We have a pretty nice back yard. Lot’s of old growth trees mean it’s nice and shady. However, the dang grass just doesn’t want to grow in such a shady environment! The weeds grow (boy do they grow!) but the grass just refuses!
See? It’s just patchy, and dead and sad. We bought Avery a small little astroturf mat, but it just wasn’t big enough, and when she’d play in her sand box and water table she’d always be covered in dirt or mud. We decided we needed to do something about it! We wanted to create a diy outdoor play space!
Dave got to work on a new play area for Avery! We mapped out a 12×12 section of the yard, and started digging. Dave was trying to level the land, but it became even more of a process when he discovered bricks, lots and lots of bricks, buried an few inches below the surface.
After a few hours of digging, removing bricks and leveling the ground he was ready to lay down the new astroturf carpet! He added a wooden wall around the turf and we moved all Avery’s outdoor toys into the new space. Added a few finishing touches, and VOILA!
Now all of her toys are contained in a clean little space! A spot all her own!!
Here are a few of the details:
Dave made little flower boxes for the front, and Avery picked out her own welcome mat! I added her little pink flamingo, because a lawn isn’t complete without one!
I also picked up a milk crate to store some of the smaller toys in! The milk crate is perfect because any water that gets in will drain right out!
Avery loves that she has a nice flat surface to drive her trucks on!
And the wooden wall is a great balance beam!
Avery loved her new space! She worked, and played, and relaxed! She can’t wait to play some more tomorrow!
That grumpy face?? Oh that’s the look of a girl who was just told she has to come inside for dinner!!
Our next project is a patio for mommy & daddy!!
THIS IS THE COOLEST!!!! I am jealous of this space! Pinning!
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Thank you!!! I’m so happy with how it came out! I love that Avery & her toys wont be covered in dirt and we can sit comfortably on the ground and play!!!
I pinned you and commented before… but opening this post again makes me SO excited. I would like to reserve some Fall playtime with Avery (for Addie) please!
… I will bring good craft beers for the mamas!
Chelley @ AisForAdelaide recently posted…Marvelous Monday
Oh yes, definitely!!!
Did the turf get placed right on top of the dirt?
Did you have to put any foundation to keep the ground from sinking when it rains?
This is so awesome!!! I love the idea and the “play-haven” you created for her. Complete with a welcome mat, pink flamingo & flower boxes. This is great!
Thank you Jessica!! It’s definitely my favorite of all our “home improvement” projects!!
This is a wonderful play area !! Great job guys.
Thanks, Michelle!
I agree! This is such an awesome play space. Beautifully conceptualized and laid out. Love it!!
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Super cute! Love it!
Thank you!!
Wow that is such a cool space. I want to make something like that for my kids.
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Thanks!! You should, it was not hard at all!
That is every toddler’s dream! It came out awesome!!
Thanks! She loves it and so do we!
Aww. That play space is almost as cute as little Avery! I love the plants and the adorable little sunbrella space.
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Awww, Thank you!!!
Oh I am so in love with this play space! Like seriously in love with it! I want to set one up for my daughter!
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Thank you so much!!! It was really quite easy, digging out the uneven area was the hardest part!!! If you ever have questions about EXACTLY how we did it I’d be happy to give you the details!
Hello! I found this recently and love it! I want to try and tackle this by myself, wish me luck lol. Can you share any more details on how you leveled it? Did you add any other dirt/sand? Also, what type of AstroTurf did you use? Will I need to nail it down? I noticed you posted awhile back so you might not remember no biggie! Thank you in advance. Julie
Did you place anything under the turf or just placed it on top of the dirt
The turf is right on top of the dirt. You could probably put some sort of mat underneath, but it isn’t necessary
This is so incredibly perfect – down to the flamingo and the shaded lounging chair! You guys should market this – Dave could do his part and you, yours. Every little one I know would be super excited to be rockin’ this space!! I love the built-in balance bean, too
I think a spot for Daisy should be the next project. I’m guessing Avery would love that so Daisy doesn’t trample all over hers; that would mean a full time guard to keep Daisy away, huh? Anyway, perfect. So perfect!
Thanks, Jen!! Daisy actually loves it too, and Avery loves having Daisy come play with her!
This is just a great idea. YOu have one lucky daughter!
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Thanks!! She’s a great kid, so we wanted her to have a great play area!
I love that outdoor space!! Everything is so organized and I bet she loves playing there.
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Thank you!! She totally loves it!!
Oh my goodness! Avery is one very luck little girl. I love what you did to the space turning dirt into a fun play center for your little girl to enjoy. I would be grumpy too if I had to come in from all that fun.
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Thank you so much!!
Oh wow, what a brilliant idea -= I love this space! So cute and functional, I need to look into doing something like this!
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Thanks!! It really wasn’t all that difficult!!
You are awesome, that is ONE AWESOME little play area!!! You deserve a trophy!!!! Darling!
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Thank you thank you!!! The trophy shoudl go to my husband!!! he did all the hard work!
What an awesome play space. Many of summer hours spent out there I bet.
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Thanks! We were out there for 3 hours today after lunch!
You are positively brilliant! That is one of the best outdoor ideas I have seen in a long time!
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Thanks so much!!
Oh my goodness, that has to be the best play area ever… My kids would have been out there 24/7 if they had something that cool.
Thank you!! The poor girl had a melt down when we told her it was too dark to play out there tonight!
I love how safe, clean sad adorable Avery’s spot is! She looks so excited to play too!
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Thanks!! I love that it’s safe, and much more clean–though she was still a mess after three hours of playing today lol
I love that outdoor play space! I wish I had done something like this to keep the kids from tearing up the good parts of the yard, haha.
Thank you!! We don’t have any nice areas in your yard right now haha but my husband has been inspired by her play space to really work on the rest of our property and get some more grass to grow!
How adorable and what a great way to keep your child out of the dirt! This is a wonderful idea!
Thank you!! She still ended up covered in dirt today haha
What a fantastic transformation! That play space looks AWESOME! I would have loved this as a kid for sure!
Thank you!! I know, I wish I had a space like this when I was her age!
This is so awesome. I want one just like it.
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I love your transformation for her play area!! Looks like she loves it as well.
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What a cute idea! I love that you really made a place for Avery that she can call her own. Plus, it just looks like a fun, special spot. Can’t wait to see what you do for yourselves!
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You did an AMAZING job! How fun for Avery! Now she can have some fun playdates with her friends out back!
WOW, this looks amazing! My pre-schooler would love it!
That is a great idea! My backyard doesn’t grow grass either. I could use one of those but it would need a gate around it to keep the dog out too.
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She is one blessed little girl. What a nice area, so many awesome details!
What an awesome idea.. I love the play area and I think.. I may have to Sneak your ideas… this is super cool and I just love the look of it.. your little one is too cute, bet she is having a blast in her new play area
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What a great space for a child. I can not wait to see what you come up with for the adult space.
I love your play area you have created. I want to do something cute in my backyard.
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I love her play space, what an awesome idea! The welcome mat is such a cute touch!
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What a cute and fun playground. I’m sure she’ll be making a lot of memories on it.
It looks like she is loving her outdoor play space. This is such a great idea to encourage outdoor play for little ones.
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This is really nice! How is the astro turf working for you now? I have never seen a play area like this an I really like the idea of the astro turf. Does it dry pretty quickly? Also curious if you have had any problems with it or would make any changes? I was thinking of doing rubber mulch but I like this a lot!! You guys did great and I love the flower boxes!!
Hi Christie! Thank you!! It has held up really well (I was actually surprised) It dries pretty well, we will get spots where the water pools a bit if there is heavy rain, but nothing terrible! So far, I wouldn’t change anything, but I’ll update when we see how it has held up this winter! It made it through the first winter very well!
Ive been looking for something like this for so long! I love it! Where did you get the turf?
what type of turf did you use?
Love this and want to try and recreate it.
Can you share the details for building?
Did you simply place the wooden pieces down or did you dig deeper to make them really stay in place?? Love this idea. It is exactly what we want to.do in our yard.
We dug out the entire area, so it sits a few inches below the rest of the yard. The wooden beams are stacked (2) and my husband bolted them together, and used really, really long nails to stake it into the ground.
Hello really love your area. Is the ground like a grass type or the outdoor carpet? I have a huge area would love to do.
Love this! Curious to hear how it has held up? Did weeds grow through the turf?