MY DIY Play Kitchen

Okay everyone, here it is! The exciting post you've all been waiting for :) Seriously, I've had a lot of people ask so many questions on how the heck I made this super darling play toy! Here's the answers, in pictures of course. Sorry about the low quality photos in the beginning! But to start out, just like everyone else I saw all these darling play kitchens on Pinterest that were made out of old entertainment centers. I pinned many of them... for several several months, if not a year. Then decided, what the heck! Let's do this! Of course my husband really wanted no part in this project. He had other things to worry about... like refinishing the kitchen and bathrooms. So I took on the challenge myself. We have no room at our house, so I built it in my parents basement. Because it wasn't in my own home, it took a about a month to make, and 3 months to finish it completely!

There she is. Before and After. I was determined to make this beauty AS CHEEP AS POSSIBLE. Everyone I looked up spent at least $150 on their kitchen. I wanted to find anyway possible to cut that price significantly! Found this entertainment center on KSL (local listings) for $20 I think, I talked her down to $10. SCORE!

We had to sand it down and cut a hole for the sink. My dad totally didn't have the right tools.. but it seriously made the entire experience way more fun. I'm totally not kidding. I loved our bonding time screwing things up and making their basement dusty and smokey from cutting wood with tools we shouldn't be using!

 Next was the paint. We were fortunate to have a lot of left over paint in our house from the people who lived here previously.. and of course from all the times we've repainted. I mixed a darker blue and a cream to get this super pretty sky blue.

Since my parents just moved into their home they had leftover laminate. So we used a piece around the kitchen sink. The stainless steel bowl was donated and the faucet was purchased on KSL for $10. Once again listed as $20 and I talked them down.

 We removed the original doors completely. My father in law has a wood shop in his backyard with SO MANY scraps! He was so awesome to cut me some pieces for the freezer door, fridge door and oven door.

 The stove is the VERY best part of this kitchen! I've seen everything from spray painted CDs, black coasters, to pipe cleaner bent into coils. There's no way I was going to ruin my kitchen with those things when I could photoshop one of my own. So yes, I designed the stove myself. I researched different photos of stove tops and there you have it! I printed it on photo paper and stuck it on with mod podge. That thing ain't goin nowhere!
I AM NOW SELLING PRINTS OF THE STOVE TOP HERE!

I was SO excited when my sister told me they had left over bead board. There's no way I was going to pass up an offer for FREE bead board. It took 3 pieces. One and a half for the kitchen wall and one inside the fridge to cover up the holes. We just glued it right over the original piece of wood.

 We got an 8x10 piece of plexi glass for the oven door. Having the oven see through and painted black makes a world of difference! So much more realistic.

 Now we move on to the window! One of my favorite parts! I found the image  online from a free desktop image download website. I printed it out, purchased more plexi glass and made a little frame. I glued all of this onto a piece of cardboard then hung it onto the kitchen wall.

  Here is where I ended for about a month. But Emberly could care less if it was finished or not! She loved cooking hotdogs, french fries and potato chips on the stove :) Please pay no attention to the appearance of a soggy bum. But on top of the kitchen you'll notice some new additions I was working on. The shelf and a chandelier!

And they're on! Lights up and everything :)

Now we'll move on to some MUCH better photos to show you all the details and the 100% completed kitchen yay!!

 I love the curtains! My sister is so crafty with a sewing machine and sewed them up all cute for me!

 I put an old dish rack in the oven. Works just fine for now!

 Doors open to see the inside of the very stocked fridge and freezer! We did use the original shelves and screwed them into the sides. The hinges were a little bit of a hiccup! I bought them before I realized that they wouldn't attach flush to the inside of the fridge. So we had to add in wood blocks. Looks funny, but at this point I didn't care. I got the soft closing hinges in.. and that's ALL that mattered to me.

 

 Grandma and Grandpa Atkins had an old corded phone to donate to the kitchen! I love hearing Emberly say "hello?! babble babble gibber jabber"

 Why yes she is washing her hair in the sink. Doesn't everyone do that? ;)

 So there you have it! Isn't it the cutest kitchen you've seen?! I think so, but then again I'm pretty biased. Next I will add in the expenses!

Used entertainment center found on KSL (local listings) - $10

Faucet also found on KSL - $10

Blue and white paint and paint brushes/rollers - FREE already had it

Bead board - FREE it was donated (yay!)

Stainless steal bowl - FREE also donated
Laminate counter-top - FREE donated
8x10 plexi glass from homedepot - $1.97
11x14 plexi glass for window and wood pieces for window frame - $5.31
Black spray paint for oven - $0.97
Soft closing hinges from Ikea's discounted section - $3 for a bag full (score!)
Stainless steel small fridge and oven handle (2 pack) from Ikea - $8.99
Stainless steel large fridge handle from Ikea - $6.99
6 pack of black knobs for stove from Ikea - $1.99
Fabric 1/4 yard, 1/8 yard and another 1/8 yard from Hobby Lobby - $2.50
12x12 print for window from Costco - $3.19
Print of stove from Pixels Foto - $4.54
(I AM NOW SELLING PRINTS OF MY STOVE TOP HERE)
Pod Podge - FREE already had it
Hinges for oven from homedepot - $2.96
Shelf and apron hanger from DI - $1.50 (75 cents each)
Screws/bolts/washers and a drill bit - $8.53
Corded phone - FREE donated
Dish rack for the oven - FREE already had it
And the most expensive piece, the Black Locker Chandelier - $19.62

Grand total spent on kitchen = $90.07 and worth EVERY penny!