Play Kitchen DIY!

Oh my goodness friends. Can't even begin to curb my excitement over this project. This is hands down the coolest thing N8tr0n and I have made to date. (With the exception of Z-cakes, of course.) Behold:

We weren't able to give this to Z-cakes on her actual birthday due to a few minor delays. We wanted it to be just right. We showed it to her right when she got up this morning and the first thing she said was, "cooking!" Then she asked for her apron, rolled up her pajama sleeves, and got right to work. My little sous chef.

She started off by washing her hands. A habit every good chef acquires early.

We didn't glue the sink into the hole as we had originally planned. That way, as N8tr0n says, "we can get really crazy and actually put some water in there for her."

She took a good inventory of her supplies: pretend pots + pans, wooden pretend food, cookie cutters, a sifter, and three rolling pins. That's right, three rolling pins. She now has as many as I do. I'll start to get concerned when her spatula collection begins to rival mine.

{inspecting the oven}

And oh my gosh, you guys! She actually pretends to push the number buttons I painted on the microwave!

The morning and afternoon were filled with the sounds of utensils stirring, pretend dough being rolled out, and Z-cakes telling me that she made popcorn for lunch. Breaks were taken only to eat and nap. I have no doubt she'll be back at it as soon as she wakes up.

The majority of my inspiration for this kitchen came from Ohdeedoh and Flickr. A simple search for "play kitchen" brought up an array of repurposed play kitchens from the uber talented people of the internets. My plans started when my mom mentioned that she had an old TV stand that we were welcome to have if we wanted. I instantly thought of using it to make a play kitchen, and after a few moments of inspection, I had a good idea of what I wanted to do with it.

I tried to use materials that we had on hand or could find secondhand. The paint is some that we already have that we've been using for other projects in our home, and the fabric was purchased over a year ago. One of those prints I just couldn't resist. The knobs for the stove were found at a small local appliance repair shop. I timidly stopped to ask if they had stray oven knobs I could buy and they graciously handed over a box full and told me to take what I wanted, no charge. Z-cakes had a ball helping me and I did my best not to squeal when I eventually found matching knobs that were perfect.

I wish I could give you the total amount we ended up spending on this project but, I didn't do a very good job of keeping track. My guess is that it was close to about $30, but no more. Of course that doesn't count the paint or fabric which we already had, or the TV stand which was free.

So what do you think? I won't pretend that I'm not proud. N8tr0n and I make a great team and we're so glad that Z-cakes loves her little kitchen. Hooray DIY!