Playhouse For Older Kids

Buy the best playhouse for older kids selected and recommended by interior designers. By Eliza Bush.

A playhouse isn’t just good for little kids — it can also make a huge difference in the mental and physical well-being of older kids. We all agree that many kids spend too little time outdoors in the fresh air away from their screens. These outdoor playhouses for older children are sure to make your backyard more enticing for them and their friends. From simpler styles to ones with lots of bells and whistles, these seven outdoor (and one indoor) playhouses will help your kids develop their social skills, engage in physical activities, and get some much-needed vitamin D. And all while they’ll just think they’re having fun.

Load more
Playhouse For Older Kids

Buying Guide

A playhouse is often a place for a youngster to retreat and have a little time away from the world of grownups. It is easy to find a playhouse for a young child. Companies such as Lil Tikes make all sorts of molded plastic houses that can amuse the preschool set. But locating a retreat for an older child, age six to ten or older can be more of a challenge.

The most exciting designs of playhouses include:

The Cardboard House

Back in the days of refrigerator boxes, creating a cardboard playhouse was easy. But as packaging has become an environmental issue, such items are less available. Manufacturers and distributors have stepped into the gap by creating the coloring playhouse. The box is already in playhouse configuration, but the child or other interested parties can provide the decorations. Some of the houses come with outlines drawn on the house, while others are simply blank and waiting for a creative hand.

The Tent

From bed-tents to actual camping gear, there are few children who wouldn’t love to have some fabric walls into which to retreat when siblings or parents become just Too Much. A tent is easy to erect and can be folded up for storage when not in use. Theme tents, such as a log cabin or princess pavilion can create a place for games of pretend.

The Jungle Gym

Many backyard playsets incorporate a small “house” as part of their swing, slide, and exercise set up. Such places provide a place for school-age children to enact their games of pretend while stretching their muscles. The set might have a theme, but youngsters will often incorporate their own interpretations, so the structure might become a pirate ship, a fort or even a space-going craft.

The Small House

Youngsters who are approaching their teens, or even a few teenagers, appreciate a rain-proof building where they can retreat. When fitted out with appropriately sized furnishings, this can be a place to keep a diary, a few favorite toys, or even a craft project or two. It is the safe escape from parental supervision (at least nominally) where elaborate fantasies can be created and dreams dreamed.

The house itself can be a log cabin, a cute cottage, or even a converted storage building. Fitted out with a folding foam couch, a table and a chair along with some shelves for favorite items, and you might find your youngster taking refuge there quite often.

The Tree House

Somewhat like the small house, a tree house is a place to retreat. It can also be a place to play at being pirates or piloting a spaceship, or any number of other alternate realities that can be enacted in an afternoon. The beauty of a tree house is getting up above it all, being out of reach of non-climbing younger siblings or just simply out of parental sight, and therefore hopefully out of mind. (The savvy parent knows this, and allows the illusion of independence to thus flourish.)

Apart from checking that the playhouse conforms to national product safety standards, make sure the structure does not have sharp corners or any protruding objects, especially at head level. Check for any gaps that your children might fall through or stick their heads through. If there are swings or climbing walls, inspect them regularly for safety hazards.

Best Ideas

Backyard playhouse for kids

backyard-playhouse-for-kids

Environment Friendly Playhouse For Kids

Environment Friendly Playhouse For Kids

Looking for a way to entertain your kids during the summer time, but have no idea how to keep them healthy at the same time? Take a look at this outdoor playhouse, made out entirely of environmentally friendly, renewable materials. The main structure of the playhouse is made out of solid western red cedar wood, which both ensures the stability and toughness of the house and gives it a nice, well-made look.

Playhouse for older kids

A fantastic playhouse for outdoors, assembled of sturdy wood planks and several fun embellishments. It comes with a high-pitched roof, glass windows, a fenced deck, a rope ladder, a traditional ladder, a slide, a slide pole and a pretty swing.

Playhouse for older kids 1

The lovely and exceptionally impressive playhouse for older children is a great way to inspire many great games. A Beautiful design reminiscent of every detail the real home delights, giving children a great place to play.

Playhouse traditional kids providence

Playhouse traditional kids providence

A fantastic playhouse for older kids, that looks like a genuine house. It's as gorgeous outside as it is inside, with a high-pitched roof, stylish glass windows, a white-fenced porch, and a small tower with a cozy room.

Red Cedar Playhouse Cabin With Functional Windows

Red Cedar Playhouse Cabin With Functional Windows

A rustic and vintage outdoor playhouse which resembles an old-fashioned cabin, great for finishing your yard with a piece that is both a stylish decoration and provides a lot of entertainment for your children. The construction of the playhouse is made out of a combination of solid wood and manufactured wood, and the solid wood used is crafted out of western red cedar wood, which gives the house its retro tint.

Sunflower Playhouse with 3 Functional Window and Cedar Deck Porch

The playhouse for older kids, in your own garden, made of natural wood is a dream for both children and their parents. Made in the Dutch style, with a porch and the possibility of adding a slide. Made of cedar wood, with a reddish variety.

Playhouses for older kids

Beautiful and very solidly made tree house is a great combination of attractive design and space to have fun. The captivating colors of white and blue delight and make the whole look beautiful in the garden.

Playhouse for older kids 2

The playhouses are not only for children, it could be a perfect space to have fun in adults world. If you have a strong tree, there is no contraindications to build the bigger tree house and invite your adult guests there.

Little Alexandra Cottage 6.17' x 6.17' Playhouse

Little Alexandra Cottage 6.17' x 6.17' Playhouse

Your children will love playtime with this weather-resistant playhouse. Lifelike details are incorporated into this indoor and outdoor-friendly structure, complete with flower boxes, a front porch, cedar shutters, and rooftop shingles. This compact 74” x 74” x 72” playhouse is perfect for children aged three and over.

All Cedar Swing Set With Curved Slide

All Cedar Swing Set With Curved Slide

If your kids are bored with their plain, old and small playhouse, why not get them this elevated beauty with a couple of floors with a raised clubhouse, a spacious porch and even a crow’s nest on the top, which comes with a fully-operational telescope. This playhouse not only has a handful of compartments, which create a castle-like fortress for your kids, but it also has a couple of different swings on each side of the structure.

Big playhouses for kids

Even older kids need there time alone or just place to have fun with friends, without parents. In this case, playhouse for older kids made of wood, which is a copy of normal family house would be perfect, with wooden graphite, and whiteboards.

My little cottage playhouse

This charming project constitutes a playhouse for the backyard. Your kiddies will love and so will everyone that will see it. Well integrated into the landscape, backed to a fence offers a border for kids and a convenient way to shield a back facade.

Select the best playhouse models for kids

Select the best playhouse models for kids

Outdoor playhouse for older kids

DIY outdoor playground with wooden playhouse and a rock wall for climbing - fitting for younger kids. Even four years old can climb here. Colorful paint applied to the rocks make the whole visually attractive.

Small outdoor playhouse

Thi is such an amiazing little house for fairies and gnomes, but this super sized fairy house has been scaled up and is ready for play! Great for kids as cottage playhouse in the backyard. Made from thick wood, decorated with small stairs.

Backyard play structures playhouse for older kids best modern furniture

backyard play structures - Playhouse For Older Kids | Best Modern Furniture Design Directory Blog

Playhouse for backyard 6

Vintage elegant playhouse intended to insert in the backyard or in the garden. It is made of wood with metal element and covered of colorful paint. It looks like real (but miniature) house. It will be perfect for younger children.

Swiss Style Cottage Playhouse With Windows

Swiss Style Cottage Playhouse With Windows

This Swiss-style playhouse made in a cottage fashion is the perfect addition to a backyard garden, providing a spot for your kids to hang out and play with their friends outside instead of sitting in front of the computer screen or a TV. The playhouse is made out of Norway spruce wood, which has a distinctive shade and makes the structure of the house durable. It is recommended to place the playhouse on a cement pad base, but it has its own wooden support which can hold it without any problems.

Playhouse for backyard

It is important that the child has his space outside the home. May have his asylum in the form of a wooden playhouse for backyard,built with the hands of his father, or bought in this form-with:red hues,white windows,raw wood at the base and play equipment.

Victorian Playhouse Kit with No Floor

Victorian Playhouse Kit with No Floor

Charming large outdoor playhouse for kids. It is made of pinewood with a weatherproof painted grey, white and brown finish. It has 2 doors, plexi-glass windows with shutters, inside stairs and a double-sloped roof with a loft and a chimney.

Play tents for older kids

awesome, lop-sided playhouse

Oversized Cedar Playhouse With Swing Set

Oversized Cedar Playhouse With Swing Set

Just take a look at this colossal outdoor playhouse for children! Not only does it have a couple of tiers to it, it actually has a pair of separate towers which are connected with a bridge between them. One of the towers has a balcony with an additional deck and two slides, one longer and one slightly shorter. The other tower has two slides on the front, with an additional curved one on the top level. To finish it all off, there is a swing set behind the two towers with four swings for your kids to have fun with.

Swing N Slide Fir Wood Swing Set With Three Decks

Swing N Slide Fir Wood Swing Set With Three Decks

Why overpay for an outdoor play set for children, when you can get a perfectly fine one at a reasonable price? This swing-n-slide playhouse is constructed entirely out of fir wood with a pre-stained finish, which prevents both insects and rotting and ensures longevity. The playhouse includes three large decks and a couple of swings on the side, with a three-position swing beam and an additional wind rider glider. The playhouse can be accessed in two ways, one is a simple ladder on the side and the other a climbing wall on the front.

Our Editors