TADA! A Chef's Kitchen!

Play Kitchen Extraordinaire!

For a grand total of about $60, I finally completed this play kitchen for my son. Here's a list of supplies in case you feel like giving it a try! It was a lot easier than I thought.

Things I had:
1. nightable
2. paint, paintbrushes
3. jigsaw, screwdrivers, drill, drill bits
4. shelf (found in the lane)
5. blocks

Things I bought:
1. knobs and handle for the oven $5
2. sticky backsplash $10
3. sink $2
4. wood for the back and oven door $15
5. cabinet hinge for oven door $5
6. food $3
7. different lengths of screws $6
8. primer $15

Some tips: (sorry if this seems obvious)
1. Don't skip the primer, sand and paint 2 coats of it, then paint 2 more coats with acrylic.
2. Pre-drill all your holes. (Make sure the drill is drilling IN the hole and not OUT.)
3. Make sure you have screws that match your screwdrivers.
4. Keep your budget in mind. It's super easy to go bananas and start adding things like an antique faucet, a chalkboard menu, curtains, etc... especially with the fake food, it's easy to blow $100 on fake groceries! Search your home high and low for what you already have, borrow from friends, beg people for free stuff and then stop.
5. HAVE FUN and remember "It's a long term project"- let the paint dry!

Kitchen Play-Act 2

Just finished the first coat of paint on the play kitchen yesterday. It's starting to look pretty fancy- dancy if you ask me! I used some leftover gray and beige paint from our storage and spruced it up with an orange front. I still need another coat of paint, knobs, doodads and the backsplash- ohh la la! On va cuisiner comme des vrais chefs! I sure hope my Babe digs this kitchen as much as I do- he might just use the oven as a garage for his cars, and if that's the case, it's all good.

I've been on the look out for kitchen accessories and scored today in China Town and at Value Village! Yes, I know, I know, I can hear a collective gasp from mothers out there thinking "What about the BPA?" Children toys generally do not contain Bisphenol A- so I think the plastic veggies are okay. We will probably end up replacing them as my friend Meggie felts some for us. (hint, hint.) As for the few spatulas I bought, as long as we don't microwave them or suck on them a lot, I think we'll be fine. So I'm super happy. We're almost there- stay tuned for the final reveal!

I got a huge bag of food for $3. Once I discarded the french fries, potato chips and donuts, I was left with lots of fruits and veggies and some cans. I did find something curious. The flash on the camera gives it that "mysterious" look doesn't it? Can you guess what it is?

The Play Kitchen

I'm not sure if this is the case with all moms, but when it's time to take care of myself I get itchy and impatient. I have this thing with using my hands and letting my creative juices come out. This needs to happen on a regular basis otherwise my head gets filled with ideas and I start to feel dizzy. So it's extremely important for me to carve out time for my hands to move.

I got this idea to build a play kitchen for my son out of an old bedside table I've had for ages. "How clever!" I thought. Plus it went well with my "don't let Ikea into the house" vibe I've been on, so after looking at all the other clever builders' play kitchens on the web, I was ready to tackle this project. Never mind that I know next to nothing about woodworking.


First I collected tools from various friends and neighbors and powered the batteries. Then I went to the hardware store at least 4 times to get screws, knobs, primer and other "kitchen components". I'm not good with measurements, and the guy at the store has been super patient with me.

"1 and 3/8th?" he asked.
"Yes, you know, a bit longer than an inch plus two little lines." I replied with a smile thinking (please don't leave, I still have 8 other questions to ask.)

"So, you wanna work on the play kitchen?" I asked my husband for the 4th time because I was too nervous to use the skill saw to cut out the sink. Wanna? Wanna? Wanna? We cut out the sink and screwed on the back splash and then we ran into problems. So I went back to the hardware store. And the same guy was there.

"Can I have screws that are longer than this one and shorter than this one? I asked him with a really wide smile.

At this time I've managed to screw on 3 "gas knobs", to re-cut the oven door (12 inches and 4 little lines was not the right measurement the first time around) and to sand the whole thing. "It's a long term project." my husband said before he left on business. It's a long term project, it's a long term project, I say to myself every time I go back to the hardware store for advice and supplies.

And you know what?  I'm loving it! I'm making a play kitchen for my son with wood!! My hands are moving, my mind is quieted, my creativity is flowing and I'm happy. And that's how I take care of myself.