First Place, West Region
Jerry Kurz
Carmel, CA

Jerry Kurz wanted to, as he said, do a little
something "off-kilter" for once. Accustomed
to making fairly straightforward garden houses, he sought a new challenge.

Jerry designed this playhouse after one he saw while driving. Using redwood and cedar, Jerry finished building this unusual playhouse in just a week's time. The unique style of the playhouse made for some real challenges along the way.

"I tried to build this playhouse to look weathered and crooked with lots of curved pieces to give the building sort of an animated look. It is actually quite difficult to purposely build a crooked, off-square building."

This play-place with crooked sides isn't staying at Jerry's house. He's trying to sell it at a local feed store.

"This whimsical playhouse was a lot of fun to build. There was quite a bit of tedious work involved, but in the end, it was worth it. I can't wait to build one for my daughter when she gets older."