Aria's Play Kitchen

I've been wanting to put a little play kitchen in our playroom for Aria since last year. I was determined to have one in there for her birthday last year, but didn't get around to it. I was in love with all the cute wooden play kitchens I saw in Pottery Barn Kids, but I didn't want to pay $300! I also didn't want to go the plastic play kitchen route. I wanted something that would last and looked a little more old school. I vaguely remember a bookcase kind of deal when I was little that had a fake stove top on it and a little sink.

After seeing so many cute nightstand and dresser play kitchens in blogland I decided I wanted to try and tackle one myself. This kitchen at Sutton Grace was my inspiration.

We started out by buying this lovely little entertainment center from the classifieds for $30. When Mike brought it home he announced that we were now the proud owners of a piece of junk. The glass had fallen out of the door on the way home, but I was okay with that because I intended on taking it out anyway. I loved the lines of this piece and could already see my vision coming together. It is also very solid and I know it will hold up nicely for years to come.

I took off the doors and hardware, sanded it all down and primed it. Mike put a piece of plywood on the back to cover the opening. Then he built up the counter part because I felt like it was a bit low. This also made it so that the sink had a place to sit rather than in the cupboard down below. We put a divider in below the counter and cut a couple of more shelves for the side cabinet. Then I painted it a nice barn red. This is one of the colors in our playroom and it looks so nice against the yellow walls.

It became quite the family project. When the weather got too cold to drag it outside, Mike and Michela finished painting it in the garage. I didn't want to be stuck in the garage with fumes that might hurt little Peanut. For family home evening one night we carried it downstairs and put it in the playroom. It is so cute!

It fits in a little nook under the slide in our playroom. When we built the house I had Mike include this little "house" on the plans.

I hadn't seen any play kitchens with refrigerators, but I knew I really wanted this to be a part of Aria's kitchen. I replaced the glass with sheet metal and backed it with some plywood. Now she can spell out words with her alphabet magnets. Inside there are a few shelves with plenty of space to hold all her food and dishes.

The sink is a metal bowl from Target and the faucet was donated to us by our lovely plumber friend Reyes.

The stove burners are just circles cut from scrap wood and painted black. The stove and oven knobs came from an appliance repair shop in town. The owner Steve helped me rummage through buckets of knobs to find some that went together.

For the oven we put the hinges on the bottom of the door and used a cookie cooling rack for the oven rack. The muffins are ready!

I made some cute little valances and added a framed picture so that it looks like there is a window above the counter. I decided to use a frame so I could change the picture out with the changing seasons. The picture in there now is one I took during the fall. I love looking at the majestic mountains. Don't you think some blossoming trees would be beautiful for spring?

Here is Aria playing in her kitchen. She is cutting up "potatoes" (tomatoes). She loves cooking up pancakes, soup and any other dish she can think of. With all the things we had to buy I think we came out at around $100. Not too bad for a one of a kind wooden play kitchen. Now I'm excited to try my hand at making some cute felt food!