Sunday, May 27, 2012

The Play House

The Dream Never Dies

This is the play house. The place we would
drag our sleeping bags and pillows to camp
out overnight. Well, usually till first light when
we were exhausted from giggling,
 cold, hungry but full of new found secrets and sisterhood.
 A heavy fog would hang in the air with the trees
kind of blurry, like a magical shroud.
We would pack up our damp blankets and
make our way back to the house
 before anyone was awake.
It was an escape for any season.
In the winter my older sister and I would take a camp
stove over melt snow and make tea for us.
It wasn't fancy. Enough sugar and a few home made 
cookies can compensate for this.
At one time it did have windows,
a table that stowed away and an old spring bed frame
{very uncomfortable sleeping}
As a child it seemed huge. The actual foot print is
only about 6' x 12' give or take a few due to angles.
It does have an attic. Usually home to a
huge hornets nest, so we didn't go up there much.

It has been here on my parents farm for over
50 years, they brought it from Norrdegg.
{at that time, a dusty gravel road trip of 60+ miles}
It had been built there by a craftsman for his
only daughter. Loving parents would have
wanted to make one for their girls.
 It would have been a thing of
much awe and children would have lined
up for a chance to play in her playhouse.
People didn't have much money back then.
It is put together with reclaimed lumber
and left overs of other projects.
This is a shot of the attic. The brilliant glow
is the old chimney hole.
I could probably write a small book about
my memories of this little keeper of young
girls secrets and a place to lock the boys out of.
Speaking of boys, they categorically shot the most of
the windows out with pellet guns,
and only recently admitted
to throwing a frying pan through the rest.

I will tell you that I have dreamed of fixing
the playhouse. And, I don't mean in a metaphorical
way. I mean, for years, I have gone to sleep
and woke with very vivid recollections of
redoing, redecorating, hosting tea party dreams.
I have not been a little girl for a very long time.
But, that little girl still lives and
dreams BIG inside my heart. 

Thanks to my Mother for letting me take it.
But, most of all
Thank You to my Hero my Lancelot   ,
'My Romeo' for helping me bring it home.
Not only that, but for listening to me dream
aloud for as long as I have known him.
For never saying I couldn't do it, for not refusing to help.
He has been my champion in this.
 He did gently warn me
"it might not make the journey to our house in one piece"
{some 20 miles as the fairy's fly}

But, we would do our best to get it here.
Last weekend we rented a large car dolly.....

It has been transported to our yard now

It was somewhat of a mess inside.
Full of leaves and junk, abandon nests
{bird and bug and squirrel}
Does anyone know is this a squirrel nest?
One of the gables was completely walled
off, {no access from even the attic}
 but from the inside I could see that
there was something up there,
A secret space....moment to dream here..
{I was hoping for an old journal or a treasure}
so I pulled the ceiling boards out of that area.
This nest filled a large scoop shovel and then
some. It was full of insulation, bits of cloth and
a lot of dry grass.
I am leaving the ceiling out of this area, it will
be open from the inside of the main
floor of the house.

I let Gabe and Irelyn have a peek in the dusty
junk scattered attic.
Irelyn thought "I saw something move."
and did a quick exit.
Gabe was certain
"An old witch must have been living there"
I think he was right as when I was cleaning
it out I found a small very sparkly piece of
pyrite and 'everyone knows
that is what a witch uses to buy children.'
Good thing all the gold in the world could
not entice me to sell the children or
the grand children.

If you have hung into this post this long.
I think I will keep the antique yellow color for
the outside. However I am up for any ideas
or color suggestions for the trim?.
I will be updating the progress on
'the dream lives on' occasionally
I have been searching Pinterest and Google
for ideas on interiors.
 I am up for any and all suggestions.
 It was made mostly of cedar siding
and shakes for the roof {I will be replacing the roof}
Although it is probably fast approaching the 80 year
age mark, it still has the wonderful cedar scent inside too.

Progress So Far:
-successful move and level
- 2 days cleaning of interior
-pressure washed inside and out
-remove hundreds of nails and old paper lining from inside walls
-purchase of fresh cedar to replace some of the exterior trim
-purchase of roof felting in anticipation of shingle renovation

Suggestions and pondering points
{please feel free to help me with this}
-real glass windows
-tiny string lights
-off white interior
-small broom
-accent colors?
-tromp lei or a nice quote sign?
-keep my eye out for a small table and chair set
-keep dreaming big


Restyled Home  revealed her playhouse redo,
she left the eves open too.
I like this look
More on this redo Here


If you wish to dream with me, or help with suggestions,
I will keep track of all commenter's and put your name
in for a fun RAK to be drawn when
I make the final reveal post.
You do understand, it took years to
get in this shape?. I am hoping to be ready for a
full reveal by this fall, or at least one all out
full dress tea party by September.
P.S. make sure you leave a contact so I can reach you.



11 comments:

just me said...

I love your story! The best part is I started reading the book "The Magic" last night, the same author that wrote the secret. First thing she talks about is renewing the magic in life we felt as a child, believing in fairies and the tooth fairy, santa and flying reindeer not because we know it's not real but because the magic is so special. My next door neighbor had a playhouse not as charming as this one but we too spent many nights sleeping and telling secrets. Can't wait to see it all done!

Gayle Price said...

Oh I really LOVE your very pretty and unique play house. Congratulations on making your dream happen and relocating it...how exciting ! Wow, a daunting project to restore....I guess if it were mine I would want to change as little as possible and keep it as original as possible, but at the same time obviously restoring and replacing what is necessary to save it from further deterioration and to make it weather proof and safe. Good luck, I can't wait to see your progress, and I'm sure you will choose exactly the right colours etc. as it is "part of you" and you will know instinctively what to do.

Anonymous said...

thank you for the praise my dear. although i think it is more than i deserve. it was worth the work and more just to see the look of childhood glee on you beautiful face. im glad i could help make that dream a reality.

love always
romeo

Micupoftea said...

Ah, what a special memory ...you can literally walk back in time with your sweet play house. I like the open eaves too. I think keeping it similiar to what it was already like is a good idea. I think having a place to record your grandchildren's heights would be fun: you could decorate a 2 x 4, hang it, and put the marks on it. Does it have a name? A little sign outside would be fun. I think stenciling a quote inside would be sweet. xox

Jessi Fogan said...

Dreaming is a wonderful thing, and the fact that your wonderful hubby did this because he knew how happy you'd be? Tears in my eyes. That's the kind of wonderful fairy-tale true love story that lives in this kind of magickal play house. *sniffles*
As for ideas? Holy Hannah, going to have to think about that. I imagine that real glass windows would be the best idea, since they'd be best at keeping out the weather and thus preserving the changes you make. And for trim, I think I would go with cream, just a slight soft contrast with the yellow for maximum soft & sweetness :) I can't wait to keep following the progress!

TwinkleToes2day said...

I just found you via The Yorkshire Fox and thought I'd come for a snoop and Oh WoWeeeee, I'm sure glad I did! What a lucky huni you are to have such a big and tangible memory from your childhhood and a wonderful romeo to help make your dream of it's return come true. BIg *sigh*.
I'm not good with colour coordination I'm afraid, so am no use to you with that but I do lOVe trompe l'oeil and I can imagine one that links with the fairy theme - a view onto a fairy glen perhaps? That maybe a bit ambitious I don't know, but a lovely idea huh ;)
Can't wait to see the progress with this amazing project :)
ttfn
Mo :)

Cameron said...

What a magical tale....the memories of childhood and dreams for a new life for this wonderful little playhouse....just as touching, the way you speak of your Husband and partner in making your dreams a reality!

Can't wait to see the Playhouse revealed and ready for a new generation of Make-Believers :)

Lisa Richards said...

This little playhouse is breathtakingly intriguing and wonderful! I want one!
I love the yellow color and think that green would be a nice trim color. I've read quite a few articles online about "tiny houses". You might find some ideas if you google that. This will be so much fun for your kiddos and grandkiddos! Your Romeo is a keeper!

Rita Barakat said...

Oooohhhhh I love this!!! First oh my goodness you have to write those Stories! You could do it as a blog so it doesn't feel like such a big project!!! What a treasure, then leave a copy of it in a secret compartment in that house!

How wonderful and exciting this is! I have wanted something like this always!

I wish I was closer I Would be over helping you! I don't have any thoughts on the outside but the inside I would be crazy creative! Bring the outdoors in- the ceiling a night sky with moon and stars (glow in the dark? Stars shaping fun characters?)...the walls would be full of fairies and other fun characters-maybe everyone in the family can choose their favorite character out of a book and they would be peeking out of painted trees or painted furniture...possibilities are endless!!!!

I am so excited for you! What a treasure and legacy you are creating!!!!!

Ava Gavloski said...

oh my, this is a love beyond magical... I have a scanned picture of my little dreamy cabin (yet to be renovated), that I too plan to finish off one day.... It is a front room of a sauna house at the waters edge... i will try to get you the scanned photo later this week. again, i would have to dig to find the website, so, the pic will have to do for next week.
cottagerca@yahoo.ca
ava

ginag said...

Thank you so much for sharing this magical story with me. Looks like this vision of yours struck a cord with many of us. Glad you got your cittage cabin home!
Gina