Charming Cottage

Bought for my 3 and 4 year old grand babies. Just gave it to them yesterday at their joint birthday party. In 2 words FLIIPED OUT. They were so happy. They’ve been in it non stop since they got it. Opted to use it for indoor playtime not out, too many critters in our yard. Was dreading the assembly but much to my surprise my husband had this put together in less than an hour, I got to concentrate on the interior decorating. Very easy to assemble, very strong and sturdy. Guys great in playroom. Found the interior lacking though. I expected a lot more decals. Only had a few the rest of the interior would have just been shapes on the wall. Papa built it so Nana “ Juudged it up”, see photos. Expensive but it’s gonna be around for a long time so it was a great value. Will pass it on to family or donate it to a shelter for woman and children or a pediatric ward at local hospital when we no longer use it. Gonna make kids smile for many years. I had also purchased Minnie and Mickey chairs for the kids and they fit inside the house nicely. Photo: I chose to paint the interior and added a sticker of a family photo to place over the landscape sticker that came with it. Painted the stone and fireplace mantel and personalize it with their names. Still have a little more to do. Oh and I forgot the doorbell actually works.

My grandchildren were thrilled with this gift! Great quality. Will last a long time. Very easy to put together. Highly recommend.

Update: We purchased this in August 2019. I’m updating April 2022. The stickers on the fireplace and above the door are finally peeling but still there. We’ve sprayed it inside and out with the house many times. The plastic does not appear to be faded at all yet. Everything else is like new after more than 2 years of play and only outside use. We did move it under the deck during the winter. We have never had a bee/wasp issue with this house. My now 8, 6, and 4 year old still love and use it often! I truly have no complaints. Original: We have had this playhouse outside for one Pittsburgh summer and half of the fall now. It has held up well to my 4 children and their friends during playdates. It was easy to build even with just one person and I can even move it on my own fairly easily. I love that you can remove the window boxes to dump/clean them. I wish you could do the same with the sink. I have hosed the whole thing, inside and out, a few times and have had no trouble with the stickers so far but I have tried to be careful of them. I love how open it is. I can see my children playing in it from any angle. I have seen as many as 5 children inside at once and would say it easily fits 3 comfortably. Mine usually have a stroller in there with them. We did accidentally install the wall with the sink/benches backwards so that the benches are inside the house but my kids prefer it that way and put up a huge fight when I tried to fix it. So, keep in mind that you CAN install it with the benches inside the house for extra seating. The details are cute and, best part, NO staining necessary and NO wasps!! I'm NEVER getting a cedar playhouse again!

I bought this playhouse for my almost 3-year-old granddaughter. I listened to friends and did quite a bit of research before because I wanted an attractive house but also a sturdy one that could survive the CT weather since it was going to be placed on a woodsy backyard. Another important factor, for us, was something not difficult to assemble because we were not going to do it ourselves and we had a friend who spent a whole day assembling a playhouse of a different brand. A friend and his wife did the job in two hours, without having any special qualifications. The house is charming and strong and my granddaughter was delighted to play in it, especially the pretend visits that allowed us to ring the bell on and on. We have had it for only a month so I can't evaluate durability but it looks very promising. Now, I am trying to find a way to keep insects, particularly little spiders, from making their home inside because my granddaughter doesn't want their company. We are very happy with Step 2 products (we also bought a kiddie pool) They seem very well-made.

Our granddaughter recently turned two and absolutely loves this playhouse. We obviously decked it out a little for Christmas with string lights that we can swap out seasonally and the items in the window boxes (best for a grandma with zero luck with live plants). We also added an inexpensive washable rug purchased online that extend a few short inches beyond the exterior of the playhouse so there were no tripping hazards. We keep the door side up against one edge to be sure. It is lightweight enough for one person to easily drag and move (thought two people to get the rug down and under it). As others noted, it is imperative to have starter holes for driving screws!!! I have a loaded toolchest, so used a drill. If you don't have a drill, just use a hammer and medium sized nail to pop a starter hole. We also tried the adhesive hooks for the lights, but as noted on the packaging, even cleaning with alcohol wipes on textured plastic didn't help them stay, so we switched to rubber-coated tea hooks (again, starter hole with a simple nail and hammer). I also printed a family photo on cardstock and just taped it over the sad excuse for a "painting" supplied. Woof, it's ugly! This fits our little girl along with a doll high chair and child-sized chair. The "shelves" for storage on the inside are pretty useless, so we have a large food storage container inside for the play dishes or other toys. Our little one makes a beeline for the playhouse every time she comes over, ringing the little doorbell and announcing that she's home. We do cover it with a tarp in rainy weather or every nook cranny gets filled with water! You only have to bail the sink and soak a couple of towels once to learn that lesson.

I have returned the item because the delivered product was old, dirty, no manual and has missing parts. It could have been okay if I know from the start that I am buying a second hand product but my excitement for my daughter just turned out to be disappointment.