Zelda has been absolutely loving her outdoor playhouse I built in collaboration with Ace Hardware. Part 2 of building the perfect DIY outdoor playhouse had to happen because once I got started on this project and painted the rock wall, I was officially bitten by the DIY bug. My mind was going a million miles a minute compiling a full list of DIY’s I wanted to add to the playhouse.

Anytime I get really excited and spiraling, I know I need to slow down, set a budget and prioritize. If I don’t do this, I know I’ll really get out of control and before you know it, Zelda will have her own compound in the backyard.

I put together a fun step-by-step guide to all the DIY Outdoor Playhouse Ideas so you can recreate them or make them your own. 

Personalize the playhouse!

I decided I wanted to turn the sitting area of the playset into a restaurant (aka a restaur-naut as Zelda calls it). This involved a few simple DIYs to kick things up a notch and give Zelda the cutest little area to serve up lots of imaginary meals with her friends. 

 

Faux Hedge Wall DIY

Who doesn’t love a good faux hedge wall? To warm up the restaurant space I attached plastic faux hedge right below the little counter. Super easy and I mean easy to attach, this DIY took me a total of 5-7 minutes to complete. 

To hang the faux hedge just use tack nails along the top edge every 2-3 inches and then staple gun throughout (you can’t see the staples at all) to keep it securely attached and flush to the wall. 

It was really easy to do because the hedge comes together in four small pieces so it’s very simple to cut it down to fit your space. This might sound like the trickiest of the three plant DIYs, but it’s actually the easiest! Seriously, it took me about five minutes to do this wall. 

PRO TIP: Be sure to use the tack nails I linked because they’re really short and won’t poke through the other side of the wood. Anything longer could poke through, which will create a safety risk.

so easy!
Planters 

For the next project, you can use any planter you want and do any color, I went for this hanging planter. It fits nicely on the playhouse and comes in a pack of 3 so you can easily replace after the winter season if needed.

Flower Planter

To fill the planter I added faux lavender and flower foam. I went with faux because fall is here and I know things will be frosting over any day here in Aspen. When Summer returns I might replace with real flowers but for now, faux it is!

Tip: To keep your flowers in place and safe against those strong gusts of wind flower foam is essential. Simply cut it down to size and push it securely to the bottom of the planter. Stick your faux flowers down into the foam when adding to the planter and you are all set. 

Total Time: Aprox 10 Minutes

Rose Swings

Roses are always a good idea! To make a very special “waiting area” for the restaurant, also known as the swings I thought they needed a little love. Very Lisa Vanderpump, I added (faux) roses to the swing chains!

I ordered a set of faux rose strands and 4” clear cable ties.

To attach you simply run the rose strand straight down the chain from the top attaching it with clear cable ties.  I used a cable tie every three chain links, but you do whatever feels secure! I would also consider not running the roses where your kids will put their hands to hold onto the swing because they’ll get very worn and ragged pretty quickly. 3/4 of the way down the chain seems to be the perfect length!

Total Time: This DIY is super quick and only took about 15 minutes for both swings!

 

Light It Up

The last little detail we changed up was adding some lights! I did not want to go through the hassle of running electrical out to the playset because who wants to deal with that? No one. 

Also, it’s EXPENSIVE. 

The solution are solar outdoor lights! I have to admit I was a bit skeptical and couldn’t have been more wrong. With aprox 6 hours of daylight they will shine bright when the sun sets for 8-10 hours. 

I went with the solar string lights to trim out her restaurant and the solar flood lights to shine directly on the playset.

Tip: When attaching the string lights, I highly recommend measuring and being a little more methodical vs just running them wild and seeing where you end up. You’re putting a lot of time and effort into this playset so you want it to look GOOD. You can use your staple gun to attach and keep everything neat with clean lines. It will look SO sharp, trust me.

When you see it at night, the effort will really be worth it. Those babies illuminate everything and show off the playset, which we love.

Total Time: Aprox 45 min.

Change The Factory Accessories

The great thing about these playsets is that it’s really easy to make little tweaks to really personalize them. For example, the original accent color on our playset was green. Well, princess Zelda wanted pink, so that’s exactly what I did.

We ended up replacing our swings with these adorable pink ones, swapping out the rocks on the rock wall, which I highly recommend because the ones that come with the set are really small and a little janky. These aftermarket ones are much bigger and make it a lot easier for Zelda to climb without being nervous she’ll fall. 

And then we also added these binoculars so Zelda can spot any “danger” coming from a ways away and of course a wheel to “escape to safety”. How fun is all of this?! I mean, just writing it I’m smiling thinking about Zelda out there playing with all of these things and enjoying the outdoors.

The Final Touches 

Just like you style your house with fun accessories, you want to do the same with the playset! We picked up this weather-resistant bucket from Ace to hold Zelda’s pizza ingredients for her restaurant. This way everything can stay outside and you’re not constantly bringing things in and out.

You need signage, this adorable letterboard for the restaurant menu is perfect!  Simple install using a picture hanger and double-sided tape so it’s secure and we don’t have to worry about the wind taking it down.

 

 

Extra Seating

And what restaurant would be complete without a table? Zelda’s restaurant has been so busy every day that we needed some overflow seating (let’s be real, I just needed a place to sit with my laptop, ha!).

As it turns out, though, picnic tables are freaking PRICEY. We’re talking like $500-$800 dollars and that was not in our budget. 

Picnic Table Project

I scoured the internet until I found this kid’s option for $150. Cute, right?! I went with the unfinished option so I can either stain or paint to match the swing set, I haven’t decided which way to go yet. It’s currently on order and will be arriving soon!

It’s A Wrap! 

We are officially finished!!

You now have the absolute ultimate backyard playset full of fun DIYs! These projects are super simple and can easily be completed in a short afternoon. The most important thing is to make it your own and LOVE what you are creating! If you have any questions on anything at all, leave it in the comments or shoot me a DM over on Instagram! I’m happy to help in any way I can! 

I hope you enjoyed this and are feeling inspired to add a magical playset to your own backyard!

Onto the next project

before/after!