Building a Play Kitchen

For the year or so before her 9th birthday (August 2013), CS #1 had been asking for a play kitchen.  Being nearly (now just over) five feet tall, she is much too tall for anything on-line or in toy stores.  Being crafty, I turned to my ever loved Pinterest for ideas and found loads of pictures of cute DIY play kitchens made out of old entertainment centers, bed-side tables and the like.  PR and I agreed we were capable of doing this, and had most of the needed supplies at home, we continued to keep an eye out for a small dresser at Goodwill or garage sales.

We found a small three-drawer dresser, with a slightly taller, attached side cabinet at a local Goodwill for $35!  We brought it home and started to work on it.  PR was helpful enough to cut a square into the top to drop a sink into, and a smaller round hole for the sink spout.  Late at night, with a hand-saw.  If we were to do this again, we would rent or buy an electric hand saw and not do this at 9 o'clock at night.

I had a small square cake pan, I wanted to use for the sink.  I found crystal knobs (about $1 each) to use for the sink knobs, and a white plumbing pipe that I spray painted silver for the sink spout.  

CR #1 helped with the sanding and painting.  We had various colors left over from different projects around the house.  She chose a light gray with silver accents. 

CR #1 painting the "refrigerator"

I painted knobs on the bottom drawer to look like oven dials.  I had the other drawer knobs hanging around from other house-hold projects.  I bought the cork trivets from the dollar store and painted them to look like stove coils.  

front view of the kitchen.  The bottom silver drawer is the "oven".

I painted the drawer on the top of the side cabinet to look like a microwave.  The cabinet below became the refrigerator.  

With a trip to the dollar store, I found some fake fruit, baskets,wooden spoons, measuring cups, plastic plates and bowls, plastic "silver wear", a muffin tin,  and a peel and stick chalkboard. At Target, I found some plastic cook-wear.  We bought all of it and wrapped it up for her birthday.  I had also been keeping recyclable food containers (an egg carton, a berry basket, plastic cheese containers).  Which we placed in the kitchen.  I also knit her some bacon!  I found an old set of tupperware salt and pepper shakers in our basement that I filled with white and black beads, respectively.  

"Wax Fruit" from the Dollar Store

Salt and Pepper shakers

The drawers are great, because they provide storage for all of the plates and cups and things.  She has a fridge, an oven and a microwave, and plenty of counter space.  It is also tall enough for her great height! 

In-use today. Dirty dishes tend to pile up, don't they?

She loved the finished product and it has provided endless hours of fun for both crumbsnatchers, where it now resides in the playroom. 

The happy birthday girl with her finished kitchen.