Playhouse Makeover

Although this rugged playhouse looks like it stepped right out of the Wild West, it actually began its life looking more like a pink-and-blue cupcake. In fact, when our client first saw this play bargain on the pre-owned section of our website in its original hues, she wasn’t sure it would be the right fit for her boys.

It was chock-full of active things to do, however, including a spiral climber, rock wall, tube slide, swings, monkey bar rings, and a rope climber, so she decided to put in a call. Luckily, Barbara has developed a re-staining process that completely transforms the look of the structure.

First, Barbara created a palette that could be overlaid on the existing colors. Since our natural tung oil stains penetrate deep into the wood, new colors must be applied over them, creating new and unique shades.

The whole family came on board when they saw how the Dark Walnut, Black Olive and Acorn stains combined with the previous layer of stain to create a rich, antiqued look.

Next, the BBAB crew transported the play structure to the shop where they took it apart for a deep cleaning prior to beginning the re-staining process. As you can see above, even with multiple layers of stain, the structure is enhanced by the natural grain of the our sustainable redwood lumber.

Finally, the structure was reassembled on site and paired with a matching picnic table for snack breaks, all at a lower price point than buying new. Plus, the kids learned a valuable lesson in reusing and recycling, thus instilling in them the environmental stewardships that their generation will need.