Play Kitchen

Last summer I made the second coming of our cardboard play kitchen that was left behind in St. Croix when we moved. I really liked the cardboard kitchen, but I wanted something sturdier that would last for the next few years. Wooden kitchens in the store are ridiculously expensive and I have been continually inspired by all of the great DIY kitchens like this one over at Kristen Can (and these, oh and this one)! I've been sort of on a hunt for the right piece of furniture (preferable discarded or really cheap second hand) to recon, but haven't been able to find anything. So, yesterday we went out for our first round of yard sale hopping for the season and happened upon a guy selling some old furniture. So I bought this nightstand for $5.


The big girls helped me prime and paint all of the pieces. The nightstand had a drawer that I removed and used the front panel from a different drawer to make the oven door. I had some hinges left over from the cedar chest project back in the fall. The kitchen fixture was part of the cardboard kitchen. It's made from wooden blocks from the kids' block bin, spray painted silver.


I painted the wooden knobs for the stove and Mod Podged the temperature dial onto the back splash. The sink is a plastic bowl that we already had. The last little touch that I really like is the ceramic tiles along the back splash and the shelves. I think it turned out pretty nice.

(gotta love the crazy hair and the galaxy PJ's)

So with a weekend's worth of worth, the little girls have a sturdy wooden kitchen that should last them until they get sick of playing with it. It was a really cheap project in the end. Here are the materials and price breakdown:

nightstand: $5
shelf: $5
wooden knobs: $1.97 (for a package of two. I used two packages)
sandpaper: $2.97
ceramic tiles: $.99 for 8 at Goodwill
blue/green baskets; $1 for 2 at the Dollar Store (my favorite place!)
blocks: FREE
bowl: FREE
paint: FREE
TOTAL: about $19

Oh and I made these cute little salt and pepper shakers from two wooden blocks. I painted them blue with black trim, used my favorite letter stamps for the "S" and the "P" and hot glued a large button to the top of each one. They are my favorite part of the whole project!