Top of the Bars, Top of the Fun: What to Put in a Cubby House

Key takeaways

• The best cubby houses are the ones that grow with your kids, adapting from imaginative play to more active physical challenges over time

• Small additions like chalkboards, mud kitchens, climbing elements, and dress-up spaces often make the biggest difference to how much kids actually use the space

• Using the area underneath and around the cubby helps turn the whole backyard into a connected play environment rather than a single structure

• Slides, swings, monkey bars, and climbing features work best when chosen with your child’s age, confidence, and available backyard space in mind

• Safe surfacing, fall zones, and age-appropriate equipment are essential for creating a backyard setup that feels both fun and safe for everyday play

 

A cubby house is never just a cubby house.

To kids, it’s a café, pirate ship, secret hideout, pet shop, campsite, or superhero headquarters, sometimes all in the same afternoon. And while the structure itself matters, what really brings a cubby to life is everything happening inside and around it.

That’s the fun part.

The best cubby setups don’t need to be huge or overcomplicated, either. A few thoughtful additions can completely change how kids use the space and keep them coming back to it day after day.

If you’re looking for ideas for what to put in a cubby house, here are some of the things that make the biggest difference.

Start with what sparks imagination

A cubby doesn’t need much to feel exciting.

A chalkboard panel can become a café menu one day and a treasure map the next. Toy telescopes and steering wheels quickly turn the cubby into a pirate ship, lookout tower, or racing car, while flower boxes along the rails give kids something of their own to water and look after.

Usually, it’s the smaller touches that end up getting the most use because they leave room for kids to make the space their own.

A few favourites that work especially well in elevated cubby setups include:

• Fairy lights tucked into cosy corners

• Outdoor cushions and blankets inside the cubby

• Market stalls and toy kitchens underneath

• Rope for a more adventurous climb up

A lot of parents start searching for what to put in a cubby house once the structure is already built, but the setups that stay popular long term usually feel connected to the rest of the backyard rather than sitting separately from it.

Make it feel like their own space

One thing many parents notice once they add a cubby is that kids love having a space that feels separate from the rest of the house.

It becomes their little retreat up above the backyard action.

A small shelf for books or treasures, a crate filled with dress-ups, or a couple of toy bins tucked neatly into the cubby or below can go a long way. It doesn’t need to look perfectly styled either. The slightly messy, lived-in look usually means it’s being properly used.

Storage underneath the platform can help too, especially for things like sandpit toys, balls, or outdoor games that get dragged in and out constantly.

And realistically, a bit of organisation also helps stop the backyard turning into one giant trail of toy chaos.

Rotate things occasionally, too. Bringing back a prop that’s been sitting in the garage for a month somehow makes it feel brand new again.

The ground level is where it all comes together

The best cubby setups don’t just stay inside the cubby itself.

When the cubby is elevated and connected to climbing and play elements around it, kids naturally move through the whole space. They climb up into the cubby, swing underneath it, race across the monkey bars, then disappear back inside again. It keeps the backyard feeling active instead of everything happening in one small spot.

That open space underneath the cubby platform becomes incredibly useful, too.

A sandpit tucked below is a natural fit, especially for younger kids who are happy digging and building for ages, while older siblings climb above them. A mud kitchen alongside the frame creates a completely different kind of play: messy, creative, and absorbing in a way that keeps kids outside for serious stretches of time.

You can also build out the space around the cubby with things like:

• Stepping stones

• Balance beams

• Water play stations

• Garden patches

• Soft fall areas with bark, rubber softfall, or artificial turf

When the climbing, swinging, imaginative play, and ground-level activities all connect together, the backyard starts to feel less like separate pieces of equipment and more like one big play zone that kids naturally move through.

Some days, the cubby becomes the main event. Other days, it’s just the basecamp for everything else happening around it.

Build in challenges as they grow

The most-loved cubbies usually aren’t the perfectly styled ones.

They’re the ones covered in chalk drawings, muddy footprints, made-up games, and years of backyard memories.

The setups that last are usually the ones that give kids more than one way to play. Somewhere to climb, somewhere to hide out, somewhere to swing, balance, imagine, and move.

Start with the basics, add pieces over time, and follow the way your kids naturally like to play. That’s often what creates the backyard spaces they keep coming back to.

If you’re still deciding what to put in a cubby house as your kids get older, active play elements are usually what keep the space feeling exciting long term.

Slides and swings: a few things worth checking

Most families end up adding a slide, and it’s easy to see why. A good slide gets used constantly, especially when it’s paired with climbing elements that keep the whole ‘up, down, repeat’ cycle going.

But choosing the right setup depends on a few practical things, too.

The age of your kids matters, particularly when it comes to slide height and steepness. Backyard size is another big one. Swings need more room than many people expect once you factor in movement space and fall zones.

It’s also worth thinking about how the setup will work a few years from now, not just today.

A few things to consider before adding slides or swings:

• Available backyard space

• Age and confidence level of your kids

• Soft fall surfacing underneath

• Compatibility with your existing setup

• Whether the equipment can grow with your family

A flexible setup often gives families better long-term value because it can evolve alongside the way kids play.

Safety: the part worth knowing

The goal of outdoor play isn’t to remove all risk. Kids actually benefit from climbing, balancing, testing themselves, and building physical confidence.

But creating a safe environment matters too.

That means thinking about proper fall zones, secure installation, age-appropriate equipment, and soft surfacing underneath climbing areas or swings. It’s also much easier to think about those things during the planning stage rather than trying to retrofit them later.

Australian Standards like AS 8124 and AS 4685 are helpful benchmarks when choosing quality outdoor play equipment for your backyard.

Plan for who they’ll be next

The setups that last are usually the ones with room to grow.

A four-year-old and a nine-year-old want completely different things from the same backyard space. The best cubby setups evolve with them over time instead of staying exactly the same year after year.

That might mean starting with imaginative play and sensory activities, then gradually adding monkey bars, climbing nets, swings, or ninja-style obstacles as confidence grows.

The backyard spaces that get used for years are rarely the ones that try to do everything immediately. They’re the ones that adapt gradually alongside the kids using them.

The best cubbies change over time

The most-loved cubbies usually aren’t the perfectly styled ones.

They’re the ones covered in chalk drawings, muddy footprints, made-up games, and years of backyard memories.

Start with the basics, add pieces over time, and follow the way your kids naturally like to play. That’s often what creates the backyard spaces they keep coming back to.

If you’re planning a cubby setup and want help creating something that fits your backyard now and can grow with your kids over time, get in touch with the Funky Monkey Bars team to explore the options.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What should every cubby house have?

1. Every cubby house should include opportunities for imaginative play, movement, and creativity. Simple additions like chalkboards, dress-ups, climbing features, and sensory play areas tend to get used the most because they give kids different ways to play as they grow.

Q. What can I put under a cubby house?

1. The space underneath a cubby works well for things like sandpits, mud kitchens, toy storage, or shaded play zones. It’s often one of the most-used parts of the setup, especially for younger kids who enjoy ground-level and sensory play.

Q. How do I make a cubby house more fun?

1. Interactive accessories usually make the biggest difference. Things like steering wheels, telescopes, slides, swings, climbing nets, and chalkboards help keep the space feeling fresh and encourage different types of play from week to week.

Q. Are monkey bars safe with cubby houses?

1. Yes, when installed correctly with appropriate fall zones and soft surfacing underneath. Choosing age-appropriate equipment and checking Australian safety standards also helps create a safer setup for active backyard play.

Q. What age are cubby houses best for?

1. Cubby houses can suit children from toddler age right through to primary school years. The setups that tend to last longest are the ones that can evolve with add-ons like climbing features, swings, and monkey bars as kids grow in confidence.