Cozy Cubby and other hideouts for children's playrooms

Cozy Cubby by Kodo Kids (credit: Kodo Kids)

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Imaginative kids can turn any empty space into a hideout, pushing chairs together to create caves with blanket roofs or simply crawling inside empty boxes and under upended laundry baskets. 

We've looked before at life-sized cardboard toys, from cardboard playspaces themed like igloos and teepees to cardboard playhouses (including the unique Villa Julia). Sometimes, however, children might prefer a sturdier, more permanent hideout in which to huddle and hide.

Here are three options for solid cubbies and caves that Chicago kids can transform into secret hideouts.

Cozy Cubby by Kodo Kids

Designed by the same geniuses behind the Chalk Spinner 3-D chalkboard, the Cozy Cubby is meant to provide children with a private space which they can personalize.

Useful for special needs kids when they need a place to which they can retreat to block outside stimuli from overwhelming their senses, the Cozy Cubby is also fun for any kid who likes to pop in and out of a small space.

Because the Cozy Cubby is covered with paperboard, children can decorate it in an infinite variety of ways with paints, crayons, markers, chalk, or even glue and glitter or collage materials. Parents might help kids fashion a paper cone to fasten to the top as a palace turret or attach a ring of posterboard crenellation around the top to turn the Cozy Cubby into a castle tower. Or perhaps children would rather turn this playspace into a rocketship or a silo.

The surface is non-washable, but Kodo Kids suggests that parents can paint it over and over to provide kids with new drawing surfaces. Another option would be to wrap the Cozy Cubby in butcher paper, have kids decorate that, and then remove the used butcher paper and tape up a new layer once children grow tired of a design.

The Cozy Cubby stands 30" tall with a 25" diameter and retails at the Kodo Kids Web site for $199. In the future, Kodo Kids plans to offer a version with a laminate finish.

Quiet Time Privacy Cube (credit: Lakeshore Learning)

Quiet Time Privacy Cube from Lakeshore Learning

For a very basic hideout, children might enjoy the Quiet Time Privacy Cube. Measuring close to 30" on each side, this simple wooden cube is large enough for a child to curl up inside comfortably on the included soft vinyl seating pad.

The Quiet Time Privacy Cube is designed for a classroom setting where a child desires privacy for reading or alone time but a teacher still needs to be able to keep an eye on him or her. It can make a fun addition to any home playroom, too, because kids can pretend it is everything from a cave to a submarine.

Creative children could personalize the cube by painting its one full wall. Parents might even attach a corkboard, whiteboard, or chalkboard panel to this side of the cube. Kids could also drape playsilks or blankets over one or two of the open sides to create a more private and colorful space.

Chicago parents can find the Quiet Time Privacy Cube at local Lakeshore Learning stores where it retails for $249.

Nido Hideout by Magis Me Too Collection (credit: Magis)

Nido Hideout by Magis Me Too

For Chicago parents willing to splurge, there is the Nido Hideout, which is part of the Magis Me Too collection. Made of molded polyethylene, this quirky buglike cave can be used for both indoor and outdoor imaginative play.

Details like the eyestalks add personality and character to this playhouse. The inside floor features a molded green grass pattern, while the ceiling is covered with "strange writing."

The footprint of this whimsical hideout measures 41" by 59" and it stands 32.5" high. Find it at online at Unicahome where it retails for $1,436.