Fern and Elliott's Cubby House!

When you were a kid did you have a cubby house? Did you want a cubby house? I kinda wanted one... but I made do with sticks foraged from the nearby bushland and got inventive with my little hammer and nails. And if the truth be told, the fun was in the building -- I don't really ever remember playing in the cubbies I built and often knocked them down once they were complete to build another. 

But that was then. 

Now, I get to live my fantasies through my own kids, and my husband and I have been secretly champing at the bit to get a cubby since - oh - pretty much the day Fern was conceived! After researching my options, I settled on a modest cubby built by a local company  that could do pretty much anything we wanted AND would construct it for us onsite. Our chosen cubby is a sweet little cottage made from timber and cladding with a colorbond roof (we chose Woodland Gray) with one step-up to a little deck area. It has a door with a little star cut-out and two little windows with perspex sliders. The interior of the cubby is cozy but tall enough for us adults to stand in. Which is just as well, because Dan and I have almost spent more time in there than Fern has! 

My original plan was to lock the door to the cubby until Xmas. But of course, that lasted about 5 seconds before my resolve crumbled. I moved Fern's Ikea kitchen in pretty much immediately and set about painting the interior (Dulux - Whisper White, leftover from painting the kid's bedrooms). The painting is taking a little longer than anticipated, and I still have the exterior timber to paint, plus the window and door architraving. Oh, and the deck railing. And something else, but that's a surprise...

And the decorating? Can I even tell you how much fun I am having fitting this cubby out? Im not spending any money really, most of it is recycled from unwanted bits around the house though I am planning to hit the op shops tomorrow to source a little bookshelf to store toys etc. I'm not going to show you the finished product yet... but it's close, I promise!

In the meantime, here's a little sneaky-peeky at an artwork I've made for one of the walls:

... Plus a squizzy at the exterior door I painted turquoise... oh, and a sweet little birdie windchime from the Jamie Durie range at BigW that I got for $12 and spray painted yellow!

Can't wait to take you on a 'tour' of Fern and Eli's little cubby... stay tuned! x