Want to avoid raising an iPad kid? Get them a place to pretend. But options like backyard playhouses are often clunky, mass-produced plastic structures in garish red and yellow, an eyesore against a thoughtfully designed home. Jihyun Kang Butler saw the problem and set out to change it.
With two young boys of her own, Butler ha just completed a backyard landscaping project and wanted to offer her kids their own space without sacrificing looks. “So, I thought, You know what? I’m just going to get a carpenter and build one myself,” she recalls. “It’ll match my house’s colors, style, and overall aesthetic so it enhances our backyard rather than disrupts it.”
Soon after she completed it, neighbors and friends started asking about the DIY playhouse, leading Butler to turn her project into an official business called Mini Playhomes. “We partnered with Flower Hill Promenade in Del Mar and built a few playhouses there. It became a little marketing house, and everything just grew organically from there,” she says.
Since then, Mini Playhomes has taken off without spending a dime on advertising. Relying solely on word-of-mouth and Instagram, the company has completed over 70 projects across San Diego. Their clientele includes both families and corporations like Lennar Homes, a nationwide home builder in need of mini model homes.
Despite its rapid growth, Mini Playhomes remains a small but mighty team. “I have an assistant designer, a carpenter for all the millwork, and a painter,” Butler explains. “We also collaborate with various businesses and companies.” She recently partnered with Arizona-based Urbanwalls, which specializes in floral decals, and LA–based company Jamesdar for custom furniture pieces.
Mini Playhomes’ work has been featured on Decor for Kids, which boasts a million followers, and in Reveal, the magazine arm of HGTV’s Property Brothers.
Butler takes a hands-on approach to each project, translating parents’ and children’s visions into unique designs. “I work with my carpenter to finalize layouts and cuts, and I love seeing kids get involved. They’re just as invested as their parents,” she says.
If the backyard allows, Butler’s team typically begins with a four-by-eight-foot base, including one door and two windows. Everything—paint, millwork, carpentry, delivery, and installation—happens off-site. “We do the final installation in just one day,” Butler says.
Customization is where things get exciting. Families start with a base model, but many ask for extras: a second story, a swing, a slide, a Dutch door, maybe even a rock-climbing wall. “I’ve designed everything from Parisian cafés to gas stations and bakeries,” Butler says. “One of my favorites was a Hot Wheels–themed café for a little boy in La Jolla—it had a giant logo, race tracks, a kitchenette, and, of course, tons of cars.”
The structures also evolve alongside their owners. As kids grow, Butler and her team transform old playhouses into art studios, reading nooks, or creative spaces. “If anything needs to be repaired or modified, we’re right here, ready to help,” Butler adds. “It’s all about keeping that connection alive.”
