Play Kitchen DIY

This is really one of those projects where I kick myself in the behind for not taking a before picture. So just imagine one of those old beat up cabinets you see at a thrift store. You know, with missing shelves, missing hinges and drawers that don't work that are an ugly shade of brown from the late 70s/early 80s? And then you bring it home in the backseat of your little midsized car and your significant other gives you one of those looks that says..."Oh man, now what hairbrained idea does the nut job have." Okay then. That's what I started with.

My kids LOVE creative play and I love that they love it. They love tea parties so I decided to build up that love of tea parties and add a play kitchen. Because, you know, when you have a house that's 900 square feet, it's always good to add another piece of furniture.  :)

The only cost we had in this was the initial price of the cabinet ($20) and a piano hinge to make the oven and the faucet (which I think was about $5 at Menards). The back piece was added from scrap lumber found in the barn and shed. The knobs came off another old piece of furniture laying around and the sink is an old dog dish! The paint was white paint that I already had.

Shelves were added to make a fridge.

And the two lower drawers were kept for storage.

The top drawer was removed and the front was saved. Added a piece of plexiglass and a piano hinge to make an oven.

There's still some work. I still need to find knobs for the stovetop, hang the rack in the oven and it really needs some color. But I wanted the kids to have a say in it so it's a work in progress.

We found some of the kitchen play items from a thrift store and some the kids got for Christmas. I've also been looking at after-christmas sales to pick up some more pieces.

It may take up quite a bit of space in my little kitchen but it's definately worth it. They spend so much time playing house, making meals, hot chocolate and cookies. Making up little stories and play acting it's worth the lose of space.

Lisa