here is the link to one that Dad made How To: Build a Play Kitchen from Ikea Components | Apartment Therapy Ohdeedoh hope it works.

I also found a blog called Ikea hack or something, and they had some cool ideas too.

ETA: mods, please change if I've added the link wrong.

[NaeNae]

Sopdet gave me a great idea yesterday, apparently you can buy a magnetic undercoat (paint) SO you could create one wall that was magnetic and also perhaps paint the chalkboard paint in a shape over top so then they can have a wall for magnetic stuff.

I am also thinking of making a hinged bench seatdown one length of wall, just out of some yellow tongue ply wood so then DD can put stuff in the box. if its sealed properly shouldn't get too many spiders hiding in there ......... maybe.

I am going to leave the rest of the internal design up to DD to see whether she wants a kitchen or a house or a games place etc.

Nae x

[*EJ*]

Finally had a look at the kitchen, it looks great SammyRo, thanks for the link i'll show DH and see what he thinks

Cubby house still isn't finished but the boys have been playing up there with pillows and blankets and pretending it's the Polar Express Can't wait to set it up properly for them.