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Under the Stairs Playhouse/Firestation

December 29, 2014

Playhouse under the stairs sawdust2stitches

You may recall a post I wrote  a while back documenting the transformation of our under the stairs closet into a “Fort” .     fort before sawdust2stitches It has been a few years, and  my kids  have grown up a bit.  The oldest is now five and the youngest is three,  and both have a small obsession with all things fire fighters.  So, for Christmas this year I decided to give their under the stairs fort a  makeover.  IT WAS A HIT!  They love it, and you can read  a little bit about the process below.  Enjoy!

 The Exterior

 I ended  up using a paneling  that was made to look like brick.  I purchased this 4×8′ sheet for roughly $25.  It saved me a whole lot of work, and was fairly sturdy!    I cut out a custom sign using a jigsaw, and painted the sign by hand.  I think it turned out adorable. Fire Station Play room Sign  I ended up adding trim  that I painted to look like concrete accents.  I also figured it needed some windows, so I trimmed those out as well.  Love it. Fire Station Playroom  Sawdust2stitches front s2sI added two lanterns,  that I purchased for $5,oo a piece and then spray painted gold.  I decided to not make these fully functioning lights. (Live wires,  and toddlers didn’t seem like the best combination.)

Sawdust2Stitches Lantern s2s 

Top Floor

In order to access the top floor  I thought a red ladder was more than appropriate, PLUS it was super easy and CHEAP  option.  All the materials only cost $7!?

Kids ladder sawdust2stitches ss  I think  my favorite part of the entire Fire Station is the upstairs “locker”.  Truth be told, I didn’t really know what I was doing with this area  until the day before  Christmas.  (Talk about a last minute gift.)

I had originally planned on just sticking to hooks on the wall for their costumes. But  then I  I got an idea…  uh-oh.  I  decided they  needed a place for their helmets, AND their firefighter accessories…  (Basically it will never ever be good enough.)

 So,  I whipped up this shelving unit with  scraps I had in the garage.  I cut two long  pieces of  3/4″ ply wood and  then glued and tacked in place support brackets.  After which I added the shelves.  It was a fairly simple build. All that was left was to sand, prime, and paint! Fire Stattijon Playroom  Sawdust2stitches Locker sides  I used some left over paneling on the back wall, and then added the hooks, and mounted the shelf.  ( To ensure it  would be secure.)   The last finishing touches were the baskets and the lights!  I got the baskets from the  Dollar Tree and spray painted them to match, and used battery operated push lights for the lighting.  It turned out better than I had ever hoped!

Fire Station locker sawdust2stitches 

My Husband ran to Home Depot  to grab a few odds and ends, and  came home with an  awesome idea!  He hooked up a water spicket, hose, and nozzle for the kids to play with!  They love it, they  pretend to put out fires for hours on end!fire house play room sawdust2stitches spicket  fire station play house sawdust2stitches

Last thing  it needed was a phone!  When  my kids are playing ” Fire Fighters”,  they inevitably receive a call about a “fire emergency!”.  For $2.00 I picked up an old phone from the thrift store and spray painted it to match.sawdust2stitches  phone makeover

 

 The Bottom Floor

The ladder was a great way to get up,  but coming down ?  You simply  CANNOT have a fire station without a pole.  For the pole I used a piece of  2″ conduit.  It worked perfectly, and for only $8, you can’t beat that!

Fire Station Playroom  Sawdust2stitches pole ss  

This is the view from  looking from the exterior window down.

Fire station view from the window ss

I took out some of the existing bins and added some playing space.   The white table top you see below was actually a scratch and dent Ikea cupboard door for $5. Booyah.  Now they have a cute play area, as well as a place to store their larger toys.  Perfection.

The bottom floor previously had a  tool  bench built into the wall.  The kids  never really  got into it.  They played with it occasionally, but it was never a BIG hit.   In all seriousness they have logged more play hours  with the  “fire truck” in the last 24 hours , than they  ever did with the tool bench in the last 2 years.Fire Station Playroom Fireturck Sawdust2stitches ss

In order to convert the “tool bench” into a  fire truck dash board, I used a play ground steering wheel, (that I painted to look more realistic).  Added some buttons and knob, and finished it off with an old CB radio and rear view mirror!  All it needed was a  quick mural painting and it was good to go. 

The last  area to undergo renovations  was the “hidden room”,  originally  the room did not exist. When my husband and  I were originally  making “the fort”  we discovered some unused space.  So naturally we knocked down the wall, added some drywall and carpet, and increased the kids square footage.  Naturally.

During the “fort” era, it had been a “ball pit” with a mini-basketball hoop, and various ball activities. They  loved this room for a long time,  but as they got older it  did not get as much use.The room had a dramatic slope to the ceiling ( remember we are under the stairs),  so it made it hard to use the space for play, and toy storage.  BUT it made for a perfect TV room!   I simply mounted the tv  above the entry so that the kids could lay down and watch a movie, and I didn’t need to worry about the tv getting knocked over. Win.sawdust2stitches under the stairs tv  Fire station exterior view sawdust2stitches.com  Fire Station tv room Sawdust2Stitches ss

All in all I can say the  closet, turned fort, turned fire station was a complete success!Playhouse layout sawdust2stitches

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Corey

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Comments

  1. Sara says

    December 30, 2014 at 5:43 am

    amazing what you can do under the stairs! Super awesome mom! Super awesome Christmas!

  2. Amy says

    December 30, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    Corey this is beyond awesome! Love all of the details. So much fun.

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 1, 2015 at 4:16 am

      Thanks Amy! Your cordless drill station is currently on my to-do list . Thanks for stopping in.

  3. Wendy says

    December 30, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    Just an idea, how about using a battery operated LED lights for the lanterns? You could Velcro it to the top. Great post, gives some good ideas for my boys! Thanks for sharing.

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 1, 2015 at 4:11 am

      Wendy, I like the way you think! Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!

  4. Lauren Shaver says

    January 1, 2015 at 1:14 am

    So…I kind of want to live in this firehouse. Haha This is seriously THE CUTEST project I have EVER seen! You are so creative!

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 1, 2015 at 4:08 am

      A definite perk of kids, I get to live vicariously through them! Thanks for stopping in Lauren, I am loving what I have been seeing of your site!

  5. Stephanie @ Sandpaper and Glue says

    January 1, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    oh man is this awesome!! you guys did an amazing job 🙂

  6. GinaZee says

    January 3, 2015 at 2:52 am

    Amazing! I love it. What a great use of this space.

  7. Leigh Anne says

    January 8, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    This is sooooo cute! Great idea and thanks for sharing at Think & Make Thursday!

  8. Erica says

    January 9, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    Holy goodness this is AMAZING. I’m not even a child and I wish I could play in this all day! Thanks so much for sharing at Think and Make Thursday!

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 10, 2015 at 3:07 pm

      Thanks Erica, happy to share, and THANK YOU for hosting!

  9. coreydecker@gmail.com says

    January 10, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    Thank you Dawn, always more than happy to help!

  10. Karisa | Petite Modern Life says

    January 11, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    HOLY COW!! This is absolutely incredible Corey! It’s everything a child could dream of. It literally makes me all the more excited to start our family and get to make these fun experience for them. I really love how you two are using ALL the space in your house. I’ve always thought about that in big houses and you’ve made clear how possible that is. What a blessing to your boys (and hopefully a little more quiet time for you 😉 Love your stuff.

    Cheers,
    Karisa

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 12, 2015 at 12:08 am

      Thanks Karisa! The boys absolutely love it! I love that all their toys stay contained, and on occasion a little bit of quiet time! Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

  11. Tracy says

    January 14, 2015 at 6:47 pm

    You have the luckiest kids on the planet! This is just amazing.

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 14, 2015 at 7:25 pm

      Thanks Tracy! Didn’t you just always want a secret fort when you were little !? Ok, I guess I still do.

  12. Vel says

    January 26, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    OMG! What a simply fabulous play space! Your boys are so lucky and for sure will have lots of super fun memories here!

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 27, 2015 at 12:36 am

      Thank so much! They do love spending time in there! I would have killed for something like that when I was younger!

  13. Aurie Jenkins says

    January 28, 2015 at 6:43 pm

    This is AMAZING!!! I have 3 boys (and a girl) and I think they would have loved this when they were smaller (the youngest is 4.) What a fantastic way to use the space. You are so creatively crafty. Love it.

    • coreydecker@gmail.com says

      January 28, 2015 at 9:24 pm

      Thanks so much! I hate knowing they will grow out of this way too fast! Maybe one day I will get that space back for storage! It’s funny the things that make us happy as we get older! ha

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Meet Corey

Hi everyone, my name is Corey, and I have a problem. I can’t leave well enough alone… The best therapy usually involves a variety of power tools. So, in the few “spare” moments I am not entertaining my two beautiful, rambunctious, boys, I can typically be found hunched over a sewing machine and/or covered in sawdust. All in the efforts to create a perfect balance of aesthetics and practicality in our home.
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