kids

Exactly how one mum turned a humble Kmart cubby into "a little modern farmhouse".

 

The humble cubby house has had a makeover of late.

Just take a look at Kris Jenner’s Christmas present to her granddaughter, Stormi Webster, for example. In typical Kardashian fashion, the one-year-old got a life-size, two-story playhouse complete with air conditioning, balcony and cubby house for a mini kid’s convertible.

For something more on our level, Kmart’s $199 Wooden Cubby House has attracted the interest of keen DIY-ers everywhere. Parents are sharing photos of their Kmart cubby house hacks and they are nothing short of incredible.

For another excellent Kmart hack, Melissa Leong shares her excellent $56 Kmart DIY worm farm hack. Post continues below.

Video by Instagram @fooderati.

Just take this marvellous creation Perth mum, Cassie Dalglish (Instagram @cassiedalglish), made for her eight-year-old son, Noah. Speaking to Mamamia, she shared exactly how she turned the cubby into a “modern farmhouse” with a shade awning and a fruit stand at the back.

“It’s amazing how much a different coat of paint can change the whole aspect of what it looks like,” she says. “The fruit stand on the back of the cubby was a very last minute decision as I felt the cubby was a little bare but needed something and I just wasn’t sure what.”

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“Pinterest came in handy again and it was there that I found a huge array of beautiful fruit, vegetable and bakery stands that people had so cleverly added to their cubby hacks.”

Behold: the before and after. Image: Supplied.

Altogether, Cassie estimated the project cost her about $500 to $550, which includes the initial cost of the cubby house.

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"I spent roughly $300-340 on materials and the extra pieces like the decor, paint, paintbrushes etc.," she says.

kmart cubby house
Seasonal decorations to match the time of the year. Image: Supplied.

Looking back at her handiwork, Cassie recommends others consider priming the wood before painting. Although she didn't, she says it would have reduced the number of coats needed during the painting process.

"It took almost three to four coats to finish every section of the cubby and having to let everything dry and repaint it that many times was very tedious," she says.

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Cassie also advises people to paint the cubby prior to its assembly.

"It was a lot easier to paint the cubby while it wasn't constructed yet and that would be my one big tip," she says.

"Also, painting some of the little sections of the cubby like around the windows and door was a little tricky, so having a small paintbrush and painter's tape was a huge help!"

kmart cubby house
"It was a lot easier to paint the cubby while it wasn't constructed yet." Image: Supplied.
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To bring her "farmhouse" idea to life, the colours she used were:

Roof: Taubman's paint in 'Swashbuckle'.

Door, windows and edgings: Taubman's paint in 'Billiard Ball'.

Walls: Taubman's paint in 'Crisp White'.

kmart cubby house
The details. Image: Supplied.
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Additionally, she also jazzed up with some decorative pieces from Bunnings, Kmart and Spotlight. This included a doormat (Kmart, $10), door handle (Bunnings, $8.58), black exterior light (Bunnings, $18), material for the awning and curtains (Spotlight, various prices), assorted flower decor (Spotlight, various prices), foam wet brick for the flower box (Kmart, $3.50), number eight (Bunnings, $19.64), black wire baskets (Kmart, $4 each), brackets for the awning (Bunnings), assorted plastic fruit (Bunnings, various prices).

"The shade awning was easy and inexpensive to make and adding the wire baskets were just a matter of screwing them into the wood," she adds.

kmart cubby house
A fun way to teach the importance of getting in your daily fruit and veg. Image: Supplied.
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She almost makes it sound easy.

However, if you're still in the 'hunting for inspiration' stage of the project, here are some other seriously awe-inspiring cubby houses. Just get ready for a very hefty dose of house envy.

 

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Image: Supplied to Mamamia by @cassiedalglish.