Build Your Own Hinged Chalkboard Playhouse
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(Image credit: Submitted by Mera)
When Mera submitted her daughter Opal’s playroom for a My Room post it was immediately clear that the DIY chalkboard house deserved its own time to shine.
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Skill Level: Easy
Time Required: 8 hours, not including drying time for the paint
Project Cost: Under $100
(Image credit: Submitted by Mera)
What You Need
Materials
- 1 sheet of 1/4 inch veneer plywood
- 1×1 inch boards for the trim
- 1 piano hinge
- 1 locking caster
- 1 cabinet magnet (get the flattest kind you can find)
- Chalkboard paint and contrasting paint for the trim
- 1 piece of 1×6 (for the counter)
- 2 pieces of 1×4 (for the counter)
(Image credit: Submitted by Mera)
Instructions
- Determine the appropriate dimensions for your playhouse based on the available wall space and clearance when the playhouse is swung open. Don’t forget to account for baseboard trim and the caster so that the playhouse lays flush against the wall. Cut the outline of the house out of the plywood using a circular saw and then cut the window shape. For clean corners in the window, finish with a jig saw.
- Cut the trim to the appropriate length and sandwich the plywood edges between trim pieces with screws. Sand any rough edges.Attach the caster to the bottom outer edge of the playhouse. I had to scab on an extra piece of trim because the caster base was wider than the playhouse. Then screw the piano hinge to the playhouse, and then to the wall. Attach one side of the cabinet magnet to the wall, and the other side to the trim of the playhouse so that it closes flush to the wall, but little hands can still easily pull it open.
- Paint the playhouse several coats of chalkboard paint — 3 coats did the trick for me — and then paint the trim your chosen color. I used Benjamin Moore’s Jack Pine.
- I also made a counter that can be easily placed in the window when the playhouse is open. Cut all three pieces of the wood the length of the inner opening of the window. Attach the two 1×4 boards to the bottom of the counter so that they saddle the window trim.
You can see this chalkboard house in action over here.
Thanks, Mera!
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