Turn Your Shed into a Play Station
The garden is often a great source of fun for children during the summer months. However during winter, parents are often left with the dilemma of how to amuse their children on wet, cold days. One idea is to turn a shed into a playhouse for your children as it will entertain them for hours and allow you some time to yourself in the house to relax, tidy up or get on with other DIY jobs! Best of all, converting a shed into a haven for your children is an affordable, relatively quick and easy job.
Preparation
Before you start decorating the shed, you need to make sure it is a safe place for the kids to play. Firstly, make sure you check for loose or sticking out nails, especially on the floor. Hammer them in so the head is flush. You will also need to smooth down any splintered wood and if you do not get the desired result cover up the floor with an off-cut of carpet or viny flooring. As it gets colder, you may want to make sure your kids are warm when they are in the playhouse. Some shed wall panels come lined with building paper to keep out draughts. If your shed does not, for better insulation line the walls with glass-fibre loft insulation or expanded polystyrene slabs covered with sheets of wallboard or hardboard.
Decoration
The next step is to paint the interior of the shed. Rather than use an interior paint, try using a tougher, long-lasting exterior paint for the walls as it will last for years. Once it is painted, make sure it is properly aired and dry before the kids go inside. To make it more homely you could also add some easy, no-sew curtains. Simply cut the fabric to size, allowing for top and bottom hems plus gathering. Use a hot iron to press the hems into place then simply glue them down, allowing a gap for curtain wire to run through. To create a unique look for the shed you could also get creative and try stencilling on the walls. You do not need to be Leonardo da Vinci, simply decide on a theme and make a border around the top using the appropriate stencil. Then choose the colour, carefully position the stencil and paint with a small brush.
Storage and Seating
With all those toys and books, you will need some good storage to stop the playhouse becoming a mess once you have finished decorating. Storage does not have to be boring and with a little imagination it can actually fit in with the theme of the playhouse. Boxes are ideal for storing toys and games but they can also be used as a seat in the playhouse. To jazz up a wooden box, you could paint it in a colour to match the den, or if you are feeling more adventurous, have a go at painting it wth favourite cartoon characters. You could cut out cartoons from comics, stick them on with glue and then varnish over them once the glue was dry. Finally add a few large floor cushions to make it really comfortable for the kids.
