#PlayHouzz
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a kid in possession of a cardboard box will play in the cardboard box.
I had a humbling moment a few weeks ago when I was having lunch with a friend, and asked them what the ideal playhouse was. "Refrigerator box" was his reply. I had been working on a pirate-themed playhouse, and it took me a moment, but I realized he was right, and we started comparing stories.
My wildest, most imaginative adventures were in cushion forts and boxes. I was terrified of friends' playhouses, which seemed too fancy. I was scared to touch anything, lest it break. The glory of the box was that it was free. You could cut holes in it, and then climb around, and it was whatever you wanted it to be that day. And it was small enough that adults couldn't easily get in, making it an "adult-exclusion-zone." Also, adults didn't care if you wrecked it, because it was basically trash. Markers, stickers, it didn't matter what you did to it. But mostly it was great because it was just a plain, brown box.
So I put aside the pirate playhouse, and focused on making a better version of the cardboard box. It had to still be cheap, and simple. A kid had to feel it was theirs. And it had to keep the essential size of the refrigerator box. After that, though, I realized it could be configurable, with interlocking pieces. You can build custom forts. For materials I had in mind something like corrugated plastic, for strength, durability, and lightness. The result was deceptively simple.
Cheers,
JR Sincher
I had a humbling moment a few weeks ago when I was having lunch with a friend, and asked them what the ideal playhouse was. "Refrigerator box" was his reply. I had been working on a pirate-themed playhouse, and it took me a moment, but I realized he was right, and we started comparing stories.
My wildest, most imaginative adventures were in cushion forts and boxes. I was terrified of friends' playhouses, which seemed too fancy. I was scared to touch anything, lest it break. The glory of the box was that it was free. You could cut holes in it, and then climb around, and it was whatever you wanted it to be that day. And it was small enough that adults couldn't easily get in, making it an "adult-exclusion-zone." Also, adults didn't care if you wrecked it, because it was basically trash. Markers, stickers, it didn't matter what you did to it. But mostly it was great because it was just a plain, brown box.
So I put aside the pirate playhouse, and focused on making a better version of the cardboard box. It had to still be cheap, and simple. A kid had to feel it was theirs. And it had to keep the essential size of the refrigerator box. After that, though, I realized it could be configurable, with interlocking pieces. You can build custom forts. For materials I had in mind something like corrugated plastic, for strength, durability, and lightness. The result was deceptively simple.
Cheers,
JR Sincher