Play Kitchen

I know Penny is maybe a little bit young for it, but I really wanted her to have a play kitchen for Christmas. The only thing is, I really wanted it to be a wooden one, and they are expensive. So, I got it in my head that I could just make her one. There are tons of diy play kitchens on the internet -- a lot of them made with IKEA components -- and I got some inspiration there. After some searching of Craigslist, I couldn't find any IKEA parts available and not having the time or inclination to go to Atlanta to the nearest store, I decided I would make one totally from scratch. So, I printed a picture of one I liked and took it to "the project desk" at Lowes. A very nice gentleman helped me pick out the wood I would need and cut it into six pieces. I couldn't afford to get the thick wood, so I bought quarter-inch luan and some framing. Here are my components (the light wood pieces and framing in front - sorry the picture is sideways).



I got Tray to show me how to work the saw and other stuff and went to town. It took me forever to build the frame part, but once that was together, tacking the luan pieces onto the frame went fast. I had to cut the front piece into parts to make the cabinet door and stove door -- I used a jigsaw for that. I also cut a hole in the top piece for the "sink" (which is really a metal bowl). And then I had to paint the thing. Here's the almost finished product.





This was as good as I was able to get it before Christmas morning. I still need to install the "faucet" and do something about a couple exposed screws on the interior (I tried using the Dremel tool on them, but the sparks scared me). I also want to put in a shelf, which would be easy but I ran out of time.

She seemed to enjoy it. She liked stirring the pot that we put up on the stove for her. She also enjoyed moving bows from the pot to the sink and back again. I think as she gets older she'll really like having it, and it was a lot of fun for me to make -- and I did the whole thing for around $25! I was going to get her this set of cookware, but decided that the greenest thing to do was to use stuff we already had. So, she is currently playing with our camping type stuff and things like that. If she plays with it a lot, maybe for her birthday we'll get her a little table and chairs and a tea set. I also need to get her some tools. Now that she's seen me with the hammer and nails and the drill and such, she thinks those things are super cool. I (or my brother) had a fun little play tool set/work bench when we were little. Maybe I'll work on that for next Christmas. Ha!