{Play Kitchen}

About two years ago, Justin and I made a kitchen and refrigerator for “The Kid” for Christmas from three IKEA Rast side tables.  We looked and looked to find one suitable for a boy, but also sturdy and well made, and we didn’t want to spend a fortune.  The kitchens made out of wood were extremely expensive, and many of the plastic ones were pink and purple (which is okay, but really, it just wouldn’t do for “The Kid”).  So, we decided to make our own…out of IKEA stuff…

IKEA Rast End Table ($14.99 each)…

Kitchen (stove, oven, and sink)…

Refrigerator (with upper storage)…

Together as a set…

Two years later and I am happy to say that he still loves it.  It has held up and still looks great.  Since the holidays are approaching…and the madness has officially begun around here, I thought I would share with you how we made it…just in case you have a little one at home who might enjoy cooking right along with the family.

You will need:
1 Rast End Table (if you just make the kitchen stove part)
3 Rast End Tables (if you make both the kitchen stove part and the refrigerator)
1 IKEA Grundtal Towel Rod (for the plate rack)
2 Packages of IKEA Grundtal Hooks (for the plate rack)
1 Package IKEA Satta Knobs or 2 Packages of IKEA Attest Knobs (for stove burners)
1 Package of IKEA Panna Coasters (to glue on for stove burners)
Stainless dog bowl (got ours from Menards, to use as sink)
1 Rigel Hook (inverted to use as faucet for sink)
3 Stainless Handles (we got ours from Menards as well)
Glue (to glue on the coasters for burners)
Jigsaw (to cut a hole out for the sink)
Screwdriver (or drill to attach hardware, brackets and wood pieces))
1X10 wood piece (for door of oven and right door of fridge)
1X6 wood piece (for door under sink and left door of fridge)
1x2 wood piece (for where the knobs get attached for stove and in
                the middle of fridge doors)
plywood (cut at the store to 20.5 inches wide and 31 inches tall for the back of the kitchen)
8 (1 1/2 inch) hinges (two for each door on the stove, sink cab, and refrigerator)
4 flat stainless brackets (if you are making a fridge)

Food came from Melissa and Doug    
Pots and Pans came from Target  

The kitchen was built by drilling the plywood piece to the back of the Rast side table.  Then we attached the Grundtal Towel Rod about a foot above the stove part.  We used a jigsaw to cut a circle in the top, making sure it wasn’t bigger than the lip of the dog bowl so the bowl would slip into the hole to create the sink.  Then we inverted the Rigel hook for the faucet and drilled it to the back plywood.  Adding hooks to the towel bar created a great place to hang the pots, pans, and utensils to hang.  Then we hinged the doors to the front of the Rast side table and added the 1x2 to attach the knobs for the stove controls.  We drilled the handle hardware and painted the window for the oven door.

The refrigerator was built by attaching two Rast side tables on top of each other (bottoms together).  We attached them by using stainless brackets.  We drilled the doors into the sides with the 1x2 as a divider (because the doors didn’t fit completely across).  We then drilled the handle hardware for the freezer and refrigerator door.

We did use Odeedoh’s feature to build our play kitchen, but as you can tell we did make several adjustments and added the fridge. 

“The Kid” loves it and still plays with it today, especially when we have “kid” company.  He’s almost four and it’s seen two years of “hard” play time…and I have to say it still looks great.

We did purchase a Latt children’s table to go with it, too.  It has been wonderful and easy to clean…especially now with all the paint, markers, and crayons that get used around here.