Well this project wasn’t exactly planned, but sometimes an opportunity just falls in your lap and…
Back story, I’ve been looking at play kitchens for a while and was sort of struggling with a couple of aspects…
1. They are actually pretty expensive, I mean yes you can find them for around $100, but when you start looking at the “Aesthetic” ones the price can go way up!
2. It seems like all the ones with cute “aesthetics” are sort of more modern plain shapes, and ones with cuter shapes only come in terribly ugly (or moderately passable) colors. And finally…
3. Would my son actually play with it, he loves to help me in the kitchen, he also loves to pretend to bake cookies and muffins, but he does all this without a play kitchen, so do I really need it? I mean what if I spent $200 on the super cute one I really wanted and he doesn’t ever use it??
All this to say I was starting to think i just wouldn’t spend the money on something like this (regardless of how much my inner child wanted one!)
BUT sometimes fate takes a hand!
Driving back from my moms’ a couple of weeks ago we noticed a play kitchen on the side of our street a couple of houses up. Around here if there is stuff on the easement it is totally up for grabs, but we passed it and and went home without much thought. The next day as Kiddo and I were out for a walk it was still there. As we passed it again I paused and took a closer look and thought “hmmm, well it’s got good bones” Lol, too much HGTV maybe? Upon further inspection It had most of the parts and the battery operated bits all appeared to work! I impulsively texted my husband to come help me carry it home. When he walked up he looked at me like I was crazy…” nobody does that” he protested “nobody remodels a play kitchen!.”
Oh contraire mon amour! According to the internet I am not the only person with this idea. In fact a quick google search revealing blogs like this one is what gave me the confidence to go for it. So thank you other moms who get it! Just because it was free doesn’t mean it has to be ugly! Here is the link to the current iteration of this Play kitchen for reference. brand new they are charging $259.99!! Considering i Spent a whopping $45 on materials I’m pretty pleased with the result.
The Before:
This kitchen had clearly been relegated to backyard use for sometime prior to the previous owners setting it out in the grab zone and, subsequentially, was absolutely filthy!
What you need...
- An old, hand me down, thrifted, or rescued play kitchen (you can find these on FB Marketplace pretty cheap or a mom exchange group for free!)
- Cleaning supplies ( A hose and water got lots of it off, but you never know, so I went over the whole thing with some Lysol and did a little detailing with a Q-tip to get the dirt out of the hard to reach places)
- Screwdrivers (Phillips & Flat head) for disassembly and reassembly – I suppose you could do the beverage as well, depends on how you are feeling that day 😉
- 4 -5 cans of spray paint. I used The Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Satin in Blossom white (i initially thought I wanted this to be a two tone, so i ended up using an extra can to cover up my “mistake” and make the whole thing White. )
- Spray painting supplies –
- I love this spray can nozel! It really saves your finger.
- Plastic Tarp, Sheets or cardboard to protect your painting area
- Painters Points – we had these leftover from our own kitchen Remodel a couple of years ago. (post coming someday :P)
- Be sure to have a mask and gloves!
- Painters Tape
- Rub n buff – I used Gold Leaf
- Peel and stick vinal (we used black which i already had on hand)
- Decor – I had a dollar store frame and my mom is an oil painter and
- Replacememnt parts. The one nice thing about the Step 2 kitchens is that for some of them you can still get replacement parts on their website. I ordered the little bin for the bottom right corner, and a replacement stove because when i finally got the batteries out, it no longer made any of the fun cooking noises
HOW TO:
This can be a quick DIY project, unless you are like me and change your mind half way through, or start adding “extras” 😛
- Start by disassembling and thoroughly cleaning the play kitchen. This one was easy to take apart, and I was able to find the users manual online incase i forgot how it went together..
- Get rid of those nasty stickers 😛 They were not easy to peel off, but I knew i was going to cover most of them with more vinal so I didn’t really care if there were a few bits left over.
- One blog I read recommended sanding, so I did, but honestly all it did was scuff of the plastic. This model had sort of textured plastic anyway so I wouldn’t bother if I were you.
- Set up your spray station and grab your supplies ( mask, gloves, sprayer attachment, etc.)
- I did about 4 coats on the base and uppers and 5 coats on the green counter. This sort of depends on your spraying technique and coverage of the paint. We used rust oleum primer and paint in blossom white. Follow instructions on the can for recoat and drying times.
- Allow to dry thoroughly
- Apply rub n buff to your knobs, and any other areas you would like. I ended up tracing the stickers for the handles onto vinal then putting rub and buff on that to get the colors to match. I also added a few other golden touches for fun 🙂
- Re Assemble and Marvel at how much easier that was then a real kitchen remodel :P!
Here is the final Product:
Be sure to scroll to the end for one more Little Kitchen update coming soon, and a few of our process photos along the way:
So originally I had painted the counter and all the appliances black, and when I help it up it just wasn’t at all what I was going for,….so back to the spraying board, and with an extra can of paint, it all turned out all right, well better than alright actually.
I decided it would be fun to make the back burner (where there had previously been a sticker) look like a real gas grill cover. I found a shape online and traced it onto my vinal.
Even though when we had picked this up the little button pads made some noise, when we got them home and I opened them up the batteries were severally corroded. I had hoped that i could clean it out with some baking soda and lemon juice but alas it was no use. even the ones that had been working stopped. It’s ok though, buttons are still fun if the beep or not right?
The After:
There is one last piece that we haven’t quite managed to accomplish, but i was just so excited to post this I really couldn’t wait. The Faucet!! As happens with a lot of my hair brained projects, I manage to get my sweet husband invested in my vision. SO, we are dipping our toes into the 3D printing arena to print a cute new faucet for this little kitchen, because Guess what?! We can print it for free at the Library downtown!! Obviously there are a few steps to get there but the idea will be to size/scale down a faucet and 3D print it with a moving handle. (EEEEEEEEE) So while this is mostly the finished product, stay tuned for one final picture coming soon (hopefully!)
If you liked this little Project let us know in the comments!
What a great idea, and a fabulous finished product.
Turned out great, love a good DIY!