My backyard was filled with scattered outdoor toys and I couldn’t take it anymore. A large swingset with several swings and a slide on one side of the yard, a sand box randomly off to another side, and a new playhouse that we were about to makeover that didn’t have a place yet (full playhouse makeover details HERE). My husband decided we needed to make a dedicated playground space and it was such a great idea. We selected an area to set up as a true playground, with rubber mulch and all. My backyard is not only for our pool and toys, but it’s also home to many different things… our yellow school bus turned vacation home (if you haven’t seen it, you can see lots of pictures of it HERE and the video tour of it HERE), our shed, our boat trailer, etc. We’ve been able to make the most of the space by separating into area and that’s exactly what we did with the playground. Beyond being practical, it looks great! I’ll walk you through the steps to create a custom backyard playground just like ours.
STEP #1 – SPACE PLANNING
First you need to figure out the area you’ll need to make everything fit and mark it off. We used a string and 4 woods pieces of wood hammered into the ground on the 4 corners. Make sure everything you want to put will fit and leave space for playing. Don’t forget that the swingset requires extra space for climbing the stairs, going down the slide, etc.
STEP #2 – REMOVE THE GRASS
Next up you need to remove all the grass in the space you plan to use. We left it marked so that my husband knew exactly what area to dig up. You want to get a level dirt area so you can put everything else on top of it.
STEP #3 – ADD WOOD EDGING
Next up, you need to define the space. We finally removed the string marking it off and added a wood edge. This helps keep the mulch inside the area and separates it from the grass.
STEP #4 – ADD A PROTECTIVE BARRIER
To keep the grass from growing through the mulch, we added a protective barrier. It’s a landscape fabric that helps keep the weeds out. We just laid it out to cover the entire space and attached it to the wood on the edges. It hasn’t been 100% effective, but I’m sure it’s a whole lot better than if we hadn’t put it.
STEP #5 – PLACE THE TOYS
Now it’s time to put things where they will go and adjust as needed. We first planned to put the sandbox away from the corner, but we decided that we rather have plenty of space for anyone going down the slide, so we adjusted it and moved the sandbox all the way to the corner. The playhouse wasn’t ready yet, so we added that after.
STEP #6 – ADD MULCH
It’s finally time to add the mulch! We went with rubber mulch in a red color so it would look pretty but it’s soft to walk on and so much better if a kid falls. We underestimated how much we would need and had to go back for more, so make sure you buy plenty! That picture below is when we ran out! We thought we had too much, but turns out, we weren’t even close.
STEP #7 – ENJOY IT!!
It took about a week of afternoons to complete it, but it was such a success! Our backyard looks so much prettier and my daughter loves her playground space. Here’s some of my favorite memories of fun times playing outside in our newly renovated backyard.
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