Twins, Plus One: Toy Kitchen

Saturday, October 6, 2012

So I decided 6 days before Poppy's birthday that I would make her a toy kitchen (because I'm crazy like that.)

I just couldn't bring myself to buy her another Barbie doll, the 14 she has already is enough.

We had been looking at toy kitchens for awhile but could only find cheap looking plastic ones or flimsy flat pack wooden ones that were really basic.

I wanted to get one will all the bells and whistles and it seemed they only way to get this was to build one myself.

This little beauty is $139 from Ikea so my goal was to make one for less than $139. Easy.

While Poppy was at school I dragged the twins (in and out, in and out of the car) around a few thrift stores looking for something I could use, after a few shops I found a gorgeous little dresses marked down from $40 to just $20, perfect.

I also scored some kitchen 'toys' some wooden spoons, for .20c a piece and a retro pair of hand beaters.

I stopped at Bunnings on the way home (twins out of car, into pram, shop, out of pram, into car) and got some cheap silver plastic knobs, $1 and a handle for what would be the oven door $1.50 and one that could be used to hang a tea towel.

I had some blue paint in the shed and I used this to give the dresser three coats, not an easy task when I am trying to keep this huge dresser hidden from a nosy 3 year old and I could only do it when the twins were asleep.

I fitted the knobs on the draws and headed off to spot light to find something I could use for "hot plates", they had some perfect sized disks that I painted black with some grey circles for the elements.

For the sink I got a stainless steel bowl from K-mart for $3, cut a hole in the dresser for it where we wanted it to go and popped it in.

Next were the shelves, We used the bottom of the draws as they were the perfect size (and free), painted them blue and nailed them in.

The oven door was made out of an old picture (a beautiful picture of a lion on a fluffy rug!?) I picked up from the salvo shop for $3, it was the perfect thickness and once we cut it out it was also the perfect size. We painted it black with a white little frame for the 'glass' and screwed on one of the cheap handles from bunnings. A catch on the inside so the door would shut properly

We raided Pop's shed and of course he had an old tap laying around, so we put that on the back board, it swivels and everything! Perfect.

A few knobs cut out of the old draws with the hole cutter and painting the utensils to match the blue themed kitchen and we were done!

A perfect little kitchen with some utensils for a big four year old and her pesky little brother and sister that will probably pull everything off the shelves.