Alice in Wonderland Under the Stairs Play Space

Mushroom House Inspiration Image

Everything people have said about how great being a grandparent is are totally true! It is so much fun for me to create spaces that energize the imaginations of young impressionable minds. Nothing is more imaginative than Alice in Wonderland, which is why I just had to share this really fun project my best friend - and a fellow grandparent - and I just finished.

It all began three months ago when my friend Vie from Arizona was visiting me in California. She was admiring the playhouse and play area in my yard that I had created for my grandchildren (for a future blogpost). She said she wanted to create a similar one for her 15 mos. old granddaughter.

After some discussion about the summertime heat and the fact that it would not be usable for several months out of the year she came up with the idea of using the space under her stairs. She had recently done some rearranging and at that time it was mostly cleaned out. That week we brainstormed ideas for the play area and a theme. She wanted an Alice in Wonderland theme. We had a ton of ideas and images so we narrowed it down and created an inspiration board with our top picks. She immediately ordered the kitchen set and the rug while she was still at my house. My son was getting married so we agreed she would do the rest of the cleaning out of the closet and paint it, then I would come to AZ a few months later. 

On August 8 (the hottest time of year in AZ!), I loaded my car and drove to AZ with a car full of tools and paints. We started the project the next day. Amazingly she was able to keep this all a secret from her granddaughter's parents until we did our reveal 8 days later.

Heading Down the Creative Rabbit Hole

We began with an empty closet under the stairs. The ceiling at the back of the closet started at about 3' and slanted up to 9' closest to the door. This allowed us to build an 8' mushroom house facade.

We have a clean slate to start this Mushroom House/ Alice in Wonderland themed play room.These adorable mushroom stools were found in the garden department at Walmart . They are a good weight and very stable, even for us big butted grandmas :-). 

We drew our design on a 4 x 8 piece of particle board and her husband and I did the cutting with a Skilsaw, jig saw and hand saw for the tight corners where we cut out the door. Plywood could also be used and would have been easier for attaching things to it. Overall though the particle board was a good choice. We nailed the facade to a 2 x 3 frame that was attached to the side walls. We had short supports at the floor level, which were nailed to side supports and will be calked in place. We also had two supports across the top. One is just above the door and extends into the opening an inch to act as a door stop so it can't extend inward. 

A thrift store mirror that we painted serves as a mock window.

After adding a 2 x 3 on the back side of the wall for support we attached the mirror with a nail gun.

A piece of balsa wood, white craft foam painted gold and a wood knob complete the door handle.

One of the nice parts about the location of the playhouse under the stairs is that when its not in use she can close the outer door and you would never know that it was there. Before the reveal we told her daughter she just had to see how we had organized the closet, of course she was completely shocked when she opened the closet door.

This sign post base is a plaster candle stick that I had on hand. It was originally pink as it had been used for my granddaughter's 5th birthday Tea Party. Pearl paints and glitter paints really made it pop!

Interior

We began the interior painting process on the closet ceiling using a DIY Projector (click here for a tutorial from Cleverly Inspired). We used a transparency film (like those used for the old school overhead projectors). -  available at office supply stores. I cut a hole slightly smaller than the transparency in the end of a box and we taped it to the opening with painters tape.  For back light we placed a cell phone in the box on a phone stand or by leaning it against the back of the box. It was plenty bright. The size of the image can be adjusted based on how close the box is to the wall or how close the lighting source is to the transparency. Then we traced the projected image onto the wall with washable markers. Its important to have it on a stable surface. We used books and other items to get our image lined up in the right location. In retrospect I am wondering if we had somehow attached the box to a camera tripod if that wouldn't have been better. If I do another project like this I will try that method.

We are very proud of the ceiling and the first things we painted!

We wanted to create the illusion of being at the tea party so we painted the Mad Hatter tea party scene at the height of the table. The table was made from a re-purposed particle board table that the legs had come off of. We hinged it using a piano bench hinge and reinforced one of the leg supports, which unscrews when she wants more room. Those little red mushroom beauties really completed the look!

We rocked those singing flowers!

Silk tree branches were added to each corner and butterfly lights donned the branches.

This view from the doorway shows the 2 cube storage organizer we got at Target that doubles as a bench. Alice is a purchased mural image from Pixers that we attached with Modge Podge on the back side only. It comes in 3 varieties of vinyl applications including a self adhesive vinyl, which is the most expensive. The rug was perfect for our theme and is available here. The kitchen is made by KidKraft (KidKraft Blue Retro Wooden Play Kitchen and Refrigerator) and is available at Walmart as well as Amazon.

The Cheshire Cat is painted above the door on the back side of the mushroom house. The goal was to make it look like he was sitting on a tree branch. To project the cat and obtain the size we wanted we taped the transparency to the angled ceiling and Vie held the cell phone light very still while I quickly outlined the wall. We were experimenting with the lighting and the visible wires will be reworked so they aren't seen. 

Glowing Results

We had fun using some neon craft paints and glow in the dark paints.

In addition to a florescent light we had a tubular DJ black light which will be mounted on the ceiling.

During the Process

The beginning stages of the rabbit hole, which is on the backside of the door. This was a freehand project, not projected.

Finished Rabbit hole. More singing flowers will be added to this wall in the near future.

A piece of balsa wood, white craft foam painted gold and a wood knob complete the door handle.

View during the process from the hallway

This photo was taken after we installed the drop down table. It tucks out of the way for extra play space. The painted path shows best in this photo. I took advantage of the wall texture while painting, which created a natural cobblestone effect. 

Note: The stool and cushion on top...that is what we spent the majority of our time sitting on while we painted the lower walls!

We video taped the daily progress and hope to post that soon. 

The Reveal

Little Samantha quickly enjoyed sitting with her new "friends" at the Mad Hatter's tea party! That expression made all the hard work worthwhile. She will enjoy many years of fun in her own special place under her grandma's stairs. 

Of course if she were a boy it would have had to be a Harry Potter theme!