Girl's Playhouse / Bedroom Makeover

• First, they paint the walls to give a hint of bright blue skies.
  
• They take an ordinary bunk bed and build a playhouse around it by enclosing the existing bed frame with tongue-and-groove paneling to create the look of a house with clapboard siding. The pieces fit together without the use of nails or glue. A headboard and footboard are constructed to look like peaked roofs on both ends of the top bunk. They're made of pine boards and hardwood scraps cut to resemble shingles. Shelves inside the peaks provide a place for books and a reading lamp. Details include a simple flower box made of pine boards and decorated with silk flowers, a cutout window framed with curtains and shutters, gingerbread molding and a toy corral made of garden edging. To access the loft bed, they add four steps with a handrail and spindles. They cut two yellow bath mats in half and staple them to the steps for softness. Pink plastic foam insulation is used to cover the unfinished walls inside the structure. It also creates a colorful wall where the young girl can tack up her artwork.
  
• A yellow and white foldout polka-dot foam chair is placed in one corner; if needed, it can easily be converted into a sleeping mattress.
  
• The window area opposite the bed is transformed to resemble the front porch of a neighboring home. More tongue-and-groove paneling and trim is attached above and below the windows in two shades of purple. To add to the charm, window grids are made from simple lattice molding. The pieces are cut to size, hot-glued together and inserted into the window frames. Scalloped valances are made from 10-foot pine board. Rustic shutters are created from 1x4 strips of wood nailed together and painted green. Window boxes are also painted green and filled with silk flowers. The corner is finished with a white rocker and garage-sale table, refurbished with a wood top and white paint.
  
• The closet area receives the same tongue-and-groove paneled look, this time in bright pink. The dark bi-fold closet doors are updated to fit within the village theme with a new coat of paint and "windows" made of vellum paper and screen molding.
  
• The desk is moved into the closet for a reading nook; the desk light serves as a nightlight.
  
• A picket fence adorned with silk sunflowers is set next to the closet.
  
• The homeowner's dark chest of drawers is painted a soft green and antiqued with glaze to resemble an outdoor potting table.
  
• Accessories include a topiary lamp made of silk flowers and a terra-cotta pot, a birdhouse, ficus tree, watering can and garage-sale flower pots.

Steps:

1. Determine size of playhouse and cut tongue-and-groove paneling. Cut out a space for a doorway and small window.
2. Assemble paneling and trim the edges with molding.
   
3. Construct two triangular roof peaks out of pine boards; embellish with scalloped wood pieces to resemble shingles. Add shelves inside one of the peaks. Attach pine brackets to the bottom and attach to playhouse.
   
4. Construct a set of stairs with handrails to get to the top bunk. Cut bath mats in half and staple to each step.
   
5. Accent the structure with a flower box filled with silk flowers, shutters, gingerbread trim and curtains. Place garden edging on the floor near the window to act as a toy corral.
   
6. Cover the unfinished paneling within the playhouse with pink plastic foam insulation.
   

Steps:

1. Use a jigsaw to cut a hole in each door.
   
2. Lightly sand and paint, as desired.
   
3. Cut vellum paper 1/2-inch wider than the hole in the door and cut molding to fit directly over the paper; attach the molding to the paper with glue.
   
4. Tack the vellum "window" directly onto the door.

$18 - paint (Behr)
$36 - paneling (The Home Depot)
$63 - roof peak headboard and footboard (lumber - The Home Depot)
$4.50 - flower box (lumber - The Home Depot)
$8 - window and shutters
$7 - garden edging used for toy corral (The Home Depot)
$12 - white trim paint (Menard's)
$36 - stairs (stair risers, stair balusters, hand rail - The Home Depot)
$19.98 - two bathmats (Target)
$12.60 - pink plastic foam insulation (The Home Depot)
$15 - yellow fold-out foam chair (Menard's)
$45.50 - paint and paneling for window area (paneling and trim - The Home Depot; purple American Accent spray paint, #5576678 - Menard's)
$32 - window grids (screen molding - The Home Depot)
$22 - valances (lumber - The Home Depot)
$4 - two shutters made from 1x4 boards
$32.50 - two window boxes (brackets - Menard's; silk flowers - Michaels)
$5.98 - table (garage sale)
$17.50 - paneling and paint for closet door area (The Home Depot)
$16 - door materials for windows (vellum paper - Michaels)
$8 - picket fence (silk flowers - Michaels)
$2 - clay pots
$4 - birdhouse (Michaels)
$18 - ficus tree (Michaels)
$5 - watering can (Michaels)
$5 - flower pots (garage sale)
$28.38 - topiary lamp (yellow silk roses - Michaels)

$477.94 - Total Cost