Inside a Hundred Oaks Park home is the playhouse you wished you had as a child

Lauren Hill turned some extra space in her living room into a playroom outranking anyone’s imagination.

Tucked behind two folding leather-studded doors is a built-in, two-story playhouse, complete with real cedar plank roof shingles, shutters and even a secret passage that leads to a guest bedroom next door. (Fans of the game Clue are probably thinking, “Professor Plum in the den with a candlestick” right about now.)

Hill’s children, 6-year-old Palmer and 4-year-old Monroe, are just the right height to enter the playhouse’s made-to-order front door, where a play kitchen awaits.

“They just love playing in their kitchen when I’m cooking,” Hill says.

When the kids are tired of cooking, they can take the steps to their secluded second floor. The steps, located off to the side of the playhouse and calling to mind a fourth-generation Acadian home, are scaled perfectly for kids to climb. Inside is an open area to sit and play with toys.

“When Palmer is with her girl cousins or her friends, that area sometimes becomes their little clubhouse.” Hill says with a laugh.

Hill is an artist, and she co-owns Mint, an art gallery, home interior and shoe store, along with her sister, Shannon Mahon, and Rachel Kazibutowski.

During a home renovation, Hill sketched the plans for the playhouse. She worked with her husband, Carter, who is a general contractor, and a builder to bring the structure to life.

“This room is great,” Hill says. “They have their place to play and use their imaginations, and I can watch them easily and know they are safe.”

This article was originally published in the 225 Extra: 2018 Spaces & Places issue. Click here to read more articles from this issue.