<data:blog.pageTitle/>

We are finally done with the play kitchen that we've been dreaming about, planning for, & working on & we are pretty satisfied with the results. We figured that since we're pretty into food, that we want to instill that into Ruby so she can become a little foodie, too. I mean she already picks out the sad, February strawberries out of her plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt so she can just enjoy it in peace. She already knows where it's at, but why stop there?

Right after we found out I was pregnant, we found ourselves wandering through the incredibleness that is Ikea. It was as if we were somehow teleported there the second I took the test because that's just what you do, right? Well actually, we were in Minneapolis because we just flew back from Missouri, but the whole time for me was this strange blur, so it could have been a teleport for all I know.

I had always thought it would be amazing to have a little play kitchen for our kids, but I really didn't want something bulky or easily knocked over/moved around the house/ugly. Once we actually started making plans, we took all of that into consideration. This thing was going to be in our living room, so I didn't want to shudder every time I looked at it.

We toyed around a bit with just buying one, but after about 3 seconds of online researching, we realized that attractive wooden kitchens are just way (way, way) out of our budget. So John got out his grid paper, I got to pinning play kitchens, & we got to work (& when I say, "we" in this post, I mostly mean John... he did all the hard work).

Although there were plenty of play kitchen designs that utilize existing furniture (like end tables, dressers, entertainment centers, desks, etc.) the space that we have available is very limited, so we decided to start from scratch.We bought the majority of the goods from Menards, but I will describe each piece a little more in detail.

Ruby, being very helpful at Menards

Body

The main body of the kitchen is comprised of 1/4 inch plywood (for the back), 1 x 10 inch pine wood boards (for the frame), & a 1 x 12 inch cedar board (for the countertop).
There are 4 wheels that it sits on, & two of them can lock so that it won't get twirled about.
John also secured the whole kitchen to the wall so that it won't topple over if someone gets upset that she burnt her cookies.
Everything was sanded several times & there are 2 coats of polyurethane on it to protect the wood. We considered painting it, but decided that we both liked the raw look of the wood.

Oven/stove

The burners were found at Hobby Lobby- they are little wooded plaque-type pieces that John spray painted black.
The knobs for the oven are from this dresser that I gave a make-over.
The oven door is made out of a piece of plywood that John cut a square hole out of & screwed a piece of plexi glass into.
The handle for the oven door & drawer below the oven were purchased at Menards.
The oven rack was purchased at Menards as well. It was originally one of those space saving shelves that John cut to fit inside the oven to sit on wooden pegs (so Ruby can adjust the shelving, depending on what recipe she's baking).
The hinges are the special safety kind so that the door doesn't just flop open & hurt someone.
There is a small drawer below the oven for all of Ruby's utensils & a shelf above for her quaint little tea set (she absolutely adores having tea when company comes over!) There are also hooks below this shelf for her pots & pans.
There is still talk of installing a light inside of the oven...

Sink

The faucet was one of the harder things to find. We originally started perusing thrift shops & our local Restore, but grew impatient, so we purchased an $11 faucet that's actually designed to filter water (that's why it's so tiny). It was purchased at Menards.
The faucet knobs were found at Menards. Both the knobs even turn!
The sink is a small stainless steel bowl. John cut a hole in the counter & placed it in there with glue.
You might be wondering where that lovely piece of artwork is from? This was one of our favorite wedding gifts that was made by our super talented friend Lisa. It's called "Refuge". I figured Ruby might need a little refuge while she's busy at washing all those dishes.

Shelves & food

There are a few small shelves behind the curtain to hide all of her other dishes & food (John installed a thin bar at the top of these shelves so that I could sew a curtain out of an old pilliowcase). I also sewed a few small wash cloths out of old fabric scraps I had laying around.
The majority of the dishes are gems that we found at thrift stores, with the exception of her tea set & pots & pan set. She also has a fabric basket full of vegetables that she loves to play with (um, she knows what leak is). I still would like to get her these utilsiles & this bake set, but all in good time (why is everything so freaking cute when it's miniature?)

The entire project cost us just over $100. We definitely could have saved money by finding an old faucet & knobs, but really that's the only thing that we went over-budget on. It was worth it to get exactly what we wanted & what would fit into that small space.