Friday, July 13, 2012

Cubby House Dreams



Image above from Australian House & Garden
Cubby house designed and built by Angela and Phillippe Antelme 


As a little girl, I always wished I had a cubby house. While make shift ones of blankets were regularly made, they weren’t the same as the wooden one I longed for, one with sweet little windows, a letterbox and pretty curtains.

Now that I have children, I have an excuse for still wanting one of these tucked away in a corner of our garden.  I can easily picture Grace (and Sophie when she’s older) playing house and having tea parties inside. 

We did toy with the idea of a cubby house back when we completed our garden play corner makeover.  We thought about getting a cubby house, a trampoline or a swing set.  For now, we have a sand pit in the corner while we decide what else to go with (although I’m not keen on even the sand pit lately as every time Grace plays in there, she seems to be attacked by sand flies or something and then gets a type of allergic reaction to the bites and comes out in hard red lumps).

Paul was not so keen on my desire for a cubby.  He described them as ‘spider hotels’ and I must say, the notion of them being so makes my skin crawl.  I’m definitely not a fan of spiders and we do tend to get our fair share of red backs around here in the warmer weather. 


So I had sort of shelved my idea of a cubby until a few weeks back when the Kmart toy catalogue arrived and there in the outdoor toys section was this cute one above for $399.  While it is simple and doesn't have an awning or verandah, it is wooden, already painted in colours I would have chosen anyway, comes with a fold down table and two chairs inside and has darling little window boxes and a bell as perfect finishing touches.  Its dimensions are 120cm wide by 180cm long with a height of 177cm which I thought seemed reasonable and its price includes home delivery. However, it must be ordered either online or via lay-by which means buying something without seeing it in real life first.  For someone like me who procrastinates over every purchase I seem to make, I definitely prefer to 'see before I buy'.    

Do any of you who own cubby houses find they create a spider problem?  Have they proved to be popular with your children or were they not as well used as you had hoped?  

18 comments:

  1. I'd love a cubby house one day for the boys. We might even make one after seeing one at a friend's house. Everyone I speak to says they are well used, but they do have to go in regularly (and before each play session) to de-spider. I'd even like a tree house one day for the boys. One they have to climb to. Not sure if I'd get up there, though, to sort the spiders out!

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    1. Having to de-spider it all the time would drive me crazy... hmm...

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  2. My two have a cubby, it's a Little Tikes cottage, very sweet. No spiders but it is full of geckos which I have to hose out as the girls hate them!

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    1. I could handle geckos (Grace loves any little critters too) - it's just the spiders that worry me...

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  3. I had big hopes for our cubby we got when Emmy was 2. She had other ideas! She does live it, but at the moment still wants / needs me to go play with her. Although if a friend comes over I barely see them as they are busy in the cubby. I think it will defiantly pay off as Lila gets a little older and able to play too! I remember playing for hours on end in ours as a kid!

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  4. Oh and we haven't had any problems with spiders yet! But we do get our house sprayed annually including the cubby. Esp after the floods the were everywhere!

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  5. I have heard, and not sure if it is true, but a wooden cubby attracts more spiders than a plastic one. However, I think the wooden ones are so much nicer! Maybe look into something natural or herbal that deters spiders, such as a spray or similar. The cubby in your photo is very cute!
    Chelsea

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  6. Hi Chelsea, I know from reading Shannon Lush's books that spiders hate lemon oil and apparently if you put a few drops on a broom and sweep that across areas it keeps them at bay - maybe that is something to try...?

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  7. Oh that first cubby is especially divine. From my experiences there will be plenty of spiders, mainly in summer but you could certainly spray with a deterrent.

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  8. My sister and I spend a great deal of our childhood out in the back yard cubby. We received it for Christmas one year. It was just a simple iron one with a sliding door and a simple window, but we loved it. I don't remember ever having a problem with spiders. It would be easy to control should they appear. I would imagine timber might attract more beasties, but I could be wrong.
    Go for it!

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  9. I always wanted a cubby as a child too but never had that chance. I think its such a nice idea for imaginative/creative play, there's the most amazing tree house in my neighbourhood that I imagine the kids living there have the best time in. I guess spiders would be an issue but then there are so many positives.

    oh your comment about the radio was funny too, i brought that for my boyfriend a few weeks ago for his birthday, it is really great. A little expensive but it's so smart.
    Hope you have a great weekend x

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  10. I had a cubby when I was a kid, I grew up on a farm and my Dad built one from tin and wood and we still used it when we were teenagers sitting out there with friends listening to music. That had spiders in it but I knew not to go near them! Where we live now we actually spray for spiders once a year, a guy comes out and costs about $140 he does all the patio area and outside the house and we dont see a spider for 12 months. If you were really worried about the little ones playing with spiders this would prevent that until they get to the age when they know to call for Dad to take care of them.

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  11. We've got a beautiful cubby (made by a woodwork class at the college I worked at) for our children (the spiders do use it tootoo...but no more than other areas of the garden).

    Sometimes it goes for months without being used and then all of a sudden they're in it all the time, demanding meals out there and even asking to sleep out there.

    My girls are almost 8 and 10 and they still use it a lot (the 3 year old does when he's allowed!)

    If you've only got space for a cubby or a trampoline though I'd go the trampoline (spring-free) - our best toy purchase ever

    x

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  12. Hi Amanda,
    I just love your blog and have been reading for a few months now. Just had to comment on your cubby post. My babies are grown now (23 and 18), we built a cubby for them as a Christmas present and decked it out with table and chairs, dresser, teasets etc we also included a sand pit under with a fibreglass slide coming from the verandah and tyre swings along one side, we included a steering wheel and rearview mirror on the verandah for my son. We filled the area around it with soft-fall mulch and used logs to make different height stepping stones to help with balance etc. They, along with their friends spent many happy hours playing and turned the cubby into a boat, space ship and created many "shows" for us adults to enjoy. As they got older they just adapted the space to suit their needs having neighbourhood sleepovers etc. My daughter, who is teaching in Newcastle, was recently home for the holidays and we were reminising on how much fun that cubby provided. I think that if you are going to spend money you should think long term and create a space big enough so that it can be used for many years.

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    1. Hi, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. It's always so nice to hear from those who read my posts and I appreciate your feedback about cubbies. I love the sounds of the balance steeping stones and the way you adapted your cubby to suit your son too :)

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  13. Amanda...had to come back and comment here as we were talking cubbies all weekend!!! We did get a little cubby like your pictured one but a lot smaller and i have realised that it would be a better idea to make something larger that the girls can use in years to come, we decided we will make one large enough that miss teen will enjoy using for sleepovers etc as well (with their campfire out the front lol)Kids really do love them...in childcare we always painted the wooden stuff a white colour inside as this makes it easier to see spiders etc and they don't seem to like the white as much. A little spray once a year keeps them away (spiders not the kids!)the lemon oil trick seemed to work for awhile but then they returned, i'm thinking you need to apply it quite regularly...which i wasn't the best at!
    Since i have mentioned a cubby though the other half has been drawing plans endlessly for what looks like a palace...not going to burst his bubble just yet! Just wanted to let you know we have been having the same sort of discussions as you but i think it is better to see those sort of cubbies before you buy them as i am often suprised at how different those things seem when you get them delivered! Good luck with whatever you decide x

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    1. The white paint for the spiders is clever thinking. Your cubby plans sound wonderful, especially trying to come up with something your eldest daughter will be able to use too. The sale for the cubby above ended on Sunday and Paul didn't want to buy something without seeing it and deep down, I didn't want to either, so for now, we've held off rather than making an impulse decision and purchase. We really need to think through our plans and measure things in the backyard and work out what will be best for us. Can't wait to follow the progress of your cubby x

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  14. We have a cubby house for the girls and we do get the odd spider usually a daddy long legs. We've had it for a few years now and they love it. Miss 12 still enjoys going in there although now she doesn't play tea parties but she still enjoys going in there to have a little time away from the house and just hang out which is kind of cute. If you do decide to buy one I'm sure it will be thoroughly enjoyed. xx

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