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From photographs and memorabilia to intricate dollhouse re-creations, plenty of us take pains to remember our childhood homes even as we leave them behind for new places of our own. In a new viral video, a DIY-loving couple gave their kids a particularly memorable way to engage with and remember their home for years to come by transforming an ordinary playhouse into an impressive replica of their own house.
The project kicked off when Brandon and Jess DesFosses came across a free, worn-down playhouse on Facebook Marketplace. Upon seeing the bargain, they decided to take on the challenge of turning an ordinary tan playhouse into a tiny copy of their Idaho home — and they shared the process on their Instagram account (@idahomerealestate).
As Jess explains in an Instagram video, the playhouse was a little worse for wear when the DesFosses took it home. A windstorm had “ruined” the toy’s roof. So she disassembled the entire toy and repainted the walls of the playhouse using leftover paint from the actual exterior of their home. Other elements of the house were also directly inspired by the DesFosses’ real home, from copper finishings in its faux kitchen to its white door.
When it came time to repair the roof, Jess swapped out the playhouse’s battered shingles for a few pieces of cut-down plywood and some new shingles courtesy of the couple’s friend, who’s a roofer. For finishing touches, she and Brandon added an adorable thrifted mini pan to the play kitchen, as well as Dollar Tree flowers to empty boxes in the front of the playhouse.
“My kids are loving it,” Jess says via voiceover. “They love that they have a mini version of our house that’s all theirs.”
Judging from the comment section, the DesFosses aren’t the only people taken with this DIY idea.
As one person wrote, “Just adopt me already! This is amazing!”
