Tuesday, August 24, 2010

DIY Kitchen

For Hazel's birthday a few weeks ago, we made her a little play kitchen. It was rather fun and an inexpensive option, since buying a mini kitchen can be around $100.

Jason found an above-the-refrigerator cabinet at work and the very kind client allowed him to take it home since they didn't need it anymore. It was perfect since we knew we wanted one with two doors so we could make a little cupboard and an oven door.

The first step was that Jason fixed the sides with some boards since they were unfinished and then he puttied and sanded the whole thing. I painted it with primer and Jason then made a top for the cabinet so it would be flush with the rest of the cabinet. He cut a hole for the bowl we bought for the sink ($2 dog food bowl from Ross). He also cut out the panel out of one of the doors to make an oven window.

We painted the whole thing a cheerful yellow with spray paint from the hardware store and got a piece of Plexiglas from the local glass shop for the oven window. Jason also made a template and painted burners on the top of the stove.

My mom was visiting and she bought some of the spray paint and the piece of Plexiglas (a whopping $2 thanks to the kind folks at the glass shop), but even with the hardware for the doors and stove knobs, I think the total cost was around $35. (I didn't keep an exact running total, but I feel that's a good guess.)

We still need to find something to use for a faucet, but I'm sure we'll find something soon. I saw one play kitchen where they used the top half of an "S" from a craft store for the faucet. Or maybe an old faucet from a yard sale will fill the blank spot.

One smart piece of planning that Jason did is that the top is on hinges so when we do find a faucet, we'll be able to simply swing the top up to screw it in.

So that's our little project! Enjoy the pictures, including one of Hazel making up a pot of tea sans shirt, but avec apron.


5 comments:

Beth Crawford said...

SUPER cute, Liz. Seriously, I think yours is better looking than the $100 ones!

Hannah G said...

Liz, that is one of the coolest DIY projects for kids I've ever seen. Love it!

Tiffany said...

I love it, Liz! You guys are amazing!

Mary and Jim said...

And HOW many cans of spray paint? Seriously- it did end up looking fantastic, and Hazel loves it!

miranda said...

it's fabulous! now you need a little rail along the top with hooks to hang pots. ;)