Although this particular Hideout House wasn’t present during my latest rounds at Tiger’s Horsforth, Tong and Otley show sites, I’ve physically inspected and crawled inside enough of Tiger’s children’s buildings to know exactly how their construction behaves. The Hideout House shares the same materials, framing system and assembly method as the Funhouse, Playden and Crazy Cottage — all of which I’ve spent time inside. This review is based on Tiger’s official technical specification combined with WhatShed’s hands-on benchmarks gathered from dozens of in-person tests. If you buy through our links, it helps support those show-site visits — but never influences our verdict.

First Impressions: A Small Playhouse Built With Surprising Seriousness

The Hideout House is one of the smallest playhouses Tiger makes. On paper, a 3×5 ft children’s building sounds like it might be little more than a decorative prop. But Tiger’s approach to construction changes that expectation quickly. The moment you look at the specification — the 12 mm tongue-and-groove cladding, the matching 12 mm roof and floor, the sturdy 28×44 mm framing — you realise this is not a flimsy, lightweight product. It’s a scaled-down version of a proper shed, engineered with the same structure and materials used across Tiger’s main garden building ranges.

That’s something I’ve come to recognise instantly when walking through their show sites: Tiger don’t dilute the build quality for their smaller models. The Hideout House may be compact, but its presence feels reassuringly solid. It sits in that sweet spot where it’s undeniably a child’s playhouse, yet looks and behaves like a real timber building.

The proportions work in its favour. There’s a simple apex roof, a single Georgian window, a neat little door, and a footprint small enough to squeeze into almost any garden. It’s a playhouse that disappears into the garden rather than dominating it — which, for many families, is precisely what they want.

Construction Quality: Why the Hideout House Feels So Much Better Than Its Size Suggests

Tiger’s datasheet reads like a specification for a small shed rather than a playhouse. Every surface a child touches — walls, floor, roof — is made from proper tongue-and-groove boards rather than sheet material. That alone places this playhouse firmly above most of its competitors.

Because the structure is so compact, the engineering actually performs better than it does on some of Tiger’s larger models. Short wall spans mean less deflection; short floor spans mean more stability under load. Based on the behaviour of identical construction elsewhere in the Tigercub range, I would expect the Hideout House to register around 6–9 mm of wall flex under a 75 kg lean — impressively rigid for a children’s building of this size.

The floor is even more confidence-inspiring. On bigger playhouses you sometimes feel the subtle movement of a person stepping in the middle of a panel, but the Hideout House’s short spans are naturally resistant to sag. I would expect 1–2 mm of movement under a 75 kg centre load — effectively negligible for day-to-day use. Parents can step inside without worrying about damaging anything, and children get a floor that feels completely stable beneath their feet.

The roof follows Tiger’s typical formula: tongue-and-groove boards fixed to purlins and topped with their familiar black mineral felt. I’ve run my hands along enough of those boards at show sites to know they’re well machined, cleanly joined and reliably weather-resistant when installed correctly. Even in a smaller building like this, the apex design helps the roof shed water quickly, reducing the long-term stress on the felt.

Overall, the Hideout House’s construction is the kind that quietly signals “this will last” without needing to shout about it.

Inside the Playhouse: A Cosy, Den-Like Space That Feels Safe and Self-Contained

Step through the door and the interior immediately feels warm, private and inviting — the kind of space children instinctively claim as their own. The internal dimensions may be modest, but the building doesn’t feel cramped. There’s enough height — around 130 cm at the eaves and over 160 cm at the ridge — for younger children to move freely and for adults to lean in comfortably during tidy-up duty.

Light enters through a single fixed Georgian window, supplemented by the glazed door panel. Based on our measurements from similar layouts, you can expect the interior to sit at around 22–26% of outdoor light levels on a bright day. This creates a gentle, slightly muted atmosphere that younger children often respond to very positively. It’s not meant to be a sunroom — it’s a hideout.

The acoustics reinforce this feeling. Tongue-and-groove lining naturally softens outside noise. In our experience, buildings of this type usually achieve around 6.5 dB of sound reduction. In practical terms, the Hideout House becomes a buffer from wind, nearby conversations and general garden noise. It offers a small but meaningful sense of privacy — one of the main reasons playhouses remain timelessly appealing.

Safety: Thoughtfully Designed for Young Children

For a playhouse aimed at younger children, the safety elements matter just as much as the structural ones. The Hideout House benefits from the same attention Tiger gives to its larger children’s models. The glazing is 2 mm styrene, chosen specifically for its shatter-resistant properties. The door uses a magnetic safety catch, which I’ve tested in person on other Tigercub buildings — it closes securely but opens easily without fingers getting anywhere near hazardous hardware.

The hinges are robust and accompanied by protective covers, a detail I always appreciate because it’s the kind of thing cheaper playhouses skip entirely. Even the framing itself is rounded, removing the harsh edges that can catch small hands and shoulders.

There is no ladder, mezzanine or elevated platform in this model — and for many families, especially those with toddlers, that’s a selling point. There’s nowhere to fall from, nothing to climb onto, and very little inside the playhouse that poses risk. It’s as close to a “safe zone” as a timber playhouse gets.

Weather Performance & Longevity: Built for Years of Use, Not Months

Because the Hideout House is constructed like a miniature shed, it behaves like one outdoors. The shiplap cladding naturally sheds rainwater; the felted roof stands up to normal seasonal weather; and the overall compact form reduces the strain from wind movement.

Tiger are upfront about maintenance, and so am I: the factory dip treatment is a good starting point, but you must follow it up with a proper preservative once the building is assembled. Recoating it every year or two is what separates a playhouse that lasts a decade from one that only lasts a few seasons. With sensible maintenance and a raised, level base, there’s every reason to expect the Hideout House to reach 10–12 years of life — sometimes more.

That longevity is one of the reasons Tiger’s children’s range consistently performs so well in our tests. These aren’t toy-shop playhouses; they’re garden buildings scaled for children.

Assembly: Quick, Predictable, and Beginner-Friendly

If you’ve ever assembled a flat-pack shed, the Hideout House will feel instantly familiar — only easier. The panels arrive square, the fixings are substantial, and the instructions are clear. In my experience with similar Tigercub builds, two adults can comfortably assemble the Hideout House in around two to three hours, including fitting the felt. There are no awkward roof angles, no loft levels to brace, and no complex trimming. It’s one of the most straightforward models in Tiger’s entire catalogue.

For parents who aren’t confident DIYers, Tiger’s installation service remains a worthwhile add-on, but for most people the Hideout House is well within reach as a weekend project.

Who Should Buy the Hideout House — And Who Shouldn’t

The Hideout House is ideal for families with smaller gardens, younger children, or anyone who wants a playhouse that feels sturdy without demanding much space. It’s the kind of structure that fits neatly into a corner, behaves impeccably in bad weather, and gives children a safe, private space for imaginative play.

It’s less suited to older children who may outgrow the internal height, or to families who want a multi-level or highly glazed playhouse with lots of interior light. Tiger make those models — the Funhouse, Crazy Cottage and Magic Mansion — and they each excel for different reasons. But for an entry-level, compact wooden playhouse with shed-grade build quality, the Hideout House earns its place.

WhatShed Score (Estimated): 7.7 / 10

Based on all available data and our extensive hands-on testing of structurally identical models, the Hideout House achieves an estimated 7.7 out of 10, with especially strong marks for safety, build quality, and structural strengthrelative to its size.

Final Verdict

The Tigercub Hideout House is a lovely little building. It is simple, compact and unpretentious, yet built with the same seriousness and material quality as Tiger’s larger playhouses. For parents who want something that feels solid, safe and able to withstand real British weather — without taking over the garden — it is one of the best small wooden playhouses available today.

It won’t deliver the excitement of multi-floor models, and it isn’t meant to. What it offers instead is reliability, durability, and a gentle, den-like space that younger children instinctively respond to. In a world full of throwaway plastic toys, the Hideout House is a reminder of how satisfying a well-built wooden structure can be.

If your garden needs something compact — and your children need somewhere all their own — this little playhouse is absolutely worth considering.