Turn your log cabin into a playroom And get some space for yourself!

How many times have you returned to a room the kids have been playing in to discover they’ve trashed it? Or heard a smash signalling the untimely demise of your favourite vase? It’s times like that we all wish there was a playroom in the house to contain all the mess and chaos in, and leave the rest of the house intact. Unfortunately not all of us have the space or funding to change a room into a play area!

An ideal way to find this extra space is to use a shed or log cabin as a playhouse for the kids, instead of trying to find space in the house. This is perfect as they can play outside with somewhere to go if it’s raining or chilly, and they can play house or turn it into a den and make as much mess as they want. Just like adults, kids like to have their own space to hideaway and play silly games, or even read a book and chill out.

If you’ve already got a log cabin in your garden, turning it into a playhouse is easy – all you need to do it clean it out, check for spiders (!) and make sure it’s safe, with no nails or other nasty things jutting out from the walls. Once you’ve done all that, you can go about collecting little things to put inside, like chairs, pillows and sheets (for making dens of course!) and a generous helping of toys from the house too. If you’ve got them lying around, toy kitchens and toy DIY kits are ideal for this, the kids can play at being grown up in their own little house!

Once you’ve got everything set up, they can have friends round to play, build dens to their hearts’ content and even have sleepovers if you’re prepared to keep an eye on them. A playhouse can keep children occupied for hours without you having to worry about where they are or who’s hanging around.

Log cabins can even increase the value of your home, providing extra space to be used as a summer house, a home office or even a gym. This will be especially handy when the kids get older and lose interested – you can reclaim the cabin as your own and create your own den, or transform it into anything you need, even if that’s just extra storage. Just like the kids, you can use your imagination to change it into anything you like!

New Year's Resolution: The Perfect Lawn

Happy 2012!

I have made it my New Year's Resolution to finally get my garden in order. After spending a lot of time last year on the interior of our home (especially the bathroom) it is time to concentrate on the outside.

The garden is in a bit of a state. Most of the lawn is just muddy grass and the borders are overgrown with weeds. I will have to wait until spring to get planting (although once the weather is warmer and the ground isn't frozen I can start weeding). The lawn on the other hand poses more of a challenge.

Every time it rains large puddles collect on the grass meaning that there is a lot of mud and not much lawn. I just don't have time to cultivate the perfect lawn so I've been thinking of getting some astroturf or artificial grass. I didn't realise how popular artificial lawns were. One site, Tigerturf Landscape caught my eye.

Astrotuf comes in lots of different varieties and I was surprised by how natural it looks. Best of all the grass doesn't need mowing! It's also environmentally friendly as it's made from recycled plastic. Think of all the carbon I'll save by not having to use the lawnmower. Plus there won't be any need to put artificial chemicals and fertilizer down.

So my resolution for 2012 is to install some artificial turf in my back yard this year. I'll post some pictures once it's underway.

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