It is possible to have a Wendy house that doesn't dominate a small London garden as Emily Turner and Serena Fokschaner discover.

Children love to have their own domain and nothing stimulates imaginative play more than a playhouse. If you have a big garden and can erect a large structure out of immediate view, lucky you. There is a wide choice available from castles to pirate ships, many incorporating slides and play areas, to suit every taste and budget.

If like me, however, you live in a London terraced house where outside space is at a premium, you will have a slightly different agenda. I wanted a wendy house for my daughters that would not dominate our little patch of garden. There would be no chance of hiding it behind anything and so it was important that it was not too garish.

Top end, there is The Children’s Cottage Company, which has many gorgeous houses. I decided to go mid-market and got ours from a Herefordshire-based company called Playhouse Company. They have a great website (www.playchildren.co.uk) with photos of hundreds of playhouses divided into useful categories: castles, fairyland, awkward spaces etc.

Each project is tailored to the individual’s requirements but it is good to have a starting point so you can say ‘I like that but not that’. I wanted a muted colour (the blue pictured is gossamer blue, the windows and doors are opal white) and was adamant I wanted a ‘slate’ rather than cedar roof. The ‘slates’ are fake and over fully watertight asphalt but give the house a nice urban feel.

You don’t need planning permission for a structure of less than 10 cubic metre but the house does need to go on a flat, non-porous surface – concrete, paving, decking. Get the cheapest concrete slabs from a garden centre. No one is going to see them. Make sure that you leave approximately 6 inches of breathing space round the whole house. It is when they are pushed up against damp walls or creepers that you tend to get damp issues.

The house arrived flat packed and was in situ in a couple of hours (not put up by me!). The outside and the window frames were painted in Sadolin Classic which is a translucent timber protection suitable for exteriors. The inside was lined with plywood ready to paint or paper.

On Serena’s advice, I went for a large scale patterned wallpaper to make the tiny space seem bigger (Birdcage Walk by Nina Campbell NCW3770 at Osborne & Little £36 per roll). We painted the house’s structural slats white and used them to break up the wallpaper. We have used blue Dazzle Dazzle spot from Liberty (£30 p/roll) and a natural gingham and pink crayon stripe (both £26 from Designers Guild). The same patchwork effect could easily be achieved by combining leftover rolls or sample cuts. We have deliberately used wallpapers that are not overtly ‘child-like’ with this in mind.

For the floor we had some lengths of oak flooring left over from our kitchen floor that fitted perfectly and my mother ran us up some curtains in blue linen (from Nina Campbell). There was extensive debate in the garden centre with the children as to appropriate window box flowers. In the event, the ones we have got, though pretty, are not ideal. Everything is so scaled down, you cannot open the window without pushing them over – we need something like trailing petunias.

Finishing touches appeared with the beautiful but sturdy Dragon’s rush matting chairs (£141 each) and table (£385). The Linen Works’ oil cloth is on the table: available in several colours (£21.50 p/m). These gorgeous but practical covers are perfect for all messy activities. The family of rabbits are from Pocomundo (£18.50 to £30) and the mini deck chair is from Habitat (£15, also available in pink and navy.)

Wendy house tips

• Top end garden cottages come weatherproofed. Jonathan Satchell of Hut recommends a coat of clear Cuprinol once every three years for damp proofing.
• Try to keep a decent gap between your garden room and any walls otherwise you’ll get a build up of leaves.
• Your electrician should be able to wire up your house by dragging a cable either under or overground from the mains.
• Look to the future; soundproofing your hut (around £1000) might keep the neighbours happy when aspiring rockers turn up the synthesiser.
• Read the small print: self-assembly homes can take up a week to put up.
• We’ve used offcuts for our wooden floor; you could also try laminates (B&Q), carpet tiles or rugs (Habitat and Ikea have some fun designs or try Childhood Interiors).
• “An oil filled radiator of between 1.5 to 2 KW with a frost-free setting for night will keep an even temperature and help avoid condensation,” advises Jonathan Satchell.
• When it comes to decorating, scale up: larger prints and patterns make a room bigger. For retro chic try Marimmeko’s 50s’ classics. For historic prints try Hamilton Weston.
• Experiment: boys might like a Just William look – old maps, vintage tennis rackets, caps on hooks (scour Ebay or markets) with a dash of pioneer’s log cabin – thermoses, plaid blankets, storm lanterns and of course – a torch.
• Or for beach hut chic: gingham curtains, deck chairs, storm lanterns, shrimp nets, jars of shells.

Childhood Interiors
Tel 0870 609 2691
www.childhoodinteriors.co.uk

Dragons of Walton Street
Tel 020 7589 3795
www.dragonsofwaltonstreet.com

Habitat
Tel 08444 99 1111
www.habitat.net

Hamilton Weston
www.hamiltonweston.com

Hut
Tel 01202574584
www.hutdesign.co.uk

Linen Works
Tel 020 8961 4900
www.thelinenworks.com

Marimekko
St Christopher's Place
Tel 0207 486 6454

Osborne & Little
Tel 020 7352 1456
www.osborneandlittle.com

Playhouse Company
Tel 01568 709103
www.playchildren.co.uk

Pocomundo
Tel 01825 791555
www.pocomundo.co.uk

Sadolin
www.sadolin.co.uk

The Children’s Cottage Company
Tel 01363 772061
www.play-houses.com