Style and Design
A brilliant platform playhouse which is compact enough for smaller gardens but large enough to provide a good amount of outdoor play space, Rowlinson's Cosy Cottage is designed with plenty features to keep youngsters occupied for hours outdoors. There's a stable style door to the front opening onto a balcony with a wooden safety balustrade, all accessed by steps to the side. The playhouse has an attractive peaked roof and a side window with shutters and a window box. It's all constructed in quality materials and is sure to delight younger family members.
Materials/Construction
The Cosy Cottage is constructed in 12mm tongue and groove cladding with a 19mm anti slip wooden floor. All the wood is pressure treated to increase resistance to attack by rot and insects while the roof is finished in mineral felt for added weatherproofing. The front window is glazed in styrene for safety while the door is secured by child friendly magnetic catches.
Dimensions
The playhouse measures 6'1'' x 6' (1.84 x 1.83m) including the ladder and any parts which extend beyond the actual footprint. The platform height is 2' (59cm) and the overall height of the structure 6'11'' (2.12m). The door opening extends to 3'4'' x 1'6'' (103 x 45cm).
Finish/Treatment
The playhouse receives a pressure treatment prior to delivery to protect the timbers against rot. It is however recommended that a further finish be added to further extend the life of the building and to maintain its appearance.
Delivery/Assembly
The playhouse is delivered with all necessary instructions and fixings for DIY home assembly.
Availability
See the details of sellers and prices given above.
Our Verdict
Rowlinson's garden products often carry a slight premium when it comes to pricing - and in our experience this is reflected in the quality you get. The Cosy Cottage is no exception. It's constructed in durable 12mm tongue and groove timber cladding with a 19mm wooden floor and mounted on a robust timber frame - all pressure treated for good measure. There's a mineral felt finish to the roof too which will increase the building's weather resistance.
There are several attractive features. The window box, as well as carrying visual appeal can be used for small plants to introduce youngsters to the responsibilities of gardening (we'd suggest placing the plants in pots to prevent damage to the wood of the box due to sustained moisture contact). There are some attractive shutters on the side window which can be closed to further reduce the risk of water ingress while the split level, stable type front door is a nice touch. On a hot day the shuttered window and top door section can both be opened to allow for good ventilation. Overall, we find the appearance of the Cosy Cottage attractive combining, as it does, an appealing design with an overall impression of strength and durability.
Safety is well addressed with finger gaps around the shutters, overlapping door sections, child friendly magnetic catches, perspex glazing, the non slip floor, the ballustraded balcony and the easy to climb side steps. The overall machined quality of the timber gives a smooth finish without splinters too - although you should always check for these when your playhouse arrives. With wood being a natural material, the odd rough edge may escape even the most stringent of quality controls so have some sandpaper handy during the assembly process.
Assembly should be reasonably straightforward for anyone with a few basic DIY skills. The wood is pressure treated - a real bonus in a wooden playhouse - meaning it's not strictly necessary to apply any further finish or treatment at the time of assembly. However, even pressure treated wood will take on a worn and weathered appearance quite quickly when exposed to the elements so we'd suggest applying either a decorative stain or a clear finish at the time of assembly to keep your playhouse looking like new. It will be easier to apply your finish before erecting the building. That way you can easily reach all the parts of the playhouse and you'll be able to turn the tongue and groove panels upside down to make sure the finish is applied right into the joins.
You won't find many pressure treated wooden playhouses around, particularly in a platform/tower style design like the Cosy Cottage. The Charlie Tower is one, but it has to be said that it's appreciably smaller than the Cosy Cottage. We think good alternatives without the pressure treatment are the Stork and the Bunny Max Tower - or maybe the Tulip or Honeysuckle towers (though we don't think you get the same quality of build with these last two). You'd need to thoroughly apply a final decorative/preservative finish with any of these models but that might not involve much extra work if you intend to decorate your Cosy Cottage anyway. At the time of review the Cosy Cottage is something of a newcomer to the market and it's too soon for any real customer feedback. If you do buy one we'd love to receive your own review on our feedback form - just see the link below. We don't see any real faults or criticisms though - quite the opposite in fact. We think your money will get you a quality wooden building which will, properly looked after, will last many years. We can't find any reason not to award the Rowlinson Cosy Cottage the full five stars! 
