We did it. Holy cats, we did it.
Just a few days before Christmas we started Clara’s homemade play-kitchen (in secret of course, since she thinks Santa brought it)… and we actually finished it on Christmas Eve! Yes folks, it was a Christmas miracle. We went into it with a goal of spending under $99 since this basic play-kitchen from Ikea is that price – but we wanted to add a bit more detail like oven knobs that actually turn, an oven light that goes on and off, a wire baking rack inside the oven instead of a shelf, and a real faucet (not plumbed of course, but movable!). So here’s how we made our own little Clara version in the last 72 hours before Christmas, for what ended up being $74.
More pics in a moment (lots more!), but first the dirty details. The core of our homemade kitchen was initially going to be a real kitchen cabinet, so we had it around already (yessss!). It was actually the one we bought for $14 from the Habitat For Humanity ReStore when we intended to hang a big microwave next to our pantry. Heck, we even hung it temporarily when determining where we wanted the electrician to add our microwave plug a while back.
But in the end it never got used (since we opted for a smaller microwave – more on that here) so we hung onto it in preparation for its eventual rebirth as a play kitchen.
It was a little low (only 15″) so we began by building it up on the bottom with a quick box made out of a 1 x 4″ remnant that we had in the basement. We offset it from the front a bit so it would even look like a real base cabinet in a kitchen (toekick and all).
John also had a spare 1 x 12″ board in his scrap wood pile that, when paired with a leftover plank from our desk-building project, fit perfectly as a counter and low backsplash. Well, perfectly once they were cut down a bit.
Picture me rubbing my hands together maniacally and saying things like “it’s all going according to plan!”
But before attaching all that, we had to build our sink area. We hit up the ReStore again and snagged a real faucet and handle for $10 (and inadvertently crashed their company Christmas party in the process – sorry ReStorians, thanks for letting us quickly grab that faucet!). We thought those two real kitchen features paired with a metal bowl (found at Target for $7) would make for a purty chrome and stainless steel kitchen sink area. Only the best for our girl. Haha.
After tracing around the lip of the bowl, John jigsawed a hole just inside the line (so the edge of the bowl had something to rest on). It didn’t have to be perfect since the bowl would be covering it.
After cutting matching holes in both the counter and the cabinet top (and sanding them both smooth), the bowl was officially transformed into a sink – just by dropping it in.
I wish I had peeled that sticker off for this pic, but you get the idea.
Adapting the sink hardware was also pretty straightforward. The faucet was pretty much ready to go, but the handle had lots of tubing that was just going to be in the way under the counter.
Luckily, with a wrench and a copper pipe cutter we removed the excess mumbo jumbo. Oh, and since the bottom of the fixture will be concealed between the top of the cabinet and the counter we don’t have to worry about Clara messing with it.
Then it just took drilling some holes…
…and securing both fixtures to the underside of the counter (though the handle was so thick it required an extra block of wood to keep it secured).
Now that we could finally secure the counter to the cabinet, it was starting to look like a play kitchen! So yes, this is where we got all weird / annoying / giddy / hyper.
But just wait, there’s more excitement in store. Check this out…
Every play kitchen needs an oven right? So we bought some $3 fence hinges to convert one door to open downwards.
And we also snagged a piece of pre-cut plexi from Home Depot (for just $3!) so that we could give Clara’s oven a proper window (the girl’s gotta check on her souffles). We completely lucked out that this pre-cut pane was the perfect size.
We weren’t so lucky when cutting the hole for the plexi though. John can’t figure out if it’s him or his Dremel Trio, but he has trouble getting straight cuts sometimes (his words, not mine). It looked okay from a distance…
…but up close he was less than happy with it. Yes, there may have even been some hushed cursing.
So after a dash to the craft store (we had to buy materials for some oven knobs anyway) we grabbed some thin pieces of craft wood and cut a miniature frame to trim out the imperfect opening. Huzzah for Plan B!
We didn’t want to actually attach the plexi until we were done priming and painting, so it was onto making some knobs for the oven. I guess knobs are usually for a stove, but we figured it wouldn’t hurt to have something for Clara to spin and interact with. So we took some small wood discs from Ben Franklin (for $2) and drilled a hole in the center for a washer and bolt.
Luck was back in our favor when it came to drilling holes for the nut on the back of the oven door. The Kreg Jig drillbit (which has a small pilot drill on the tip before becoming larger) made the perfect sized holes for not only sinking the nut into the door (since our oven wouldn’t close if they weren’t flush) but also kept the nuts from spinning too, which made attaching everything really easy.
Final attachment of the knobs wouldn’t happen ’til after painting, but here’s a preview (check out the assembled one on the left). John used some of the leftover craft wood (that he had from the Plan B oven window frame) to cut some little arrows that would later get glued over the bolt head on each knob. But back to these in a minute.
Now that everything was constructed, we snuck it upstairs to the sunroom after Clara was asleep and primed the whole darn thing (after patching some holes with wood putty). It was actually not that bad since we were in priming and painting mode for our real kitchen too. Then it was painting time, and we did all those finishing touches like gluing in the oven plexiglass and adding hardware over the next 48 hours.
The rest of the finishing touches are easier to explain while looking at the “after” kitchen, so through the magic of the Internet we’ll fast forward a bit:
We primed and painted it using leftover paint that we already had. The top is our kitchen wall color (Sesame by Benjamin Moore) and the base is the same stuff we used for our office cabinets (Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint in Decorator’s White in a satin finish). We painted the inside of the pantry Sesame also, but did the oven in a medium grey thanks to a test pot of paint that we had leftover from grey-washing our living room beams (in Benjamin Moore’s Shaker Gray). It’s sort of hard to see in the pics, but in person the gray oven and the grellow cabinet are fun little details to help each side feel more defined.
To dress up the inside of the oven we used heavy duty velcro to hold up a simple tap light, so Clara can actually “turn the oven on” just by pushing it. We also found this black wire shelf (it’s actually one of those bottom-of-the-sink drying trays) at Target for $5. It definitely helps things feel more oven-ish in there.
Oh, and here’s what the plexi-glass looks like from the back. We just used some clear silicone caulk to adhere it to the backside. That keeps it in place, but is totally invisible from the front thanks to the blessing-in-disguise frame that John had to add. Three cheers for happy accidents along the way.
We also whipped up a last-minute shelf on the sink side when we realized that most of the play food Clara was getting from her grandparents (they sweetly offered to give play-kitchen-themed Christmas gifts, knowing what we had up our sleeves) would be dwarfed by one big open cabinet. She’s got the basics covered… soup, cereal, crackers, pasta, tuna, sugar, milk (oh wait, maybe this girl needs a fridge someday…).
We opted not to add a stovetop so that she’d have more flexible-to-use-for-other-stuff-too counter space (you know, for mixing and setting out dishes, etc). It has already been a handy choice because there’s room to house the play toaster her Grammy and Tom-Tom bought her for Christmas (yes, it’s kind of the cutest thing we’ve ever seen). But I did make her a makeshift hot plate of sorts, so she has one burner to play with (instead of four space-hogging circles). What does she use it for? To fry sandwiches, apparently.
All that little DIY hot plate entailed was buying a $5 trivet from Bed Bath & Beyond and a $4 round of wood from Michael’s (which I painted teal with leftover paint from this project) and then drilled into it in three spots (to allow the feet of the trivet to “sink” inside the wood round so it was nice and solid). Then I used a flat washer and a screw to hold the trivet into the round of wood from the center. Voila: instant burner.
Oh and I used little felt furniture feet on the bottom of my burner (to lift it up ever so slightly to keep it from scratching the counter) which you can sort of see in the picture below.
Here’s a closer look at the final oven knobs too. I sprayed them with leftover spray paint (Rustoleum’s Titanium Silver that we bought to test on our old kitchen hardware). It’s not a perfect match to the new shiny chrome door hardware ($5 each from Home Depot) and our sleek sink and faucet, but it’s close enough. And it sort of glitters, which is semi-adorable (new rule: every play kitchen should have at least one glittering element).
We actually bought three of those Home Depot door handles so that one could act as a towel bar on the side of the sink. Little details like that were kind of my favorite part. As for hatching this whole kitchen plan, John and I took Clara and Burger for a nice long walk and chatted about things we could add to “our kitchen” (didn’t want to spoil the play-kitchen surprise for Clara) which is how we came up with things like the towel bar, the wire rack, the oven tap light, all the other little details like those spinning knobs that we thought would make it Clara’s favorite thing ever. The brainstorming part of a project is always my favorite. So much possibility…
So now I think you’ve see just about every nook and cranny of this puppy (can you tell we’re proud of it?)…
So how about a budget breakdown?
- Secondhand cabinet (from the ReStore): $14
- Secondhand faucet & handle (also from the ReStore): $10
- Stainless sink bowl (from Target): $7
- Oven knobs and frame (from Ben Franklin craft store): $5
- Hinges for oven door (from Home Depot): $3
- Pre-cut plexiglass and wood trim for oven window (from Home Depot): $4
- Wire oven shelf (from Target): $5
- Tap light for the oven (from Home Depot): $2
- Wood counter, backsplash, and toe kick: $0 (already owned scrap lumber, but it might be $15 or so to buy it all)
- Trivet (from Bed Bath & beyond) and wood round (from Michael’s) for hot plate: $9
- Three hardware handles for oven, cabinet, and towel bar (from Home Depot): $15
- Primer and paint for counter, cabinets, and hot plate: $0 (already owned, but a few $4 paint testers would do the trick if you needed to buy it)
- Miscellaneous wood pantry items (by Plan Toys): $0 (Christmas gift from Grammy and Tom Tom, but they might cost around $15 if you were to buy them)
- Play toaster (also by Plan Toys): $0 (another super thoughtful gift from John’s parents!)
- Total project cost: $74
And as they say in the commercials, watching Clara play with what Santa brought her: priceless.
If only a certain larger kitchen were this easy to knock out. Oh well, I guess that’s the difference between one cabinet and 20 of them. But I gotta say that this little guy is getting a ton of action. Stuffed animals regularly get bathed in the sink, fake slices of lettuce and tomato get toasted, boxes of cereal and crackers get baked in the oven, and random cars, balls, and trains get stuffed into the pantry cabinet. It’s also really nice to have a little “Clara zone” shaping up along the living room wall right off of the kitchen (we moved it to the wall on the left side of her new desk after Christmas). Good stuff.
Oh and oddly enough, folks ask us all the time what we want to “parlay” this blog-thing into, and for the past few years we’ve never really known how to answer that question because we love blogging as-is (we don’t want a TV show or anything – ack, that makes us break out in hives – so, we’ve actually turned those opportunities down a few times). But I can honestly say that “designing” Clara’s desk and her play kitchen have been hugely amazing and fun projects for both of us. So for once I might have an answer the next time someone asks what sort of side projects we’d love to end up doing in a decade or two (right along with the blog of course, since YHL = our first baby). Designing cute and affordable kid furniture (which seems to be surprisingly hard to find for some reason) might just be the sweet spot. Ya never know, right? So I’m just putting that out there into the universe. Who knows where we’ll end up…
Kristen says
Okay this is the cutest ever! And seriously…YOU GUYS! Just when we all thought that you guys couldn’t be even nicer and more awesome…you build the most adorable play kitchen ever (finishing on Christmas Eve, of course) for your amazing daughter. Aw, that’s why we LOVE YOU! :-)
Deb_In_NYC says
VERY SWEET!! Thank you for sharing!!
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
This is so cute. I would love to e able to do something like that for my little girl someday. Now Clara has a space to store all her raisins! I am so glad she loved it. Great job!
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet says
That brings me back so much to the play kitchen I got when I was about 4 years old. So adorable! Can’t wait to see her DIY refrigerator I’m sure you all will whip up at some point ;-)
Andie says
I can pretty much say I love every single project that you guys conquer, but this is quite possibly my FAVORITE project yet! So incredibly creative, so ridiculously resourceful and so super awesome!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!
Sarah says
Just had to say what an awesome job you two did on this – it is so cute! And the homemade version looks way, WAY better than anything available in stores – love it!
Jackie says
How Cool is that!! You know we’re all going, “Now why didn’t I think of that?”
toni from says
The video of Clara seeing her gift for the first time is so wonderful. I just love seeing children’s JOY at Christmastime. That is what it is all about. Congrats on another fabulous project.
Ashley says
Oh my goodness! I LOVE it! So freakin’ adorable and the perfect little details. Clara is one very lucky little girl!
Ashley says
Also, it’s like a bazillion times cuter than anything store bought at any price!
Cortney says
LOVE IT! I love homemade play kitchens soooo much better than those overpriced plastic kitchens. I would love to make my boys a little workshop…
I do like that it could totally work for a boy or girl too, but how fun would that little pantry be with some fun fabric or paper mod podged on the back :)
Ashley says
Best. Toy. Ever. You guys are great parents. :)
Christina says
Love this, John and Sherry!! Love all the little touches. Love how you make it seem easy enough for a normal person to do! :) Pinning it now in hopes that one day the Lord will bless us with a little one to make it for. :)
And I think a kid’s furniture business just might be perfect for you too. But you can’t stop blogging! aghhh – I would cry. :)
Can’t wait to meet you at Haven in June too – was so excited to flip the page to 2012 and write Haven in June – yay!!
Lori says
I wish I had 1/100th of your creativity! Kitchen is adorable and Clara is so lucky to have you both as parents! Can’t wait to see what 2012 brings!
Cheryl says
I don’t know why I’m surprised and super impressed when every time you guys do a project it looks amazing. You really took a little toy kitchen to the next level and definitely topped Ikea.
Creating and realizing a vision is obviously your forte. I hope someday my future kids can play with a Petersik creation. It’s definitely out in the universe…you only have thousands of fans rooting for you!
Zoë says
I love, love, love this!! The one thing I want for my kids is a play kitchen, but there really isn’t a place to put it – three kids take up a ton of space as it is. But one day, I will have one. In the meantime, my kids will have to make do with small kitchen pieces like this: http://www.landofnod.com/kitchen-and-grocery/toys-gifts/zap-it-microwave/f6443 and a mini stove top that Land of Nod used to sell. I’m going to have to add that to my wishlist for our next house (we hope to move in a year or two) – a front porch, fireplace and room for a toy kitchen!
I almost bought that very same toaster for my eldest girl’s birthday (she’ll be 4 on Friday), but instead went for a stand mixer (sold out at Land of Nod, my go-to toy store), like my Kitchen Aid, as well as cookies, sandwich making kit, and the stir fry set. I might just have to add the toaster to the birthday list for her little sister who will be two in September.
ps you definitely should design furniture for kids, You two clearly have a talen for it.
YoungHouseLove says
Just a heads up about the toaster, it’s a little tough to actually push the lever down to sink the toast in (pushing the button to “pop” it up is much easier). Clara can’t do it by herself, but she doesn’t mind. We just leave it in the up position and she has fun putting the bread slices in and out.
-John
Kay says
too cool for school!!!! you guys that is the cutest thing going – Clara is a lucky bean for sure!!
Savannah says
I am a long time reader and rarely comment (even though I love EVERY post!) but this is one of your cutest ideas yet! Love, love, love!!! Keep the kids furniture ideas coming! Happy New Year!
Tiffany says
Wow. you guys are so cool.
Marlena says
So insanely awesome! Way to go! I love the details you added.
Sabrina says
Out of all of the projects that you two have done…this is my absolute favorite! It is simply perfect! :)
Heather Beals says
Aww! This is my absolute FAVE of your projects so far!!!
Amber says
So cute! You should totally add a refrigerator in the future. My dad built me a kitchen when I was 2, and I still have it 29 years later. I could totally update it, but I love it just the way it is. Check it out:
http://www.brokawtidbits.blogspot.com/2011/03/play-kitchen.html
YoungHouseLove says
Oooh, very nice! We actually have another scrap cabinet around just in case we decide to take on a fridge. With as much food as she got for Xmas she’s gonna need it!
-John
heather says
Be careful, when she’s a little older you might find real food from the fridge that needs to be refrigerated missing and in her actual fridge haha. Not that I know anything about that.
I also definitely wasn’t the kid who once took a banana at about 4 years old and shoved it in the VCR because I wanted to see the banana on the screen. Maybe a deck of cards too.
YoungHouseLove says
LOL, that is too funny. We’ll have to key an eye out for raisins in the DVD player.
-John
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama says
Just sent this to hubby. Your kid kitchen ideas from a couple months ago got us inspired. We’ll be making this asap for the kiddos! Thanks for the inspiration!
Sara says
I have been waiting to see your version of a play kitchen! It’s awesome, of course! I’m a bit jealous. I worked on one for my daughter for weekends throughout December. I never really finished all of the touches, but she loves to stir her play food in the sink and cook with Mommy.
Julie says
That is beyond the cutest thing ever! You guys are so clever. If we have a little girl, we will have to check out this tutorial. You guys are awesome! I can see from the 208 other comments that everyone loves it. I also love Clara’s vocabulary. I’m a teacher and I am so impressed by her talking up a storm at such a young age.
kaylan says
amazing. really. that is one of the best play kitchens i have ever seen. i love the video of clara discovering it. she is one blessed little girl!
Valerie j. says
This is awesome!! Seriously one of the coolest projects you all have done ( and that is saying something). Color me inspired.
Jordan says
adorably cute!!!! will you be doing a john and sherry (what you got each other) Christmas gift post? Also, is there a place to put the play kitchen in the real kitchen?
YoungHouseLove says
Yep – that post is coming this afternoon! And it may find its way into the real kitchen at some point, though right now the only wall wide enough for it is has a fireplace on it. Hmmm…
-John
LuLu says
O.M.G How hilarious AND wonderful is it that you reno’d Clara’s kitchen before giving it to her. LOVE IT! You guys are utterly fabulous.
LuLu
Alisa says
OMG, you should be proud! That play kitchen is the cutest, most creative thing ever! Fantastic job.
Amanda / Bulldrogs and Bulldogs says
This is seriously the cutest play kitchen I have EVER seen! Nice work!
Lindsay B says
Amazing. You guys rock!
Georgina says
You guys are so talented. It is way nicer than the Ikea version. I am sure that Clara will get years of use out of that wonderful kitchen.
Rocio says
It is so pretty. I see a workbench with tools for Clara in the future.
Cynthia says
Wonderful!!! she looks so happy. Great job on the kitchen guys and i agree it is really hard to find great kids stuff that doesn’t come in a zillion really crazy colors (not that i’m against color) but having a simi matching kitchen to the adult version would be awesome!
Keep up the great work, can’t wait to see some other kiddy funiture!
Ruthy T. says
are you kidding me with this??? holy cow!! you should mass produce this–it’s awesome!
Lindsey says
This is just incredible! I’m constantly inspired and awed by your creativity and talent. Wow! What a lucky girl Clara is to have this fabulous kitchen.
Kimberly says
This is so cute I can hardly stand it. Not only is it the best looking homemade play kitchen I’ve ever seen, but that’s so awesome that Clara has something to play with that was made by your own four hands. Super cool.
Morgan says
Too cute. You guys are awesome!
Sharee A. says
Cost of the project $74. Cost of Clara’s enjoyment…priceless.
Alison says
I think that is so cute. I especially loved the video. I have an 8 week old and need to bookmark this when Amelia gets older. Of course I am in awe that you did this while doing your book deadline and the kitchen. I want to paint Amelia’s closet this week and trying to get motivated for that! :)
Holly says
WOW! If only I had half of your creativity! LOVE that kitchen!
Emily D says
Oh that is so cute! I’ll definitely have to keep this in mind next Christmas when my daughter is a little older. And I can’t believe Clara’s vocabulary. She’s such a little chatter box! Adorable!!! Hope you guys had a Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!
Kristin @fixitupwoman.com says
Oh My Gosh, how do you find the time? I love Clara’s play kitchen….it is so cool! I bet she loves it, I know my kids would. Maybe if I start now, I can make one by 2013! I can’t believe you made that in a few days and right before Christmas when you are doing your book and a hundred other things! Very nice. Kristie
gayla says
Clara = Luckiest Kid Eva! :)
I think this is a super cool gift for a super cool chic…
Lola says
This is ADORABLE!!!! And so functional, smart and good to the environment! Love love love!
Cristy says
OMG THAT IS SO STINKIN’ CUTE!!!! Did you catch how at 1:15 she’s turning knobs on the stove and says, “She doesn’t say anything!” OMG I laughed until I almost cried!!!!!! So adorable. What a great project, and what wonderful parents you are. Yaaay, Clara!!!
Beth says
The kitchen is adorable as is your baby!
Ellen says
What a lucky girl?! It turned out great! Seriously, how do you guys have time?? :)
Morgan says
Soooo awesome!! I have plans to turn a mini entertainment center into a kitchen when our Liv is 18 months. I will be back to this post to steal some of this brilliant information!