Oscar's play kitchen (finally!)

I took a break from baby girl things this weekend to finish a long overdue project - Oscar's play kitchen.  I guess I should say mostly finish.   It is definitely functional (and cute!) but seriously lacking accessories and play food.

Ta-dah!  I tried to keep it fairly gender neutral so it will get maximum use.  I like it, and more importantly, Oscar likes it, too.  He has been very busy stirring up sandwich soup in his little pots (like I said, more felt food will be necessary).

Some of my favorite details ...

• painted scrabble tiles to make the checker board back splash
• wooden plaques from Michael's for the gas burners
• the cute little scalloped trim on the control plate and shelf (trim also from Michael's)

I am loving the wooden pots and pans I bought (made by Melissa and Doug). 

I have a confession to make.  I bought MDF for the backing and used it for the oven door as well.  Big mistake!  Oscar has already tried climbing onto the open oven door and the screws started pulling out of the hinges (I really should have seen that one coming).  So I am going to switch out the oven door with a hard wood, and maybe add some extra hinges to make it stronger.

So ... still on the kitchen to-do list:

• reinforce the oven door
• make some accessories: dish towels, an apron, maybe a chef's hat
• make massive amounts of felt food (just because it is fun)
• gather/make a few more decorations - maybe a picture to hang over the sink, perhaps a little garland to hang over the shelf
• decide what to do with the other side (opposite the hooks).  It is currently bare.  I'm considering adding a chalkboard menu.

This kitchen was heavily inspired by the play kitchen found at Vintage Songbird - it is still one of my very favorites out there.

I didn't bother photographing things step by step or providing instructions for this project, because there is already tons of info out there.  If you want to try it yourself, check out the tutorials at Out of the Crayon Box and My Little Gems.

play kitchen inspiration

Over the weekend I bought a funny little nightstand on Craigslist to start on a project that has been at the top of my list for months:  a play kitchen for Oscar.  Can I just say ... people of Santa Barbara, you overprice your Craigslist items!  Also, you apply the word "vintage" to your furniture posts far too liberally.

After weeks of diligent searching, I found a workable nightstand, which is now living in the in-laws garage next to their precious power tools.   The nightstand has kind of a odd shape, but the price was right (only $5).   My plan turn it into something beautiful like this:

Nightstand Play Kitchen by Vintage Songbird

(I love this one so much!)

I also dig this larger version using an old entertainment center.  If I had the space in my apartment, it would be on.

 

Entertainment Center Play Kitchen by Sutton Grace

Lots of inspiration has turned up in the Play Kitchen Group on Flickr.  Have you seen a nightstand-turned-play kitchen that I should know about?  If so, please share!

making play food: salt & pepper shakers

I've been making a little progress this week on the play kitchen.  Since I am doing all the prep work at my in-law's house, I can't have an all night craft-a-thon and just get 'er done like I normally would.  In between work days, I am making play food and kitchen accessories.

I can't throw anything away, so I have several wooden spools hanging out in my drawers of thread.  This afternoon I used a pair of spools and two wooden domed disks to make salt & pepper shakers.

 

All it took was a bit of glue and paint.  I also filled them with seed beads so they would make a shaking sound.  The hole in the bottom of the spool is just covered with cardstock.  What do you think?

 

  

This is the nightstand I am working with to make Oscar's play kitchen:

  

You can't tell from the picture, but the nightstand angles inward starting just above the drawer.   It doesn't give me a ton of space to work with, but leaves plenty of room for a sink and two stove burners.

With the help of Oscar's grandpa, we now have a hole for the sink, the legs are trimmed down to a more toddler-friendly height, the drawer is dissembled, and the whole thing is sanded down.  I can't wait to start painting!

Oscar was really interested in "helping" and decided this was the best way to do it: