Playhouses Go Posh With Porches, Lofts

It used to be that a big cardboard box made a dandy playhouse for kids. It was a red-letter day when someone in the neighborhood bought a refrigerator or a major appliance and discarded that big container.

Of course, some kids were lucky enough to have a homemade playhouse of more durable materials.

Today, time and carpentering skills are in shorter supply and cardboard boxes less in evidence, but the desire to have a playhouse has endured.

There are prefabricated playhouse kits of plastic or pressed wood that require assembly by the consumer. And there are more upscale, custom renditions that are miniature versions of real homes. These small guys come equipped with amenities such as porches, windows and loft space for sleeping.

In Oceanside, the husband and wife team of Karen Rae and Ernie Torres have made it their business to design and build playhouses that have the look and feel of small homes. Over the past 10 years, their company, Tumbleweed, has created hundreds of these houses and has developed five standard models--cottage, cabin, garage, two-story and guest house. Prices range from $850 to $3,400.

The playhouses are outfitted with brass door hinges and hardware, porcelain door knobs, plexiglass windows, shutters, Dutch doors, window boxes and cedar-shingled roofs. The house itself is constructed of Douglas fir with redwood lathing and exterior grade plywood. Treated wood is used for the foundation. For safety and aesthetics, no nails are exposed, and all the wood is hand-sanded to smooth out splinters, Rae said.

Customers have a choice of outside color or an unpainted house. The interior is left unpainted.

The 4-foot by 5-foot garage stands 6 1/2 feet tall and is the least expensive model at $850.

The guest house, with a 5-foot by 6-foot floor plan has an optional loft and sells for about $950.

e one-story cottage with breakfast nook and sleeping loft stands 8 1/2 feet tall and is the most popular, selling for about $2,150.

The 5-foot by 8-foot cabin, with attached 30-inch covered front porch, stands 8 1/2 feet tall. It sells for $2,250.

The largest and most expensive model is the two-story house at $3,400. A ladder leads to the upper level. The first story is 8 1/2 feet tall; the second, 6 1/2 feet.

Rae said that she and her husband also work with their customers to create unique playhouses, and have often designed houses from sketches, photos or mental pictures.

Rae and Torres went into the playhouse business 10 years ago when economic hard times forced them to stop building full-scale custom homes in the San Fernando Valley. They began building dog houses and playhouses to supplement their incomes and eventually converted the whole business into playhouses and other landscaping items. They moved to Oceanside two years ago and brought their trade with them.

While Tumbleweed makes a number of other items, including gazebos, bird houses and dog houses, Rae said she gets the biggest enjoyment working on the playhouses.

“In such an age of computers it’s so great to see the kids going out and playing, getting back to basics,” Rae said. “A lot of grandparents buy these playhouses because they remember having one as a child. They can go out and probably spend just as much money on 10 toys that are going to be destroyed, but they realize a playhouse is forever.”

“The kids take possession of their own little house, they can turn it into whatever they fantasize with it,” Rae said. “But the beauty of it is that you can go in with your child. There is room for an adult.” The one-story models are all at least 6 1/2 feet tall, and the two-story model stands 12 1/2 feet.

Of course, not everyone uses the playhouses for play. Some homeowners use them as a storage shed or pool-side dressing room. Or just because they like having them around.

“People spend thousands of dollars on landscaping. The playhouse becomes almost an addition to the house. It’s not like putting a playhouse in the back yard that looks like a square box. It adds beauty to the yard, too.”

Less expensive plastic and pressed wood versions of playhouses are available in kits designed for assembly by the purchaser.

California Woodcrafters in Mira Mesa sells a playhouse kit of pressed wood pre-assembled panels for $349. The house measures 5 feet high and is 6 feet wide, and includes a floor, chimney, two paneless windows and a door. The exterior of the house can be painted.

Toys ‘R’ Us and Play Co. Toys stores in North County carry lines of plastic playhouses that range from $139 to $300. Although not as unusual as some of the other playhouses available, they are durable and can be easily moved and cleaned with a garden hose.

The standard playhouse manufactured by Little Tikes is made of brightly colored plastic and includes a play telephone and a drop-leaf table. The house stands 46 inches high, is 44 inches long and 41 inches wide, and is recommended for children ages 1 1/2 to 4. It sells for $139.99 at Toys ‘R’ Us and $149.99 at Play Co. Toys.

The Country Cottage model by Little Tikes is for slightly older children (ages 2-6 years) and comes with a sink with swivel faucet, a stove top with clicking dials, and a push-button play phone. The pink, yellow and blue plastic cottage has no metal parts and is assembled by a lock-together design. It stands 51 inches high, is 51 inches long and 43 inches wide. It retails for $229.99 at Toys ‘R’ Us and $219.99 at Play Co. Toys.

The log-cabin style plastic playhouse by Little Tikes has a lock-together design that eliminates the need for metal screws or hinges in assembly. The house is equipped with a built-in table, play telephone and fireplace. The log cabin is suggested for children 2 years old and up and stands 59 1/2 inches high, 57 inches long, and 56 1/2 inches wide. It retails for $299.99 at Toys ‘R’ Us and $289.99 at Play Co. Toys.

Playskool manufactures a Sesame Street Playhouse recommended for ages 2 to 6. Features include a built-in table and chair, a play clock, a secret hatchway, a basketball hoop, a play phone and crayon board. The plastic playhouse, which does require some metal parts in assembly, stands 50 inches high, is 81 inches long and 42 inches wide. Available at Toys ‘R’ Us for $189.99.

Tumbleweed. Playhouses, dog houses, bird houses, gazebos and other products can be shipped anywhere in the United States. Tumbleweed staff can install playhouses in California, Nevada and Arizona. Call 720-1197 or write to P.O. Box 2777, Oceanside, CA 92051.

California Woodcrafters. Sells a standard playhouse kit that can be assembled by the consumer. Call 453-4480.

Toys R’ Us. Situated at 1240 Auto Parkway, Escondido and at 2425 Vista Way in Oceanside.

Play Co. Toys. Situated at 280 N. El Camino Real in Encinitas and 2245 El Camino Real in Oceanside.