CHARMING COTTAGE 867400 Playhouse

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.

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.

Okay, this is such an amazing playhouse for my children and for me! From a looks perspective, it the perfect size for kids and it’s adorable – from the sticker decorations, to the doorbell, a skylight (I mean so cute right!?) and the potted plant holders for fake flowers – nothing is left out. Assembly is a breeze – quick (10 minutes), light pieces and simple to put together. The quality is great – it’s sturdy and can withstand kids banging on it and extreme outdoors temperatures. The ordering/shipping process was easy too; it was delivered by a freight shipper due to the large box size. Even still, shipping was seamless – the freight shipper called and scheduled a time when I could be home to receive the delivery. Surprisingly, the box was light enough for me to push through my tile house to the backyard (yay!) and flip over to pull the pieces out. My kids (and our neighbor’s kids!) gleamed/screamed with delight when they saw the house… they walked right in and began playing. We’ve already had picnics and tea parties in it… BBQ’s are next.  What I love the most – it’s a place for the kids to practice imaginary play instead of sitting behind a TV, tablet or smart phone. Get it – you’ll love it too.

This is a great playhouse because four kids of different ages can easily play with it and it is durable. Kids love the real doorbell and we love that it isn’t too loud and sounds so nice. The house is open enough that you can keep an eye on the kids and some kids can play from the outside looking in, but it’s closed enough that the kids feel like they are in their own space. It took about 1.5 hours to put it together because we had to run to a hardware store to find screws similar to ones that were missing. The final steps to attach the roof to the walls were the trickiest — needed to drill a small pilot hole for each corner to be able to line up the pieces. (Actually we had to do that for most parts/screws.) When attaching the roof, we needed someone inside and outside to force each corner to line up and make it work.

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!

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.