Coastal/Nantucket-Inspired Playhouse Makeover (KidKraft Atrium Breeze)
With summer approaching and our bare backyard looking as boring as ever, I set out on a mission a few weeks ago to find the best playhouse option for our 4 and 2-year-old daughters to enjoy for years to come. One thing to know about me is that I will be reading every review before I purchase something. Extensive research led us to purchasing the KidKraft Atrium Breeze playhouse from Costco, which we decided to personalize with a coastal/Nantucket-inspired makeover. Here are all the details with links to everything we used!
I knew I wanted a wooden playhouse that was less than $500, was good quality, would hold up well outside, was a good size and aesthetically pleasing to look at since it would be in view of every window on the backside of our house. I knew I wanted to give it a minimal makeover to give it more of a coastal feel, so I started looking for inspiration online. I came across Jessica Poss’ TikTok, who had already brought to life EXACTLY the vibes I was picturing in my head: a playhouse straight out of Nantucket, hydrangeas and all (check out her videos!).
We started by leveling out our backyard and adding concrete pavers from Menards for the playhouse’s base to give it a nice floor. Before assembling, I painted the front door, bench and trim pieces that connect to the roof blue. I was able to do two coats on everything using Lowe’s sample size interior/exterior paint (half a pint), which is a good way to cut costs.
I treated the flower boxes with a few coats of wood sealer, then painted the flower boxes white (again, using Lowe’s sample size interior/exterior paint). I put a block of floral foam inside each box, then stuck in these beautiful faux pink hydrangeas, which were a great price and look really nice. I was able to do two stems in each box.
For the flag, I purchased a wooden dowel from a craft store and treated it with a few coats of wood sealer before adding a flag and mount from Amazon.
For the house numbers, we did 8 and 11 for our daughters’ birthdays.
I painted the mailbox that came with the playhouse pink and the flag white. I actually started by using a different paint (an acrylic one designed for use on plastic). but it was so sheer and hard to work with. I then switched to Lowe’s sample size interior/exterior paint, which was a lot more opaque. It didn’t stick to the plastic as well as I would have liked, but it does the job. We may upgrade to a wooden mailbox later on.
It took my husband about 6 hours to assemble the playhouse, which was on par with what everyone was saying in the reviews online. He said it was fairly easy to put together, just tedious and only two holes didn’t quite align correctly, which was a simple fix. We spread all the pieces out in our garage and brought them out to our backyard in sections as they were assembled.
I love that this playhouse has its own stovetop and sink with handles that move and click. It also comes with two pans and a spatula. The doors have magnets to keep them shut when it’s windy, along with gaps around the doors to help prevent finger pinching.
We had a lot of fun with this project and our girls absolutely LOVE it! It enhances our backyard so much and I love how much creative and open-ended play it encourages, while also providing shade in the summer. 10/10 recommend and I encourage personalizing yours, because it has made it even more special. We may eventually add mulch around it, new handles and an outdoor rug. Thanks again to Jessica for sharing her DIY!
PAINT COLORS
- Vast Sky by Sherwin Williams (front door, bench and trim pieces connecting to the roof)
- In the Pink by Sherwin Williams (mailbox)
- Snowbound by Sherwin Williams (flower boxes and flag on the mailbox)
SHOP
- KidKraft Atrium Breeze Wooden Outdoor Playhouse with Sunroom & Play Kitchen
- Flower boxes (wooden tissue boxes from Hobby Lobby that I painted white)
- Faux pink hydrangeas
- American flag (1 x 1.5 ft) , wooden dowel from a craft store and flag mount
- Gold house numbers (I did 8 and 11 for my daughters’ birthdays)
- Wood sealer
