Playhouses and treehouses have been welcoming kids into the world of make-believe for decades. Whether it’s a plastic shed with an indoor play kitchen or an elaborate structure built by adults, playhouses make memories. Here’s a look at some neighborhood gems.
A Treehouse for the Ages
The Cummings’ treehouse in Cedarburg looks like a little vacation getaway. Its tall and sturdy structure is a reminder of yesteryear, when their kids were younger, says Cristy Cummings.
“It started when we decided to take down our girls’ swing set and I didn’t want to accept they had outgrown it,” she explains. “Our youngest was 9 and I thought we could keep the ‘fort’ part of the swing set and turn it into a treehouse.
“My husband initially balked at it, but I wisely brought it up over dinner with my parents one weekend, and my mom said, ‘Oh Eric, you should build Reese a treehouse,’ and that was all it took. He started researching that night and weeks later, large bolts and supplies started arriving at our house.
“The tree we chose was one of the sturdiest along our tree line and seemed like it was destined for a treehouse. We’ve had trees come down during storms and large limbs from it come down and fall on it, but it’s remained unscathed.”
The first year, they had a haunted treehouse Halloween party. “We made a ton of Harry Potter-like floating candles that we hung with fishing wire from the ceiling. It turned out way cooler than expected,” Cummings recalls.
Built in 2015, the treehouse served as a great hangout spot for the neighborhood kids and was fun for parties and sleepovers for several years. As their kids have grown and the treehouse is now used primarily for garden storage over the winter, Cummings still likes to decorate it for the seasons and the holidays.
“Eric and I used to sit on the patio in the evening and just listen to all of the giggling coming from the treehouse,” she says. “It was music to our ears. While we don’t have the giggles to listen to anymore, we still love looking at it — especially at night with the accent lighting shining on it — and remembering how much fun it was for the kids.”
Storybook Playhouse
Victoria Thebert of Franklin describes her children’s playhouse as a miniature version of their own home. “My dad drove out from California three separate times to build the playhouse,” she says. “He came up with the plan on his own. He builds and finishes things for a living. We painted the playhouse to look like our house originally.”
Thebert, whose boys are now 13 and 14, were around 7 or 8 when it was built.
“The boys used to sit in there and eat,” she recalls. “There’s a pathway near the front where the windows open by the table. I used to serve them lunch out there. When they were younger, they’d spend all day out there. They’d take their stuffed animals, blankets and pillows and just hang out. I miss those days.”
Thebert says the playhouse is now a fishing shack. They store all their fishing gear in it.
A tree doesn’t grow in Brooklyn
Laura Peterson of Cedarburg recalls when her family lived in Brooklyn and had a small yard with no trees that butted up to the expressway. She and her husband Jason wanted a fun place for their then-2-year-old daughter, so he built a small structure for climbing and sliding.
“Fast forward to 2016 when we moved to Cedarburg,” Laura says.“Charlie was 2 and Lucy was 4. We loved our Brooklyn ‘tree house’ so much Jason had to recreate it, but now with an actual tree and much higher.
“The lower level was all for sand play and imagination. We added a sink, which has a faucet that hooks up to the hose so the kids have running water. We hang swings on the side and also hammocks during the summer months.
Now that the kids are 9 and 12, they still play with the sand and water on the lower level, she says. “The upper level is more like a hangout or a place to hide in a nerf gun fight. My husband hopes the kids will have sleepovers now with their friends in the summer.”
A Playhouse For Grownups And Grands
Sometimes, adults need a playhouse of their own. The ultimate tea party takes place in the country garden outside of Cheryl Young’s “she shed,” an enchanted repainted garden shed in the backyard of her Elkhorn home.
“My mother lived with us for three years, and when she passed away, I was in a funk and decided to try winter sowing last year,” explains Young. “I had all these plants and needed a place [outdoors] to plant, so I got creative and started looking on Facebook Marketplace for free rocks, stones and bricks. I started planning out the garden and repainted the shed.
“I then wanted to create a tea party and a Peter Rabbit garden for my granddaughter, and it got me even more motivated to create a special place for her to come. This year, I want to add a mud kitchen for my granddaughters to play in back. It’s a work in progress!” MKE