Mini-mansion childs playhouse in Castle Hills a dream come true for this San Antonio 3-year-old – San Antonio Express-News

Lila Romo is only 3, but she already has her dream house. Well, a dream playhouse that for a childs play area is incredibly built almost like a real house.

It took about a month to construct the one-room, $8,000 backyard mini-mansion. It measures 10 feet by 10 feet, has a tile floor imported from Mexico, a chandelier, and plenty of plexiglass windows for safety.

But for the pandemic, Lila Romo would be the most popular kid in her Castle Hills neighborhood.

Lilas parents, Victor and Malisa, got the idea to build their daughter her very own child-size dream house while visiting relatives in Manchester, England. While there they brought Lila to the Great Northern Free Play Area downtown, a large amphitheater set aside for children that includes its own playhouse, complete with pretend kitchen and cafe and a story-time library.

Lila was enthralled.

She loved, loved, loved it, said Victor, an emergency room physician with Methodist Healthcare. When it was time to go, she and the other kids playing there had to be dragged away. It was like there were lines in the sand from their fingernails.

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Once back home, Victor scrapped his plans to build a storage shed in the backyard of his childhood home where he and Malisa now live. Instead, he sent pictures of the British playhouse to his friend Dave Peters, owner of the San Antonio custom home and remodeling company D. Michael Design.

In about 15 minutes, Dave sent me back all these plans for whats now Lilas Playhouse, he said.

What Lila loves about the house, her parents say, is the play kitchen where she bakes cakes, the kid-size table and the plastic flowers in the front window planters. On a recent visit, she happily showed off the play telephone she uses to call her aunt, the pegboard on one wall to hold her toys, and the small chandelier hanging from the ceiling (bought from Amazon). Theres even a handmade sign hanging above the door reading Lilas Playhouse.

But perhaps her favorite part of the house are the shutters, which are painted with erasable chalkboard paint so she can draw on them.

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The house is surprisingly well built. Peters framed the structure using two-by-four exterior walls and two-by-six ceiling joists set 16 inches on center. He also used solid wood for the siding and encapsulation paint for better weather protection.

Other than the fact that its not insulated or wired, I built like I build any other full-size house, he said.

The playhouse sits on a concrete slab that previously served as a parking spot for an RV and as a basketball court, now covered with artificial turf.

Her mothers favorite thing about the house? That its right in the backyard where she can see it.

Lilas very independent and can play by herself for a long time, she said. And I can watch her from anywhere in the house. Its better than having a pool.

Although playhouse visitors so far so far been limited to Lilas cousins, its obvious the structure has been a point of curiosity to the neighbors. We could see people looking in from the street while it was being built, Victor said.

It has also garnered interest online. When Peters posted a photo on his company Instagram page he quickly booked another job and has gotten several nibbles about others.

Richard A. Marini is a features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Richard, become a subscriber. rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini

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Mini-mansion childs playhouse in Castle Hills a dream come true for this San Antonio 3-year-old - San Antonio Express-News