Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Bookshelf to Play Kitchen

K. is really into pretend play right now.  I've been searching for inexpensive play kitchens on craigslist, but wasn't able to find one I loved.  In my search to buy a new kitchen I came across this kitchen at ana-white.com/! I immediately fell in love and decided I (err...my husband) was going to build one for K.

We didn't really have a set plan for this.  We started by hunting at Goodwill and found this bookshelf for $15:


Our Goodwill gives a coupon for 20% off when you make a donation. With the coupon we spent $12.

We first cut the top off the bookshelf (and yes, I said WE--we had a babysitter come watch the kiddos so hubby and I could build it together.  We had a blast and I think the kids did, too). 

Next, we added some plywood to the back.  We knew we wanted the kitchen behind our couch in the family room so we based our measurements off of that. 

We shifted some of the dividers from the top and bottom shelves to make three separate parts for the fridge, oven, and sink area.  We also add shelves under the sink and in the fridge. We were able to reuse every piece of the bookshelf.  We had to add some scrap wood for the top of the fridge. 

My husband pre-drilled all the holes for the handles and hinges.  He also added a small scrap of baseboard for the oven knobs and cut the hole for the sink.  Then we primed with some leftover primer we had.


I should add about our trip to Lowe's.  We bought 6 hinges and three handles.  We also bought 6 small knobs (4 for the oven and two for the sink).  Hubs rigged the knobs for the sink and oven so that they will turn (don't ask me how...sorry!).

At Michael's we bought a wooden "L" for the faucet and a dowel for the curtain rod.   We bought all this for about $20.

For the oven burners we traced tupperware/yogurt lids and painted with acrylic paint.  We used a metal bowl we already had (we did not glue it in, but it fits pretty snug).  We used some plexi glass my husband had for the oven "window."  We are still looking for a a wire cooling tray thingee (my terms are very technical...do not question them!) for the oven, but have yet to find one the right size.



Then the REAL fun began.  I got to decorate, sew, and buy toys!!!

For the fridge we hot glued (with a tiny amount) pictures of the kids to the fridge.  We thought this would be a temporary decoration and could change them out as needed (They ended up being *very* temporary.  They didn't make it through the first play date). 

We had some stick on hooks at the house we used to hang pot holders and utensils. 



I found these frames at Ikea for 2.99 a set.  I printed pictures online (Please don't report me if I broke copyright laws!!!) The fabric I used for the curtains I found at Joanns in the remnant section! I can't remember exactly how much I used, but I know it was less than a yard.  We also cut a kitchen sponge in half for her to wash dishes.


Now, on to the best part, the TOYS!

She had some plastic fruit/vegetables and a basket from her Mamaw from Christmas.  So we added some extras from Michael's and Ikea.

From Ikea we bought: vegetables, fruit,  a breakfast set, cooking utensils.  We also bought their plastic kids bowls, plates, and cups.  We found them in the clearance section for 50% off.  I still want (hint hint grandma's and mamaw's reading this!): dessert set, cooking set, and flatware set.

Did you know that Michael's accepts competitor coupons? Did you also know that Michael's sells Melissa and Doug toys???  We used a Joann's coupon to buy this.  Melissa and Doug toys are awesome. If our Michael's carried more options for her kitchen I think I'd be broke.

In their $1 section I bought oven mitts and towels.  Also some additional cookware and a small wooden pizza set ($3).

I also bought the small cutting board at the dollar store as well as some other additional small toys.

Finally, I sewed some chef hats and aprons.

There are MANY free tutorials for the apron and hat.  I know I referenced this one, although I made my own changes to it. 
K. LOVED it.  It's definitely a favorite right now.  It took us about a week working on it after hubs got home from work.  I think we spent around $70 and about $40 of that was on toys :)  It can definitely be done for cheaper!

-Kelly M.  

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