Beachy Backyard Cabana for Kids

I've been meaning to post these pictures for some time now. I'm lucky to get it in before the snow starts to fall. It's amazing how the time flies when you have a newborn! 

It took several weeks to complete this project as we were trying to beat the rain for 4 weekends in a row, but we finally finished our playhouse for the kiddies just in time for summer and the arrival of our baby!!

We wanted to go for a Key West theme with the colors, sort of like a beach cabana. The girls love it and picked out the colors themselves. Now we just need to cover the grass with sand and make it a beach! Right?

We found some plans online to help guide us. Here are the plans we referenced: The Handmade Home She has an amazing website! We did have to do some modifications to best suit the look and structure we were looking for.

Some structural differences to note are...

• Cement block anchors

• Extra support braces

• The fiberglass corrugated roof in translucent white

• Roof cap

• Enclosed front entrance at the roof

• Climbing wall (built from scratch and used these climbing stones)

• Ladder (used scrap wood)

• Siding of the house (much easier to put up and saves a ton of time)

This baby is solid! When I mean solid, I mean it doesn't move an inch. We fit 8 adults and a couple of children up on the deck and it still didn't budge! We get a lot of rain and I wanted to make sure the wood pillars didn't rot while touching the ground so we used the cement support blocks.

I really like how we used the white translucent corrugated fiberglass roofing. It lets in more light  than the metal roofing does and it gives it a softer touch to go along with the beachy theme.

We even added some plant hooks at the front of the structure to hang some planters for the extra girlie touch! Since my daughter loves to play teacher, we definitely needed to add this chalk board that we secured on the back wall. I used the back side of the leftover siding and chalk paint.

Fireplace Alternatives and Mantel Decor

When we were house hunting a year ago, it was one of the things "on the list".

When we found our home, it sadly lacked this feature.

So we improvised!

For Christmas last year, my parents bought us one of those portable fireplaces that you put the gel cans in. It actually generates a nice amount of heat. I love this feature for our living room. It was really boring and bare and this gives it a sort of sophistication and style.

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the current decor before it changes for the fall. I'm one of those people that like to change it up seasonally.

I believe this fireplace was purchased from 

Real Flame

 outlet store in Wisconsin.

Now we just need to put some hardwood flooring in and paint the trim white and I'll really get the design style I'm looking for! These are all plans down the line....

"Change your thoughts and you will change the world" is what is printed on the butterfly plaque.

I really love this camera and it expresses one of my true passions. The shiny silver goes along with the design and color palette and matches the frame of the mirror and the mercury glass hurricane vase.

Dollar store finds!!! The Marble vase and the angel statue were only a buck!

My little photo bomber!

Items featured above

White candle holder and Mercury Hurricane vases are from Kirkland

Alice in Wonderland Teapots from Tren-D in Downtown Disney

Camera from Ross

Butterfly plaque from Home goods store

Marble vase from Dollar Tree

Angel from Dollar Tree

Mirror from Home goods store

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DIY Laundry Detergent

I'm always looking for ways to save money and go a more Eco friendly route with home products. After some research and a little experimenting, I made my very own laundry detergent that works great and is lighter on the wallet! You can also add some essential oil to this recipe to give it a custom scent. I suggest rosemary, lavender or eucalyptus.

Supplies

5 cups of Borax

5 cups of Washing Soda

1 Medium box of Baking soda

I small container of Oxy Clean

1 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Bar

Grate the bar of laundry bar soap. Combine all and your ready to go.

I use 1 scoop for regular loads and 2 for larger or heavy dirt loads.