How to Get Your Dream Play Kitchen for $35
Our daughter, Cadence, is nearing the age of the transition to the coveted “big girl room.” This is a progressional thing in our house. As she begins to turn from baby to toddler I start switching things over little by little, all playing a key role in the overall vision I have for her space.
We like to encourage imaginative play, so as it came time to design her toddler room, I began dreaming up a space that I hoped would entice her and her brother to play in a way that would get them lost in a story of their own creation and leave me time to get things done around the house (can I get an amen!). Pair that with my own love for my play kitchen as a little girl, and it became very clear that this needed to be a key feature of my design.
Now, insert the problem… I’ve been on a mission recently to be mindful of making our house aesthetically pleasing and a place that looks and feels like home. I want our home to feel like us. I want our home to be a space that welcomes us. So after doing my research here’s what I determined: Good looking play kitchens are expensive y’all! And cheap play kitchens are not easy on the eyes.
So, it was time to get creative… I scoured Facebook Marketplace for a few weeks and found a fridge piece and a sink/stovetop piece that I liked the general shape of. I found them from two seperate sellers. They’re not made by the same company and they certainly did not match. But I liked their general look and I spent $35 total and that’s certainly something I can get behind.
Then it was time to go to work! I washed the kitchen pieces and lightly sanded the fridge, as it was made of wood and had already been repainted by the previous owner. I needed that grain to open back up! I took off all the hardware from both appliances and deep cleaned some more. I found some nasty gunk underneathe the stove top pieces and it felt good knowing I was being thorough enough to give my kids a clean slate with these things.
I then used white spray paint to repaint the pieces, because who in the heck has time for real paint when there’s this many nooks and crannies. Each took about two coats. It was quick and rather painless and required zero skill. After screwing all the hardware back on, I glued in a small stainless bowl for the sink. I then measured the nook in Cadie’s room where the kitchen would be residing and decided to make a built-in shelf to cover the extra space between the oven and fridge. I made two shelves using scrap wood and simple L brackets. Lastly, I topped these bad boys with some incredibly adorable faux cacti from Target, and voila - adorable and affordable play kitchen complete!
